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?

If you haven't been on a deployment yet, then this is very minor compared to it.Sleep deprivation isn't fun but your body can handle it. I don't know the regs but in prep for a deployment that means a soldier's ability to withstand a lot of stress, little sleep, and continued physical exercise.
I've done a lot of stuff while in the military that made me feel off and on rare occasions sick to my stomach. As a Medic, we had to have our Aid Bags on us almost all the time or in an ambulance.
Deployments aren't easy. You are a soldier first and are defending this country, those you love, and complete strangers; many of which will spit and insult you b/c they are ignorant. Military standards should return to the higher point they were but that is another topic.

I was Navy. And my answer may not be relevant to your circumstance. But maybe it'll provide a perspective.
Aboard the USS South Carolina as a radio and satellite Communication Electronics Technician I was responsible for the repair and maintenance of a lot of critical systems.
One night I was exhausted. So going to the Chief I asked him if I could get some sleep and fix the radio in the morning.
His standing order for the reminder of my deployment on that Ship, "We're only required to give you ONE hour of sleep per night. Petty Officer Thomas, you may not go to bed until ALL of your Equipment is up."
During the time I was up sometimes 2 and 3 days straight. On a nor-eastern 3 month cruise, I was up all day- all night and all day the next day. Slept 1900-0700 and did it again.
They have the right to ask you to do it. It's a lawful order. I was exhausted many times. But I became a Super Tech. Memorizing block diagrams and schematics. Learning how to use it to get fast results. Then that Chief added another stipulation to my work.
I had to tag each module, if it was a module swap, with every defective component.
Another ET would replace the parts and test it. I HAD to be right in my troubleshooting.
What you take back from being pushed is how much you can do and overcome.

I hate to say it quite so blunt. But I'll tell you like they used to tell us. Suck it up buttercup do your job. We went for days during training with no sleep and still had to do PT. Trust me it really sucks right now but in the interim you will become a stronger and better person for it. Good luck.

embrace the suck and put your big boy pants on and do it what seals go 24 hrs no sleep straight pt the whole time so you cant say a body cant do it on 4-5hrs of sleep

embrace the suck put your big boy pants on and do it

You've got to be kidding me. So you join the military knowing full well the type of "tough love" that is part of the culture and whine about having to PT on very little sleep. all I can say is good luck when you get deployed because you'll get less than that depending on your MOS and theatre you deploy too. Suck it up snowflake....

I get it. I had a similar problem when I worked at the GRSOC. I was intel and did shift work and had basically the same problem you did. We came off 12 hour shifts at 0600, then were told to wait around until 0900 for company PT. That put most of us in our beds around 1100 to sleep until 1630 and get up to do it again.

I was a platoon sergeant at the time so I had a better avenue to the 1SG. I approached her and laid my day to day timeline out (along with my entire platoon on my shift) and made a deal (took a risk) I had 48 in my platoon at the time and about 7 on a weight program. So I said if you'll give me 4 months where I run PT for my platoon on my schedule, I'll get all of them back in regs.

It so happened it worked. Well....mostly. My entire platoon was obviously supportive of the idea and they understood the deal. We got 5 of them off of the PT program and chaptered the other 2 out of the Army. If you've never done a ht/wt separation, you have no idea how many steps there are and how easy it is to get your packet thrown out. I digress....

My point here (because I've been on both sides of this problem) is that your 1SG/CO probably have too many PT failures, too many overwieghts, and an accountability problem. (Medica and MI--we are a lot alike) So they throw the hammer down. So in my opinion, no--it's not sustainable to ask a platoon full of SMs to do PT at what would be the equivalent of the middle of the night. I'm assuming your rotation is every 6 months? If it is a month to month thing then I would tell you to get over it.

Use your COC and openly ask your SL/PSG what you can do to help. Are you part of the problem? Are you overweight? Are you a PT failure of close to it? I've never heard of any command team who is 100% on PT/ Body metric standards who aren't pretty easy to get along with.

I get it. I had a similar problem when I worked at the GRSOC. I was intel and did shift work and had basically the same problem you did. We came off 12 hour shifts at 0600, then were told to wait around until 0900 for company PT. That put most of us in our beds around 1100 to sleep until 1630 and get up to do it again.

I was a platoon sergeant at the time so I had a better avenue to the 1SG. I approached her and laid my day to day timeline out (along with my entire platoon on my shift) and made a deal (took a risk) I had 48 in my platoon at the time and about 7 on a weight program. So I said if you'll give me 4 months where I run PT for my platoon on my schedule, I'll get all of them back in regs.

It so happened it worked. Well....mostly. My entire platoon was obviously supportive of the idea and they understood the deal. We got 5 of them off of the PT program and chaptered the other 2 out of the Army. If you've never done a ht/wt separation, you have no idea how many steps there are and how easy it is to get your packet thrown out. I digress....

My point here (because I've been on both sides of this problem) is that your 1SG/CO probably have too many PT failures, too many overwieghts, and an accountability problem. (Medica and MI--we are a lot alike) So they throw the hammer down. So in my opinion, no--it's not sustainable to ask a platoon full of SMs to do PT at what would be the equivalent of the middle of the night. I'm assuming your rotation is every 6 months? If it is a month to month thing then I would tell you to get over it.

Use your COC and openly ask your SL/PSG what you can do to help. Are you part of the problem? Are you overweight? Are you a PT failure of close to it? I've never heard of any command team who is 100% on PT/ Body metric standards who aren't pretty easy to get along with.

Dadgum millennials!

SPC,
I would talk to your NCOIC to explain the impact your sections work schedule is java having in the Lab Section and work a compromise after having a discussion with the 1SG. That schedule is unreasonable. Either the section does PT on their own (1430) or they are exempt from unit PT or the section changes their work hours - but that is a discussion between NCOIC/1SG/OIC. If I were the 1SG I would take into account the PT scores of the section and the leadership before making a decision.

Forever, Medical and other shift type MOS's have had issues with maintaining high APFT scores. It's been a challenge for Command teams to ensure companies get the opportunity to do organized athletics. clearly you have at least one senior NCO that can advocate for you to the command team. He or she is in the same boat. With the New challenging Physical fitness test in place, and unit stats being everything, I'm sure the NEW command teams intentions are pure. Soldiers inclinations, unfortunately, are to avoid PT rather that do it in their off time. CDR/1SG's have to answer to higher when scores are low, or soldiers fail. if an Organized program isn't implemented and enforced, they fail. By regulation, a program must exist. It can't be: Soldiers will do PT on their own. You work an 8 hour shift, an hour at each end for personal hygiene, transportation, etc. That gives you 14 hours to do what else you please. I spent 32 in and in charge of Infantry Units. I'd have loved that luxury.

The military is not for everyone. If you can't hang with 4 to 5 hours, wait until you go three dats with none while deployed. Dont make your life miserable as well as those around you. Sounds like the candle burnt out and the time to focus on burning a different one has arrived.

One answer: follow orders and suck it up. Period.

Bring it up with your platoon sergeant. In the meantime, suck it up!

You sound exactly like you are whining. You should have no problem functioning for PT for an hour or two and then if you want to go back to sleep you can. Four to five hours of sleep is a luxury to a lot of people and most function on that amount on a regular bases. PT is part of military life if you don't like it, when your time is up get out and you won't have to worry about mandatory PT sessions.

Regulations support your First Sergeant. Pt is only one of 24 hours in a day. Put on your big boy pants and suck it up, buttercup.

As you stated you have two options to report to formation. One at 0530 or the other at 1600. So why couldn't you report to the 1600 formation then go to work? Even if you had to get up at 0515, put on a PT uniform and stand in a 0530 formation. You still have logged roughly four hours of sleep. Stand in the formation for 15 minutes, then go back to bed.

What a crock, it seems like a blizzard with a lot of snowflakes. Get a life,but of course you will never see combat RIGHT, try days w/o much sleep,humping 60-80 # up and down whatever, MRE's and little water - also seems like a breakdown in the chain. The policy was stated but not really enforced. Get out of the Army and join the boy scouts - When you got incoming you see how fast your sorry butt will run.

You are in the Army, you will be called upon to perform multiple missions with a lack of sleep. So suck it up and go get after it.

My question would be, how is the rest of your section handling it or are you the only one struggling? If it's the section, you might be able to work out an exception to policy but that sounds like a good amount of sleep to me.

I do agree with others here, easiest solution is just show up and sound off then sleep around pt.