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?

SPC Davis: reading your post and some of the replies there are a few possible ways to address the situation however, if the 1SG and the CDR feels like PT is not been taken serious or there is an issue with failed APFTs or body fat issues in the ranks, then I can see the issue. I have never seen a shift that crazy on a clinic or hospital before. Now better time management is a way but also may not be sustainable in the long run for that unit. My recommendation is to talk to your supervisor and find a way to do the PT session. In my opinion if I have Soldiers who does PT daily and is crushing the PT test then as long as thats covered and you performance is to standard we are good. In the other hand if you can't manage your time, performance suffers and you can't pass the APFT soon ACFT or can't pass the tape test then I will have to involve your first line supervisors to work and manage PT sessions and are involved with the progress of their Soldiers. It is a workable situation but with the new ACFT around the corner there is a lot of training to do to be able to pass that physical fitness test. Prepare for it and crush it then they will see how you can take care of your own physical readiness and most likely will be able to work with you.

Sleep deprivation was the norm. Have you talk to the shift supervisor about modifying your shift?

Do it. THEN explain to your NCOIC why you should be able to PT @ a different time.
Don't do the typical whiner thing. Lose a couple hours, I'm assuming you're young, your'e strong & you'll live. Man up & hooha.
Msgt ret. USMC

Sounds like the snowflake generation complaint.

Have you explained your hours and suggested a way that you would do PT at a different hour with a way for the 1SGT to verify? If he still requires it, suck it up. You are in the military

LOL.... "back in the day" we called it the "Budweiser Banana Run"...
We got in from the Strasse at 0430...changed into our "banana suits"
(PT Uniforms were yellow back then "Safety First")
did our stretches/pushups/ situps ....and ran 5 miles smelling of beer and puke
......Puke because people kept swinging off to the side of the road to get rid of that last six pack

....then a quick shit-shower-shave and off to the motorpool, the rifle range or a 25 mile roadmarch out into the German woodline and back

There's a lot of "suck it up, buttercup" response... and while I get that, I do think the command isn't acting properly. Having one Soldier who is tasked with showing up for a command function on a regular basis, right in the middle of the "off-shift" is questionable. Yes, I know, we're in the military 24/7, but there's some strong differential treatment.

This may be the best option. https://themilitarywallet.com/get-out-of-the-military-early/

So many whining ass kids in the Military today, in 2008 I join the guard at 48 years old because I missed the Military. I was shocked at the level of maturity within my unit, I have never seen such lazy troops as I did within this unit. I did a PT test in 2009 and passed, none of these 20 year olds that I work with passed..............My last PT test was in 1986. And this guy is complaining about 4 to 5 hours sleep, I would be embarrassed to even post this!

So many pussy's in the Military today, grow the fuck up and do your job!

You can solve it by going to PT. Sleep after.

LOL this is really good stuff and not even April fools day.
I guess I’m officially one old grunt now. Because I’ve heard everything.
What the hell is going on? I can’t even imagine a fat S4 clerk asking this question.

Go to PT.

Take your 4th point of contact to pt

I am sure this is not a daily event. Suck it up and go PT. Sleep is over rated any way

Be thankful you aren't in a line unit. We'd come back from the field early morning, get cleaned up and be told PT was at normal time. Married guys wouldn't even bother going home, stuff like that normal tho we didn't like it anymore than you apparently.

4-5 hours of sleep is more than many troops get during the normal scheme of things, this may suck but if shit ever hits the fan you'll likely get by w/far less rest and a lot more stress

Get up and go do PT

Go to PT. Take a nap during your break before you have to report to work or during lunch.

I see this is old, but I’ll go on record anyway in case someone else is dealing with this problem.
I was an Army chaplain, so you can imagine I would want to display a measure of sensitivity to your situation. My bottom-line answer is that you need to go to PT.

There are some valid reasons that a Soldier should be excused from PT, but lack of sleep isn’t one of them. I know it must be very hard pushing through when you feel so exhausted but nevertheless, you need to be at PT.

Think of it this way. When you go to the field, you may not be able to get an ideal amount of sleep, but you still must focus on the mission. This is especially the case, when it’s a combat deployment
Each time I was deployed, it was common for me and my Soldiers to get little sleep. It was rough and unfortunate, but other than very rare instances, the mission must come first. Getting little sleep now might very well prepare you to be better equipped to handle a combat deployment when lives would be at risk if you failed to do your jobs to the best of your ability.

Remember this. Regardless of our MOS, our job is to be combat multipliers. Plain and simple. Our job is to win wars in the most humane way possible so that ultimately, we can save lives in the long run.

There are a few other things I would say. Perhaps you could talk to your platoon SGT (after letting your squad leader know) and see if there’s something he/she can do to make your schedule easier or allow you to do individual PT. Perhaps you could negotiate and offer to do some other kind of duty that would make up for their granting you some accommodations. If they won’t, then I’m afraid you just need to push through.

And I would not recommend going to your 1SGT. That may not go well for you. And certainly, don’t do it without your platoon SGT’s knowledge. That would go very, very badly for you. Trust me on this.

Another consideration (though it doesn’t seem to apply to your situation) is that I’m pretty sure that regulations state that a soldier is required to be allowed four hours sleep a night except in extreme circumstances, such a combat operations. Even then, four hours may not be always possible.

If your 1SGT or CDR was regularly putting you in situations where you couldn’t get at least four hours sleep for extended periods of time and there were not extreme mission demands (such as combat operations) and he/she is consistently unwilling to hear you out, then it might be time to seek out your chaplain. That would be an ethics violation that requires chaplain intervention. I’ve been in situations where CDR’s NCO’s were abusing their Soldiers and I had to intervene. Those situations are rare, but unfortunately, they do happen. I don’t think this applies to your situation though.

The only other thing I would say is that if you genuinely think it’s a health issue, you could go to sick call to see if there’s something you can do to make your sleep more restful. However, I wouldn’t make a habit of going to sick call unless your pretty sure it could be a health-related issue. That would go badly for your as well. The bottom line is that our job is to be combat multipliers and that means being in good physical shape. That means a Soldier needs to be at PT.

I know it’s hard, but that’s part of what it means to be a Soldier. I hope this helps.

AR 30-22
FM 22-51
FM 6-22.5 CH 4

Basically you are required a minimum of 4 hours of continuous sleep with 6-8 hours preferred to maximize the effectiveness of the Soldier.

Now, if the 1SG says go to PT he is the NCOIC and it his world that you just operate within. Drink a cup of suck it up and make yourself a stronger Soldier. You are in the Army not a civilian job. There are no days off, just down time.
So, if you feel compelled to challenge your top NCO in the company spouting off regulations...let me know how that goes for you. He is either going to admire that you took the time to research regs OR more than likely smoke you until he gets tired (staying within regulations in the most creative way possible without getting in trouble).
The catch all answer, ask your first line supervisor and quit being weak. What are you going to do in actual war when PT, stamina, and discipline will keep you alive? Nah, 1SG I'm not getting up yet for the mission. I've only had 3 1/2 hours sleep. POG.