Can a CSM deny orders for a leadership school such as BLC or ALC just because you don't get a 70 in each PT event?

You go to the school and have an off day with PT and you don't get 60 in each then you are sent back to your unit. Your unit has wasted a slot for the school, the SM will be gone. Remember the Army is shrinking so re-enlistment slots become competitive, not a good situation for a marginal SM.

Yes, the BC/CSM can set a reasonable standard (70% is reasonable for school attendance. Look at at it from a financial standpoint. You go and are sent home for failing the APFT, that is a couple of thousands of dollars (pay and travel) that was wasted. Not only that, as an NCO, You should be striving for 300 not 180 on the APFT.

First, if you are whining about your career, perhaps, your attitude is your problem, and you need a serious adjustment. Second if you are passed over for any school, especially a leadership school, perhaps you are not leadership material, and your leadership sees it. Third, if you just meet minimum standards, you are NOT excelling, you are stagnant, and NOT the type of soldier that today's military wants. Forth, if you only meet minimum standards, perhaps there are plenty of soldiers who are excelling ahead of you that are more qualified and show more want for career progression. My point is if you are unhappy with where you are at, get off the minimum boat, and get on the superior boat.

By the AR no, but company policy could be set so you must have a minimum score of 80% or higher to qualify to go to Any NCOES school.

Would you feel right sending a soldier that is borderline to any school that would test them when they got there? At home station we tend to be more lenient than at a school. I sent 4 Airmen to a School and Three of them failed out of the Physical Fitness Assessment.

It sounds like the SGM has your career in his best interests. Maybe you should get this soldier to step it up and prove they are worth sending to a school.

The challenge for me here is two-fold. Are they leading by example and are they truly physically and mentally fit to attend school? If you were the CSM and you have failures due to PT, you're being called on the carpet. Leadership courses are both physically and mentally challenging, and is it fair to the soldier, the unit and to the school to send marginal troops to such a course. The other reason the CSM (and others) have restricted soldiers' attendance to many schools, is due to the variability in grading. I may be a relaxed grader and pass someone with a 70, whereas you are a tough grader, and pass that same person with a 60... and schools are frequently more stringent than a unit's grader(s).

I always believed that holding a higher standard at the unit before school was taking care of the Soldier- If they can only marginally pass the minimum standard as an NCO then obviously they need some remedial PT to ensure they can successfully pass the APFT at school. Of course there is an individual responsibility, but Senior NCO's don't set up other NCO's for failure. Better to wait and get your ass in shape than flunk out of an NCOES school.

When I was a Training NCO at my last assignment, the Command had a policy that all SM's had to have at least a 70 in each area of the APFT before they could apply for schools. We tried to make sure they had a valid APFT within 30 days of their scheduled start date for school to ensure they met /exceeded the prerequisite - a few courses had specific APFT score requirements for each event. The reasoning was because there was a high percentage of SM's rejected for failing the initial APFT once they arrived at their training site. They used to require a record APFT within the first few days or even the day of arrival before SM's got to see the inside of a classroom. I'd request clarification from your Training NCO on why a request was denied and locate any published policy within your Command to ensure accuracy. Everything is usually spelled out on the ATRRS site for each course. Search: https://www.atrrs.army.mil/atrrscc/search.aspx for your course and review the requirements and prerequisites. Remember too that your Command is responsible for ensuring you meet the requirements before you even apply for a school. Rejections cost the Command training dollars.

Technically its not upon the CSM to make that call, however commanders follow the guidance of the CSM. CSM's have power and utilize that power to influence how a commander puts policies into effect.

When I was a Training NCO at my last assignment, the Command had a policy that all SM's had to have at least a 70 in each area of the APFT before they could apply for schools. We tried to make sure they had a valid APFT within 30 days of their scheduled start date for school to ensure they met /exceeded the prerequisite - a few courses had specific APFT score requirements for each event. The reasoning was because there was a high percentage of SM's rejected for failing the initial APFT once they arrived at their training site. They used to require a record APFT within the first few days or even the day of arrival before SM's got to see the inside of a classroom. I'd request clarification from your Training NCO on why a request was denied and locate any published policy within your Command to ensure accuracy. Everything is usually spelled out on the ATRRS site for each course. Search: https://www.atrrs.army.mil/atrrscc/search.aspx for your course and review the requirements and prerequisites. Remember too that your Command is responsible for ensuring you meet the requirements before you even apply for a school. Rejections cost the Command training dollars.