Does it bother you to see Soldiers in ACUs during accountability formation prior to morning PT?

Man, I wish the AF had this...in my squadron, it's "figure out when to work out on your own".

Now, do I think that no one should ever be excused for any reason? No. And if you have a soldier on a profile, then he probably does need medical attention to get off the profile...are you doing anything to give him PT time after work? During the day? Have you talked to him about scheduling his medical appointments for a different time? Is he doing workouts that still prevent further injury, as directed by his profile?

I understand that extenuating circumstances may arise to keep a Soldier from doing PT. But when it becomes a pattern and their score is suffering, more attention should be paid to that individual. Senior ranking Soldiers these days are the most guilty of this, as they see that they are above the regulation... This should not stand.

If they have a mission that requires the uniform to be ACU's but if it doesnt then Lottie Dottie everybody should be in PT's.

Physical fitness is a personal commitment. Unit PT is useful for building morale, but it's not improving overall fitness unless your guy really is the weakest link in the unit, and then you've got other issues.

If I ever had a Marine who was behind the power curve on fitness, I worked with him one-on-one to improve. If that meant skipping unit PT to focus on my Marine's needs, I spoke to my chain of command about it. A funny thing happened: those closest to me in the chain of command liked that I was working with my Marine to improve his fitness. Those higher up saw a junior NCO missing from squadron-level PT, and pointedly asked stupid questions about my commitment to the Corps.

Ultimately, the question is: what purpose is served by unit PT?

This was a tough question to answer MSG (Join to see). PT is certainly important for both conditioning individual soldiers and reinforcing esprit de corps within the unit. That being said critical appointments should be scheduled as soon as possible; but, routine appointments should be scheduled later in the day.
I have to wonder, if while in garrison, there are unit training or inspection requirements later in the day which are considered more important by the chain-of-command periodically. In those instances, getting all routine appointments taken care of early may make sense if it helps to have a maximum unit strength available later in the morning.

It may be an Army thing, but when is your first formation?

Marine Corps Time (At least was)
Reveille - 0530
PT formation - 0600 (Not many support services open for business)
Morning Quarters Formation - 0800

Only if they are not going directly to work. And appointments happen on the Soldiers request.

It only bothers me when Soldiers are missing PT for bogus reasons. I know my last Battalion had a no appointments before or during PT hours policy and for the most part it seemed to work. Also, many units had second PT sessions held in the afternoon for Soldiers who missed morning PT.

I agree with both SFC(P) Peter Sutherland, and MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca It is a team building exercise as well as to maintain individual standards. The PFT is the important one. If the Soldier ,Marine, Airmen, or Sailor can not do well it is his command and unit to fix that. It should also reflect is such said person volunteers to do remedial PT to fix his own problem. Personal responsibility should be always welcomed as well. reduction in rank should take place or even holding back of promotions. Make them work and earn their rank. After all we can only be a certain rank for so long?
As a person who did struggle with weight and later due to injury had a profile. Motivation is key to getting it done. I was promotable to Sgt but my reg's kept me out, as well as the next contract to finish for my twenty. I still have the opportunity to do so. Just have to want it or how bad one wants it. No excuses heck I have been slowly working out to try that I will let you know if I succeed but have to try first.