I am being told to go to PT by the command on only 4-5 hours of sleep. As a junior enlisted, how do I solve this problem?

Am I missing something? Work is from 1600-2400. PT is at 0530. That leaves approximately 10 hours between end of PT and start of shift. If you are tired after "only" 4-5 hours of sleep, there is plenty of time to "rest". There is also the possibility that the military is not for you. I can remember falling into my bunk at 0445 and getting up at 0530 to begin a full day's work. Was I tired? Yes, of course. But I did what had to be done. When I signed the enlistment papers I don't remember anything about guaranteed sleep. Just my take on the situation.

What the hell is this? SPC Davis, you're in the Army. Not the Girl Scouts. Quit your damn whining and do your duty. Follow orders. It doesn't matter that you only had 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I am sick and tired of hearing all this whining from people who are supposed to be Soldiers. Stop it all of you.

Why in the he'll did you enlist? Nothing more than a cry-baby-suck-a-tit! Apply for a dishonorable discharge & join up with an ANTIFA/BLM group. I was drafted & didn't run off to Canada or go to Russia & smoke pot!!! The service doesn't need your attitude, disposition or any other BS excuse. Enough time wasted on your personal problem. Go see a Chaplain!! SGT ML '71-77 US ARMY

You go. Problem solved. There will be tougher times and these ‘small’ moments will you prepare you for those future ‘problems’. Don’t be ‘that guy’ in the company/platoon/squad’. You’re a soldier and an adult now. Move on.

Are you kidding me
Suck it up and move forward or roll out

join the USAF

Terrible answers. But it doesn't appear that there is little that can be done to get around it. For one, it begins with the assumption that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. In fact, that does not apply in this case. It also assume that military rule is always right. In fact, this is more likely the idea of a single individual who is allowing his emotions to influence his better judgement.

Just because someone can accomplish a task under stress doesn't make it right or for their benefit. In fact, exercising with insufficient rest is detrimental to your health in many ways and can cause many sometimes serious consequences, including lowering your immune system as well as impairing brain functions such as memory, focus and concentration. It makes military personnel susceptible to unnecessary dangers they would not have experienced otherwise with sufficient rest and recuperation.

When you're tired you're going to make more mistakes, and those mistakes not only effect you, but everyone around you. Overall, this causes more harm than good. People that give these types of uniformed and uneducated orders are the ones largely responsible for the increasing number of heath claims many veteran experience during service and later on in life.

Thing is, they're 100% preventable. This may not be the appropriate venue to correct these errors, but it is certainly an opportunity to learn how to do better in the future than you are doing today or in the past.

effectively and professionally... 1st, you need to keep in mind, he is issuing lawful orders. You could ask to meet with him to defend your position, but if he is adamant, then you will have to disobey a lawful order to have NJP initiated. 2nd, whereupon you can request mast according to the UCMJ. Be sure to name a sufficiently ranked individual in your chain of command to hear your case. There is a time limit within which your superiors must have you in front of that officer.

Just know that there are much worse duties that you could be pulling. Duty driver for example, is often 24 on 24 off, required to be at hand for deliveries of inter office mail during the normal work day, and at a moments notice to convey the Duty OIC, the Duty NCIOC, and even the Duty clerk, to any duty post, office, barracks, BOQ, anywhere they so desire at random times. They only promise 1 meal and 1 hour sleep while on duty.

My suggestion is get used to the new schedule, and learn to get sleep in segments; perhaps switch your sleep to AFTER PT.

"The army is only required to give you 4 hours of sleep a night, and it doesnt have to be 4 continuous hours!" I still remember my drill sergeants telling us this.

Not to beat a dead horse, but it seems like more of an issue of time management. If you're working 1600- midnight (8 hrs) then you have 16 more hours in the day in which to sleep. Change your schedule, you should be waking up around 1400 hours, and hitting the rack after that 0530 pt session, that'll get you a good 7-8 hours of sleep.

Get with your PSG and see if he will get on board with a compromise with the 1SG. Maybe different PT times for different shifts, led by the senior NCO of those shifts. The 1SG doesn't need to micro manage. Your PSG, if on board could get the 1SG to see reason. Other good posts talk about adjusting your own hours. Obviously if you work the night shift, it sucks, but that means you work and do personal time at night, and sleep during the day. Finally, if there is a problem with individuals just not showing up to PT, then it may be a hard lesson for a little while. Bottom line, you are a Soldier, and need to Soldier up. I do think certain priorities should be aligned differently if you are not combat arms. That's my 2 cents.

I don't remember PT as being "optional". We had to be there, drunk or sober, good night's sleep or just getting off 4 hours of firewatch. Maybe the Army is different from the Corps?

The way it was explained to me when I pulled the same stunt. If you choose to go out and hoot with the owls, don't complain when you have to get up and scream with the eagles.

Really? You are in the military, correct? you volunteered? you may not want to sound like you're whining but you do! God forbid you ever have to stand combat watches for 12 hours and still accomplish work. You have other hours in the day to sleep. you need to learn to adjust to what the schedule demands.

I recommend you refrain from throwing up----Just do PT with the rest of the company---You're in the United States Army---Not the Salvation Army----What in hell are you going to do in a combat zone???

Having worked in both FORSCOM (USASOC) and in the MEDAC I will say being a leader you have to be more creative to accomplish the mission and keep your Soldiers in mind a bit more in a hospital. Especially with COVID and my staff being worked to the bone we had to find new ways to maintain our physical fitness and still meet the mission.
I would suggest to your leadership an alternative time for PT which is what we did in our section, and our APFT average was over 270, with several soldiers getting their EFMB, Air Assault, and GAFB.
Hopefully with some reason and possibly a good censure of the Troops it can get rectified. I’d suggest talking with your first line or proposing a plan to your chain of command how off shift soldiers will maintain their readiness.

Just go PT and bitch about it later you’re in the military 24 hours a day

Go to PT, really it is at mosts hour to an hour and a half add in the benefit to your health. Look towards the positive.

Army

4-5 hours is good enough without hinder performance and thinking. Thou, 6-8 is preferable. If your lack of sleep due to duty requirement, your NCO should give you permission to do PT in the afternoon and having you report for duty at work-call formation. That is if he betting that the PL and PSgt not going to have his bacon in the morning. Usually, your NCO should have called and arranged this that night. Usually, if your PT score is high, you would not be doing PT that day. However, if you are average or lower, you will be doing PT with your favorite Buck Serge. That's what I have had done while I was still in active duty.

On the other hand, if you were out late having fun, you'll have to suck it up and pay for it. Heck, me and my whole squad came back from our outing, changed, and went to first-call formation for PT and work all day. But when it comes to lunch, we slept like a baby. In Korea, after the Super Bow party, the whole company, 1st Sgt included, were all sh** face during first-call and has to endure the rest of the day.

Getting used to minimal sleep is what you must learnt how to live with, during the invasion toward Baghdad most Soldiers and myself included went for 3 days straight with only 4-5 of sleep, average about an hour a day. I call it, "race to Baghdad". Build character, man, it's building character.

I have been out of the military for 22 years, and in 15 years prior to that. What the hell happened to our military? Sleep deprivation was one thing we could count on back then.