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?

New daily schedule: 0530 to 0630 = Pt. 0630 to 0700 = breakfast. 0730 to 1330 = sleep. 1330 to 1400 Lunch. 1400 to 0000 = work. 0000 to 0030 = dinner. 0030 to 0530 = "free time".

For your best answer forst go through your chain of command, if there is no satisfactory answer, then check with JAG to see if there are any current regulations regarding your directive. Second, as a retired Army veteran, son your in the Army, everything you do is to train/contain your ability to function in a combat situation, part of that is to be able to function at top physical condition even under physical and mental stressers without effecting over allmission goals. My opinion? Go to PT, challenge yourself, and realize you can do more than you think.

It is what service in the military is all about.Lives have been lost by not following the last order.No compromise can ever be accepted,ever.

I am long out but I can commiserate. Life in the 24.7 world. Nights and weekends. In the USAF we usually did not have mandatory PT. We had standards and were expected to meet them. It depends on your job. Your geography. Peace or war. Certain jobs, unless in hot combat had standards that ensured your non duty time was not interrupted. If you dealt with those things that destroy nations if mishandled or making critical human life and safety decisions you were allowed protected time off. Yes, you woul have occasional training, but still enough time before next shift. If you are responsible for caring for those not subject to the UCMJ you can't put them at risk. If you deployed into hot combat would you be doing the same job? In combat yes you might go a few days without sleep. But not day in day out for a year or two. Are you in the job of engaging and destroying or precision high level of attention decision making? When the USAF still had SAC, it was understood that care for the human was just as important as the mission.

Man up

1SGT is trying to solve a problem with a blanket fix. He needs to get with his small unit leaders and find something that actually works. Personal time is important. You start messing with people's personal time and the tone/readiness/quality of work is going to drop and the bottom line he was trying to pad with a little extra is going to come back to bite him in the ass.

I was in a non-combat unit in the Marines. There was organized PT 3 times a week initially. But I was transferred to a different unit and because of the weird hours we worked, PT was "On your own."

Now that I'm on the officer side, my free time is dictated by the flight schedule.
The wing got together and saw how broke physically and mentally a lot of the pilots have been getting over the years, specifically helicopter pilots with the Helo Hunch. So the wing went and hired a civilian company that is composed of a personal trainer, a sports psychologist, and a physical therapist. Really AWESOME people. Group PT is offered twice a day 0700 or 1300 whichever is better for you on the schedule. They have their own "Flyers Only" Gym/workout space/HITT box. I've utilized them multiple times for mental stuff (Which is NOT put on your medical record), lower back issues, and getting back on a workout program that specifically addresses what I need to work on.

The gym is for Pilots AND Aircrew so there's a lot of comradery and it's a great way to actually get to know the people that you're going to be flying with in the back. Being prior enlisted I never really had an issue speaking frankly to my Marines/Sailors, but for the straight out of the academy or ROTC officers who are maybe a little more awkward in how they're supposed to interact with the enlisted, PT is a great way to build that rapport.

You just gotta do it.

when i joined the Military i was told that they could work us for 20hrs and give us 4hrs sleep but that was the real Army, i don't know what type of Army we have now (Clear the way!! Bridge the Gap!!)

From my experience this policy is at local command level. I bucked this before as well. I was told that if you work over midnight then you have do not have to report to first(PT) formation.

If I was in your situation I would request a meeting with the chain of command to see what the policy is and if you can get excused. It is effecting your abilities. Maybe it will work. Stewing about it will just stress you out. If they do not allow you to be absent then you have to adjust your resting times. I know that sucks. Other option is too move to other unit. Some units have crap leaders and you have to suffer for it unfortunately. I always got mad about BS like this but it never lasted. Soldiers, leaders complain and the chain of command will stop it eventually. I retired with a pension so they did not break me with their nonsense. I sucked it up and got to the finish line. You can too.

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.