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?

Well buttercup, I served as an MP. I’ve worked a rotating shift 06:00-14:00, 14:00-22:00, and 22:00-06:00. There are days that we would come off the night shift and have to report for the middle shift. We normally did PT before shift, get dismissed to shower and then report back for weapon draw and Guardmount inspection. Then head to the MP station for the shift briefing. So the normal days were 14+ hours. It’s the Army! We had to stay in shape and not for the APFT but for our lives. If you’re complaining about this? I think you’ve never deployed or done field exercises. Wait till you do! You hit the ground running till the mission is done. Then you’re able to get some rest! The army is not all about Garrison work in a hospital. Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves suck it up and do what is needed on no sleep.

Four hours rest. That was the number when I was in. Guard duty, two on, four off. Suck it up butter cup. Do the PT and go back to sleep. Quit your bitchen. You probably need the PT. It is good for you.

Read some of the comments they make sense. The military isn’t a democracy, either get with the program or get out! Pretty simple. Especially with the virus thing civilians are looking for hospital workers as I speak

Go to bed Instead of running to the Club,

“4-5 hours sleep.” Really? I would be on duty for 12 hours, then have CDO duty for 24 hours. And there were times I had to do PT in the middle of all that. It’s the military. If you want bankers hours, then perhaps you should change your career path.
If you know you have PT, go to bed earlier—if possible and I know that difficult with your shifts, but perhaps you don’t get out of bed until 30 minutes prior to your shift. That, way, you can get in a little extra sleep before your duty and add that to your sleep time prior to PT.
Either way, life isn’t fair and PT, regardless of how difficult it can be, is meant to keep you in peek physical condition. As a military man/woman, that should be something that you appreciate.

Go to PT

Ask your First Line to speak with the Hospital Administration to see if they are willing to adjust shifts to 1500-2300 - 2300-0700 - 0700-1500 OR 1700-0100 - 01-0900 - 09-1700 to accomodate the new CDR/1SG. That will increase crash time a bit OR allow you to attend the 1600 formation. On the other hand, the Hospital Administration - of which I'm sure has its own Commander and Chain of Command, which might include the CDR/1SG in it and speak with them because I'm confident you are probably not the only individual impacted by the TOPs formation policy. However, if none of the above occurs, then as the old saying goes - you SUCK IT UP.

Run it up your chain of command that conducting PT 5 hours after then end of shift is not the best idea, you can accomplish the mission without inconveniencing the troops because believe it or not, troop welfare should absolutely be a priority but to be entirely honest most young members of the military get by without 8hrs regardless so you may have an issue convincing higher

I worked in an Emergency room we had three shifts at one I worked you want to talk about being tired and going to PT? You would be on one shift for a couple of months and then rotate to another. PT was at 0530 First Shift started at 0800. Which gave you an hour and a half to drive to work get a shower and change. Second shift started at 1630 and ended at 2400. Third shift 2400 to 0800. We only had ONE PT Formation 0530. The night shift never made it to PT. If you had a Consistent Passing score on the PT test they didn't give you any grief. Sooner or later you would be rotated to first or second shift. I guess they figured the night shift was a chance to get some rest and do personal PT something you liked to do for about two months.

I agree with the other comments being made. When you are deployed you won't have the luxury of telling the wounded hold on I need sleep. Their lives will depend on you just as your squad is depending on you in Garrison. If you can't be depended on then maybe you shouldn't be in the service.

For someone that doesn’t want to sound like your whining you seem to whine a lot. Time to put your big girl pt uniform on, and come to terms which the fact that you joined the Army. If this is your biggest concern about your time in the military I can assure you your very lucky.

If only 5 people showed up for PT, there are bigger leadership problems in your command than you getting 4-5 hours of sleep. Sure, you aren't in the infantry on continuous ops, but mission accomplishment in or out of the field doesn't work on the concept of fair. There is a reason why people say "Thank you for your service", because you are expected to serve and sacrifice for something bigger than yourself and not everyone can do that. Prioritize your time, focus on your mission and developing into a leader yourself; one day when someone thanks you for your service you will be proud that you met the challenge and know that those who haven't served have no idea what that service really means. You will get farther by being a professional soldier than by throwing out regulations about how you are being treated unfairly.

You're going to have to embrace the suck. Until you get promoted or until that that 1SG leaves, you have no choice. And PT is to ensure physical readiness in a world that that unfortunately hates the United States and American troops. Always remember that these exercises may save your life, or the lives of your Team one day. It's all to prepare you and to keep you alive. If, God forbid, something like Fort Hood ever happens again, you might be the person able to respond, and then you'll be thanking that 1SG for saving your life. Respectfully -

Well Spc. I’m sure anyone we may go to war with will allow you to get 8 hours of sleep. Get up shut up and PT. Then go clean up and go back and hit the rack. You will still get your sleep.

Suck it up buttercup. You can sleep when your dead, or retired. Till then .... do P.T.

Just suck it up and do what you are told soldier and be thankful that a lot of others you are getting enough to eat. Many people in the military, far older and in lots of cases far more senior than you, routinely get far less sleep that your 4 to 5 hours. This is really not a hardship and with time and perseverance you will get use to it.

You don’t need sleep brother, we’ll sleep when we die. Are Battles need you/us. It’s not about you brother it’s about your brother/sister to your left and right. Hooyah

You probably will not find anything in and regs. Perhaps PT could commence at 1400 hrs rather than 1600 hrs. This way you would have time to shower up and get to your 1600-0000 shift and not have to worry about the o dark thirty PT formation. Talk to some of your platoon Sergeants and then run it up to the 1SG and commander. Normally common sense should prevail...if that does not work ( time adjustments) then you will just have to suck it up for a while like all good Soldiers do until you can change your schedule. Keep in mind, PT is critical in all outfits. Good luck. Hoooah!

You make the 0530 formation SPC. You suck it up. You can rest after the formation. The 1SGT should already made you aware of this. No excuse for you.

On the one hand I feel your pain, I worked 6 & 2 rotating shifts - days, swings, mids, 6 days on, 2 days off - for the better part of 7 years. On the other hand, not once in 11 years did I have an assignment where PT was *included* in my regular work shift. I suggest that if you *must* get 8 hours of sleep per day, that you do two 4 hour shifts before & after PT. We've all had to develop adaptive coping strategies when life presents us with hurdles.

Go to PT, and when reenlistment rolls around, ask yourself if you wanna keep dealing with having to PT on small amounts of sleep.

I'm sorry. The newest army leadership value is humility. I was mistaken. They need to make empathy one too.

All of you NCO's who follow instructions blindly make me so mad. Your duty as an NCO is to tend to the needs of YOUR Soldier. True the enemy doesn't care about a schedule. But I don't see the first shift people ever doing pt at 1900 or 2300 ON A REGULAR BASIS. Could you imagine the uproar that would happen? There is a reason that the newest leadership value is empathy. Just put yourself in your Soldiers' shoes. AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR HIGHERS, NCO'S! That's what the Juniors are counting on to do.

Juniors, if your NCO lacks empathy or personal courage to go to higher, tell your direct line that you intend to go up the chain. Each leader above your direct NCO should have an open door policy. If that higher says just listen to your direct line, go higher. But inform each level that you intend to go higher. 1SG's always have open door policies. Just make an appointment. You will be expected to bring your direct, so be sure to inform him/her. If 1SG says he doesn't care, inform them that you will be filing an IG complaint and actually follow through. (A lot of people threaten it but don't follow through. And they know this.)

As you can tell, I am usually not a favorite among my highers. My Soldiers come first. When I was an E5, my Soldier wanted to go against our entire command. And I was timidly by her side. I agreed with her side but thought she could just suck it up. (I never told anyone at work that though.) AND SHE ENDED UP WINNING! CSM apologized for actions of command and everything. From then on I said I would back my Soldiers if they are right as much as I could.

Good luck! Message me if you need to talk.

I know everyone is different, but I usually get less than 5 hours sleep , even if I can sleep 8 hours i sleep half that , after CQ , I wake up before noon. Just need to tough it out battle , maintenance where I'm station at work late and still have to be in formation before 0630 , be lucky you're not them lol.

During the first Persian gulf war I was stationed in Germany and we worked 18-20 hour days for almost a year. I know the war was what 7 days long. We started shipping ammo 2-3 months prior and after the war were getting the big stuff back and still shipping small arms. I would have been happy to have enough time to go to PT. I was an E4P and had 17 people below me and only got about 1or 2 days off a month and only averaged 3 hours sleep a night. My response is Suck it up buttercup!!!

Yes. You go. Period. You're in the army, not some country club.

Banging my head on my desk here - you are in fact whining - this is the military, you aren't on some sort of clock. Manage your time.

I am reading other comments on here defending the OP concerns. So if I am reading this correctly, the OP has plenty of time to get some rest after PT since he does not have to go into “work” until 1600. Adjust your sleep schedule and suck it up. When you get off work at 0000, stay up. When PT is over, go to sleep. That simple.

You do as Directed Ordered to do, Remember not complying is refusing an order, attend your PT and Formation then request to speak through the chain of Command and or NCO Support channel starting with your immediate supervisor and address your concerns, this gets documented and protects you and the Leadership and you will have your concerns documented for the record.
Now Keep in Mind that during these times and during combat 90% of Soldiers in conflict fight with minimum rest. It is the Military Nature.

Sounds similar to leadership I once had at a Support Battalion in East Fort Bliss. I would've stayed in for 10 years if it wasn't for the nonsense and toxic leadership that was present. I remember our section working 15 hours a day for a good 6 months while the rest of the battalion got Family Day, Org Day, 3 or 4 Days while we still had to work. It was exhausting and mentally challenging yes but I just drove on cuz I knew it wouldn't change. Hang in there, if you're in Conus, try to PCS to OCONUS or something. Despite myths, Korea is an awesome place to be stationed at if you're young and you don't deploy nor railhead (for deployments), and no NTC. The regulations will be there but ignored and they will do anything to prevent you from going. Our company didn't let us go to sickcall before PT and wanted us to be present at the company no matter what and then go to sickcall after formation. Hang in there I know how it feels to be junior enlisted and having those that outrank you use their powers when it's convenient for them

Change from a mini pad to a maxi pad.

Solve it by going to PT. Bring it up after the fact.

4-5 hrs. Staying in shape was number 1 priority when I was in combat .Later it will help keep the depression away. Complain now live later.

You ARE whining SNOWFLAKE! GET your SORRY ASS OUT OF THE RACK AND GET TO PT!!! Be VERY happy you are in the Army because, in the Marine Corps, someone would be throwing you and your rack out the window and then jumping on your back to get your sorry ass moving. You would then be doing PT until you drop and then for another hour more. What have you done to the US Army to ask such a pansy assed question? If you don't like it, get out and join the Girl Scouts! They have a special branch for you that you may be able to handle called the Brownies! Jesus' mother of Christ What kind of crybaby are you? Are there any Army Regulations covering this? HELL YES! It's called the UCMJ, Disobedience of a Direct Order!!!! Now gert UP or GET OUT!!!

First, you never have to worry about a question you ask on here. We share experiences and outlooks to help each other and no question is wrong if it's important to you.
It sounds like they are testing your desire to soldier. You've been in long enough to know what you are doing of you wouldn't be a Spc
So, maybe they are seeing if you got the extra drive it takes to be an NCO. That or you made someone feel butt hurt. Either way, you soldier on.
These years are going to be full of sleepless nights and doing things that you feel are unfair again xx suck it up and soldiler on. Show them you can hang and they will learn you are the real deal. Personally xx o can't recall a day in USEUR where I got an honest 8 hour's of sleep. If it's really too much then you should talk to your section chief. But you've already done the hard part, don't let a little thing like this stop you from being the troop you signed up to be.
Yer pal,

Don't know what the rules are in the Army but when I served (62-68) the only folks who got to sleep in were those who had the 2400 t0 0400 watch and then only until 0700 or 0800. For everyone else reveille went at 0530. If you are not at the 0530 PT formation and you go on duty at 1600 when do you plan to do PT? I hope that you are not trying to say that your shift doesn't need PT. Perhaps the senior individual on this shift should come up with an alternative plan to present to your 1st Sergeant.

You have to remember the military is not civilian life and everything has a time and a purpose.

We did PT 5 days a week Stateside, if you complained you’d be doing it weekends also. If you can’t follow those orders from your Senior NCO’s need a new line of work.

Go to PT and give it your best or be prepared for the Art 15 for failure to follow instructions/ AWOL, No place in your Army contract was there a guarantee of 8 hours sleep at any point and I would bet my last $ that if its something you want to do you would be there with less sleep and smiling the whole time...
.....

You do realize that the regulation just says 4hrs of sleep is mandatory, it doesn’t say it has to be consecutive. I’ve come off staff duty to go to PT before I got released for the day.
The bottom line is that the military isn’t supposed to be for cream puffs or selfish douches, however, it’s getting softer to accommodate people that should probably just get out and make room for those that want to be warfighters. I have said this to my soldiers and I’ll say it to you: I’ll bring you a straw to help you suck it up. Now take a knee, drink some water and drive on. Those are the best words of advice that I was given when I was a private.

Suck it up.
or, walk into the Commanders office and punch him/her out. Jump up on the desk and take a tremendous dump.
Wait for the MPs.
You won't have to worry about lost sleep or those nasty old PT formations.