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?

Ask about an alternative time or location. You should also realize that being able to perform on limited or intermittent sleep is what being a soldier is all about.

Oh my God grow up!!! Be a soldier not a snow flake

I wish I could say I read this without my mouth wide open. Unfortunately, when you enlisted, someone may have hinted that it would be an easy paycheck, you can't get fired, or that you would have choices. Here's the thing- when I signed up after 911, it was clear that when I signed on those millions of lines, I gave up my freedoms to fight for the freedom of others- that includes giving up sleep so others may. If you are still in basic, I may suggest a change of careers back into the civilian sector- there's no promise it will get any easier from here. If lack of sleep is taking you out, perhaps this is not the fight for you. Just my input

Embrace the suck, go to PT and adjust your sleep schedule. End of discussion.

I am in fear for my country, if these wimps can’t do their job on 4-5 hrs sleep! How in the world did they make it through Boot Camp?

As someone who has worked shift work while in the Army, a possible solution (and this would be something to push up through your section sergeant/platoon sergeant to the command) would be to have section-level PT rather than company level PT. I worked rotating shift (5 day shifts with weekend followed by 5 midnight shifts with weekend, switching back and forth for several years). We either did PT before the shift (for the day shifts) or immediately after the shift (for the midnight shifts) as a section.

Go to bed early.

Omg you sound like such a pussy. You shouldn't be in the military. Get the hell out you wimp

Go to your 0530 PT session because you’re a Soldier first and being physically fit is mandatory! 4 to 5 hours is enough plus you can go back and sleep a few more hours afterwards. I don’t see the issue here other than you don’t want to PT. By all means bring up the issue but don’t be surprised if you’re told to go pound sand. Embrace the suck!! You signed the contract!

When you deploy you'll be fortunate to get 5-6 hours of sleep a night. I recommend that you discipline yourself to get there on time. We've all done it. You can too.

You effing go and you are whining.

as far as army regs your screwed no where does it state you need more then 4 hours sleep with only 2 hours being consecutive

suck it up and do PT

Alright, since you’ve primarily gotten flack I’ll tell you how to approach it.

You’ve got an NCO support channel, use it! If that fails use the open door policy.

Just be prepared to offer a solution, not a gripe. An example of a solution would be to have whoever is senior on your shift run a PT session either two hours prior to your shift or an hour after.

The leadership should be LEADING and that takes putting the mission first. The mission, in your shifts case, requires soldiers who can perform the mission safely for the patients they are caring for. Interrupted sleep patterns are not what is best.

At the same time PT during the heat of the day is not the safest time to be running, nor is the middle of the night. That may be where the 1SG is coming from. Our PT formations were at 0600 for the 0630 start time, 0530 seems really early.

You go to PT. End of discussion.

Christ, what has our military turned into?

The replies to this post made my head hurt. All i see is lazy leadership. I'm glad im 11 years removed from this kind of thoughtlessness. Do what you gotta do. The civilian sector is going to pay you double and you'll probably be at the same hospital on a day shift.

You get to PT formation!
When I was AD, we were told that we would always get a minimum 5hrs of sleep a day.
No one, and I mean no one promised they would be 5 consecutive hours.
Tou say that you don't want to sound like you're whining.
That is in fact what you are doing.
Do your job, which as lower/junior enlisted is: Be where you're told to be, when you're told to be there and in the correct uniform.

The military only has to allow you 4hrs of sleep and it doesnt have to be cumulative

I also worked "odd" shifts when I was active duty for most of my time in the Army. Performing on less sleep, or in inadequate conditions or with inadequate supplies, was considered part of our training. I would respectfully go back to your platoon sergeant and present your situation again, making sure you are not whining. Ask permission to speak to the First Sergeant. You don't mention how many days a week it is, etc. If it's 5 days a week for the foreseeable future, you will need to do something to get more sleep. I believe most First Sergeants would help you find a solution if your platoon sergeant is unable to do so.

Here's a really blunt answer... your 1sg is an idiot and your PL and PSG are spineless. Yeah yeah "don't talk about leadership blah blah blah.". Yes, you can manage your time and sleep up to 6 hours (wow) mid morning to afternoon. Sure. Because that's super sustainable when it becomes your job to treat people and using the best judgment to do so. The "suck it up" answers here are but he same clown mentality that gives you the toxic leadership you're facing now, in the future. Can you do something about it? Not much. Can you get in another field that takes rest cycles a little more serious? Absolutely. I hope your field isn't crying about retention with that kind of management. Erratic schedules put the onus of physical fitness on the individual. Can you pass a pt test? Height/weight? Great! No? Then personal management isn't your thing and you get processed out. Sorry about your luck miss, I hope you look forward to a reclass instead of just saying "f**k it I'm out". The grown adult ego babies managing you should be ashamed.

Are you kidding? I had to get out of bed, put on my flight suit and go fly. No breakfast, no clothes just hoping we had coffee on the airplane. Where in the hell were we going? Florida, That's where. CUBAN CRISIS. The life of a TANKER crew. The life of a military man is NOT a piece of cake. That is why--and how we EARN our benefits.

This is just my two cents worth. I don't know if you are in combat arms and this may only really apply if you are.
It is important to be able to fight at full speed thru any level of tired in combat and training when tired is the only way to build up that skill.

Suck it up and go train! Then are no timeouts in combat! Your in the army now rest is to be taken whenever you can find it and fight thru the fatigue and still preform!

If you are not in combat arms you may live by a different standard and then I am sorry and have no reference to help you. Sorry

Sorry for your lack of sleep. I worked 12 hour shifts , came back to my base camp, ate some C-rations and pulled Sgt of the guard for another 8 hr. Then another 8 hr shift then 6 hr of sleep. I humped the bush for 8 hr. Then worked 2 hour shifts on and off for 10 more hours then humped 8 hr then 2 hr shift for 2 weeks. Grow up to what you signed up for. Sorry been there done that!

You suck it up. Went to the 7th Army NCO academy in Bad Tolz Germany for 28 days Training 1966. UP at 4 AM. bed by 12 or 1 PM. after all your studies and duties. Complete and utter craziness. Hallways floor was not walked on except along a small tile border as it was literally spit polished with Kiwi black shoe polish. That tells you the purposeful sort of harassments and nonsense that one had to endure in order to graduate and not go back to your unit having "Gigged" out. You'll survive you are young and like most things it will most likely pass.

Suck it up buttercup, as an MP that worked 19:00-07:00. Before shift meet at the PMO and do PT in a group. During shift I picked up a shit storm. At 13:00 I finished the paperwork and all the tickets and log. At 17:00 was PT. I was asked if I would be there? I ask do I have a choice? The SGT advised that the question was a trick question. So in bed by 14:00, up at 16:00, PT 17:00-18:00, 18:30 shower at the PMO and on shift 19:00 with a smile. Suck it up. You fight as you train and you should be training to fight!

Up and at em...this is what you signed up for

It's hard to read all the "suck it up" comments. It's absolutely true a deployment or emergency requires military members to do all sorts of things out of the ordinary, including catching only a few minutes sleep when it's available. However, that should not be the norm for a unit that is not deployed. Unit leadership should be about taking care of the mission and the personnel. It isn't rocket science to understand that taking care of your personnel is how your mission succeeds. Regularly expecting your personnel to show up for any mandatory event with 4-5 hours of sleep is a great way to 1) have an accident or fatality due to fatigue 2) have a medical error that causes a code in the hospital 3) develop a retention problem as your personnel realize good leaders don't screw with their personnel this way unless it's an emergency. It's great that the unit has two PT sessions scheduled that are convenient for folks on day shift. Why not add a couple more to take care of the folks on the other two shifts? "Just because it's always been done that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid."

If your situation is due to mission requirements then get with your NCO’s and figure out a PT plan around your mission requirements

I forget who originally said this but the more you sweat in training the less you bleed in war

Spc. How can I say this delicately?
Awww screw it.pull up your big boy pants and goto put. If that's the worst thing happening you're good to go. I've done worse with less sleep. I'm pretty sure you went through basic and at one point you didn't get 4-5 hrs sleep in 2-3days. At least I didn't back in 88. The ARMY has changed. Getting soft.

Lol

I think a good NCO would take this up with 1SG. I always wanted my personnel to be at top performance. In a hospital that is most expected. However, not the same for my Infantrymen.

read the opinions 1st to get in the army or any branch of the military you have to pass the pt test period in your contract you signed it said you must maintain it as we get older the pt test change but you still have to pass the pt test or get an unsat discharge if they call a pt formation & you don't show then you are AWOL so shut up suck it up and do your pt

Aboard ship at times, getting 4 to 5 hours would have been luxurious. But you realize the vessel never sleeps. You are part of that machine.

Dude, you really shouldn't be in the military then. Lack of sleep, kind of defines the military.

SOLDIER FIRST , Job second. combat zone is different. (PERIOD) Go do PT per army regulations and Your assigned Command. Be late at the Job for following the orders of those appointed over you. (remember that part of the oath you took) The situation WILL fix itself as it is the Leadership responsibility to attend to the scheduling of work shifts, NOT the Jr enlisted. FOLLOW THE ORDER! Soldiers , soldier, Commanders, Command. but it takes a leadership TEAM to make it work. Let the leadership Know of the issue , follow the order, and watch what will happen. I GUARANTEE IT!

Do they still issue T.S. cards these days? Anyway, I'd suggest that you get your 4 hours, then PT, then take a nap before going back into work.

First of all you are whining. Second of all you don’t “bring it up”. Buck up buttercup! This is your military life. Your not an accountant at some firm. You do what your told when your told in ANY conditions. If you are in a life or death situation you have to automatically do what you are told, no questions. I agree if PT at an inconvenient time for you is hard then find another career.

In Vietnam, I never slept more than two hours at a time and usually only four hours per night; if lucky, I might get six. I was there for 32 months, and no more than eight months over that time did I ever get six to eight hours per night when in the rear or when I worked in a bunker for six months. Some Navy coremen with us got less.

I read in your rant about only getting 4.5 hrs. of sleep before PT but you never addressed all of the time between PT hrs. and work call. As SGT Anonymous showed, there is plenty of sleep time between PT and work call, also between end of shift and PT formation.
To address the inconvenience of the PT formation conflicting with a solid work/sleep cycle, the argument could be made that Hospital shifts could adjust by a couple hrs to accommodate the existing PT parameters or perhaps exempting that your shift crew do PT as the work schedule allows.
There are many options you can chose from on how to handle it. The most important things I can say here are:
1- Comply with the formation times.
2- Address the situation with your squad leader AND platoon sergeant.
3- Be ready to accept “Shut up and color.” As the answer. By the regs you’re being afforded adequate sleep time, just not all at once.