At what rank should Soldiers be exempt from organized PT?

SFC Sannis,

In the enlisted ranks, First Sergeant and above should be exempt so they can take care of 1SG Business or SGM/CSM Business. (I'm not sure what those "businesses" actually entail, but I'm sure it's all very important and time-sensitive.)

That being said, I think that all Senior NCOs worth their salt will still show up for organized PT at least once or twice per week to motivate their Soldiers and promote unit cohesion.

Unless the job does not allow for it, Retired is the only rank that should not be in a group PT of some type. We lead from the front and set the example.

I don't even understand this question...why would rank exempt you from PT? You're still a Marine/Sailor/Soldier/Airman... You still need to maintain HT/WT Standards and pass PFT/CFT/AFPT test? Why would you not participate in organized PT?

How about no....

I'm pretty sure that we can all agree that if you allow people to stop attending pt, not only is their apft score going to go down due to a lack of discipline on getting their asses to the gym, but moral is gong to go down as well. People are will start doing the 'well SFC doesn't have to be here so why do i?' When the person complaining has a better pt score.

Pting together shows commitment and leadership. And not just commitment to yourself but to your troops. Sure, I hate doing pt in an organized manner. I'd rather be lifting on my own. But i do it, and I kick my own ass if the pt isn't great. But hey! That's what we do as leaders, we too embrace the suck and motivate our ppl.

I say.... too bad if you don't want to do it. Suck it up, the military isn't the boy/girlscounts. Drink water n drive on...

I never made it to "senior" rank...at least from my perspective, I never felt senior enough to presume I was "exempt" from anything my people would be doing. One of my "bosses" over the years, was a reservist who worked as an engineer at NASA and was (I'm guessing) in his late 40s to early 50s when we deployed downrange. I wouldn't call him a "PT Stud", but the man was just tough, resilient. He climbed up a mountain once with us to check out a suspected rocket launch site...never missing a step. When the Army ETT thought it would be "funny" to steal our guidon and place it up the top of the radio tower...he climbed up to get it himself (of course he ordered me to accompany him because he knew I was "shaky" with heights). As advisors, we had to muster our Afghans for unit PT, and though it would've been VERY easy for an O-5 to sit it out; there he was, every time. Rank hath its privileges, and sometimes, a senior officer or SNCO may just have more important crap to be doing than running around in a circle...but every time I get to feeling "old", I remember that during the defense of Malta in 1565, the Hospitaller commander was in his seventies...and led the final defense carrying just a spear, accompanied with a handful of trusted men.

Never, people of higher rank are an inspiration to those of a lower rank and should be there for the lower ranks to show them how its done and encourage them.

No rank should be exempt. I still participate in our remedial PT program we have along with my PT failures. I believe it helps motivate them to pass quicker because I am right there ensuring they are doing it.

I wouldn't mind seeing generals in the formation... doing PT with the rest of us. That'll keep us on our toes!

ETS/retired.

If you are a senior NCO or an officer, you need to set the standard. If a slow formation run doesn't do it for your own workout needs, do additional PT on your own.

In the AF, we're pretty relaxed about group PT... if you achieve an excellent or higher, you're typically allowed to do your own thing... some units will still make it mandatory for once a week and some don't make you do any group sessions. I think it comes down to the individual... forcing everyone to do group PT never helped me out. It just makes my day longer because I feel I need to actually get a good workout after anyway.