Posted on Apr 28, 2014
LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
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This has happened to me a few times as Commander and just as a random "bystander": a Soldier has a questionable APFT or ht/wt and is up for promotion. What do you do as a leader? Do you retest them? Do you let it go? Do you ask them? Do you mandate the whole unit to do it to avoid the appearance of targeting someone?

Does it matter if they are senior NCO or an officer and the board results are out of your influence?


EDITED: Questionable in some cases were suddenly had a PT card with passing test when they did not pass last week. Others is that they are by visual look not passing ht/wt or taping (not in a million years) but have passed on paper and in the system. One other was that suddenly in the system it is showing a current passing test that nobody inputted in the system or given to the Soldier.
Posted in these groups: What would you do logo What Would You Do
Edited 10 y ago
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Responses: 13
SFC Section Sergeant
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This happened in my company about a year ago, a Staff Sergeant from another Platoon turned in a DA 705 and DA 5500 into the training room for updates. The problem was the training room had not conducted a APFT or HT/WT during that time frame also the results from where a complete night and day from the last one. The Command Group was involved and a mini investigation was started come to find out the Staff Sergeant had penciled whipped the form and the S3 MSG signed off on it. So the after that the next week the whole company conducted a APFT and HT/WT in a three day period no exceptions were made. If a Soldier was temporary on profile they would conduct every event within the limits of that profile. At the end a hand full of Soldiers and NCO’s were a little hurt because they did poorly and/or were caught up in their lie.

With that being said Sir if you feel something is wrong with the documents conduct a mini investigation and perpar for a 100% HT/WT and APFT. That way your not singling one person out but making sure everyone in your Company is IAW current doctrine.
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LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
LTC (Join to see)
10 y
To what extent do you do this if you are at a higher level? Do you tell the whole battalion?
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1SG Michael Blount
1SG Michael Blount
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SFC (Join to see) - I take it, SSG, you did the right thing by finding a book, aimed for center mass, then cut loose? Apart from the obvious ACV violations, there's also a UCMJ violation (filing a false Federal document). Too bad if some feelings were bruised and Soldiers were butt-hurt. The Army does not have the luxury of papering over falsified documents. In that circumstance, it might be better for those Soldiers to have failed an APFT than deal with the fallout.
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1SG Michael Blount
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Sorry, but "questionable" and ht/wt or APFT should NEVER be in the same sentence. That's one of the things that can blow up in a real hurry.
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1SG Company First Sergeant
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I think what you mean by questionable is the fact that it was pencil whipped vs. actual reflection of what is true. Is that correct?

If so, any Soldier can be taped any time by you the commander, if you feel it does not reflect accurately, then do it yourself.

As far as the APFT goes, are you doubting the people that graded the individual? If so then talk to them. Are you doubting the individual's abilities? Talk to the Soldier. I know if I ever had a commander that would have challenged any of my PT tests for promotion purposes then I would have gladly taken another one for him to grade to make him feel better.
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LTC Operations Officer (Opso)
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Pencil whipped is suspected. I am lucky and it is not one of my Soldiers this time around, but am sucked in it as we are all taking ht/wt battalion wide.
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