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?

during my time as active duty, i as an 11B10 infantryman did things with only a half hour of an awful sleep on concrete - you at your age if you are under 26 years young should have enough energy and stamina to perform physical training - 3:18 pm Pacific Standard Time on Thursday, 7 March 2024 leap year

Wait'll you get deployed and have to put in a 24 hour workday.

You are whining. And being a self-pitying whiner, at that. I and all my brothers did that for the better part of 13 months in Vietnam. Rare if we got 5 or more hours.
Grow up and stop looking for Mommy to take care of you.

Go to sleep as early as possible, 1600, 1700, get up at 2300 ... go to town.. party... go back at 0300... take a shower... take a nap... be ready for PT. BTW drink water before town and upon returning.

Suck it up buttercup.

Ask your Squad Leader to let you speak to your platoon sergeant and ask him or her if he could get you and the other soldiers on your shift to do PT earlier in the day. You can also put in a written suggestion to your 1st Sgt or commander. It is true that soldiers must sometimes work long hours but depriving troops of enough rest for long periods especially in the USA and times of peace is unacceptable. Working smart is always superior to working long hours. Help your chain of command with good suggestions and tactful complaints is being a good soldier.

The Army is having trouble enlisting and reenlisting soldiers. If all else fails you can complain to your Battalion Sergeant Major or Chaplain and in the worse case you can make a complaint to the post IG. In the mean time, suck it up and follow orders.

SPC Davis, I do not come from a USA background so I cannot address the "Army" side of your situation. I was in Air Base Ground Defense, the USAF side of combat arms. I am much older than you and I come from a different generation and mindset. I offer you what I can to help you in your situation. You mention, "why this isn’t right." Right, wrong, good, or bad has nothing at all to do with your situation of duty to defend our nation. Live, die, win, lose, overcome, or be overrun are the things that should be on your mind. Your job is not a 9-5 job where coronary artery disease will probably kill you. You will face an opponent where he will kill you if he is stronger, faster, or smarter than you. I have served in civilian law enforcement and as a firefighter as well. I have seen violent death close-up and came within inches of death on several occasions. Dying "isn’t right" but it happens to us all. Your 1st Sergeant is trying to make your hard and strong so you will live, overcome, get to go home to those you love and die old. Do not assume that a red cross or being a medic will save you. There are enemies out there that have no use for the Law of Armed Conflict. (Take a look at what Hamas did to babies and civilians.) The option is leaving this world young and having your loved ones attend a funeral and get an American flag to remember you by. It all starts in the mind. I urge you to reorient your thinking. Make personal goals to run farther, run faster, lift more, work harder, and excel all those around you. Make sure you are the sixth person who shows up to PT every time. If that means partying less, so be it. Either you want to live, or you don't. Your enemy does not care about you, he only will kill you, given the chance. Do not give him that opportunity. Best wishes in your career.

Although this is an old post it appears it is still an issue. Let's educate. PT is essential to ALL MOS's for what should be obvious, standardization and maintenance of physical readiness and readiness qualification requirements of the war fighter in the profession of arms. It is one of the primary tasks emphasized in all military training starting in boot camp. This requirement is exercised typically at the start of the duty day. Scheduling falls to the leadership. Common sense should prevail. However, if the General or any of his command subordinates for that matter, decide to order an event (PT) for all to participate, it must be adhered to. Excusable absence is by medical waiver or other command directive for essential personnel during the period declared.

It appears numerous leadership elements in this soldiers unit failed to adhere to the requirement and this leads to the standard fallback of correction by involving ALL elements, (a single soldier is an element). Deterioration of military standards should never be tolerated. Nor should it be allowed to even trend negative. It is your duty to adhere to the expectations of those standards, to be ever diligent and fully prepared for full scale war at a moments notice. The enemy is always watching!

It's been awhile, but unless the regulations have changed your command is only obligated to insure that you have an "opportunity" to get 4 hours sleep every 24 hours. Check it out. And by the way -- you are whining.

As a 1SG myself, I understand both sides. While a junior enlisted Soldier, I to had a shift that ended at 0000. We were all required to attend unit PT each morning at 0500. While webdid not enjoy this, we were at our appointed duty assignment at the required time.

On another note, Soldiers will stay up past midnight playing online video games, downtown drinking all hours of the night and still show up for morning PT.

So get whet rest you can after your shift, attend PT then get more reat before your shift starts.