I have a soldier with an ETS date is in 20 days, and the command wants to give him a PT test. Does the soldier have to do it/pass or fail?

PO2 Frank Moore - So? How does this address SGT Gomez's concern?

SFC (Join to see) - On Point!

Personally if he is a half-stepper cut him loose and nail him on his DD-214 re-up code just in case as a contingency plan if he decides that he wants his job back. Let him go home. Failure to follow procedures to maintain a military standard to be done by all is a reality that when you take an oath either maintain it or ask for release.

SPC John Donovan - check each answer. i.e, a the b then c, etc. When your done the page looks a bit like a christmas tree.

I was harassed like this for the last 3 months of my service. Back to back guard duty, pt test every week, fat boy program when I wasn't overweight (guy put his foot on the scale), and I was supposed to be PCS'ing to Germany and reuping for the 3rd time. Phone calls in the middle of the night, and you know why? I refused to do a horizontal favor for a married SSgt in my chain of command. He even tried to get me court martialed in my last 5 days in the unit and had a Capt help him with it. The Capt who I didn't even know actually showed up at my door 2 weeks later and asked me for a date. You can guess what my answer was.....colorful and very BLUE. I was on career status and that SSgt told me he would "tank" my career if I didn't. Well he did and I didn't!!

I am no longer surprised at the stories behind the stories that large organizations with lots of people in them produce; and, the silliness inherent in some of them are due primarily to the fact that all people including soldiers are actually humans and can do marvelous things and also screw up a 2 car funeral. Most of us just do what we need to do and avoid complicating things beyond basic contradictions inherent in complicated scenarios. We have a lot of our best war stories about creeps that did this kind of stuff.

EXCELLENT points SGM!

SPC Robin Price-Dirks - One of my sons was in "Wounded Warrior" status at JB Lewis/McCord. He was put on BDE SDNCO 3 times a week, and required to drive to the post, DESPITE bing on narcotics. He and other NCO were constantly harassed and belittled. In my son's case, the CO and 1SG actually contacted CID to have him charged with malingering. When he went for his CID interview, he took his medical records, and his full Colonel MD's phone number. When the Agent reviewed his record, and spoke to the Colonel MD, he called the CO AND the 1SG in my son's presence. Told them to drop it or they could face charges for harassment. Ultimately, I convinced him to NOT drive to the base -- at the time, there was NO on-base housing for single NCO's and they had to live off-post. I convinced him that if he'd be in a traffic accident, even if not his fault, he could end up charged with DUI. Thereafter, they had to send a sedan for him as his profile listed, "NOT TO RIDE IN TACTICAL VEHICLES." The kid did three full comvat tours as an Infantryman, and between tours, at Ft. Carson, he underwent back surgery for part of his injuries.
Reportedly, his CO and 1SG were relieved for cause over how they treated Wounded Warriors. While that's not confirmed, that's what one of his fellow NCO's told him after he ETS'd.

On the one hand, I don't see a huge need for the PT test. On the other, I am not sure why this is supposed to be such a huge deal. It's not like they won't let you out if you don't pass it, is it? I feel like there must be more to the story.

I guess I would take the test, do my best (which was always mediocre; I am not an athlete) and then move on.

SPC Stiv ChenRobbins - Actually, in my case, I was to get a MSM on retirement (something that in those days was almost exclusively an Officer award). They also tried to claim that retirement was a "favorable personnel action" and 1 month before I was to go on terminal leave I was "ordered" to take a PT test or they would (try to) stop my retirement ... a special 1 person (just for me) event. I was on "profile" anyway, but I passed it, got my medal and retired. They still messed with me afterwards anyway since the VA never got my medical records; they were never found, but that is another long saga. This is the short version but you get the idea.

SFC Louis Willhauck, MSM, JSCM, and ARCOM - Ouch. That kind of sucks.
I guess it also illustrates what we used to say, that the people you don't mess with are the cooks, the medics and the guys who fill out your paperwork. Not saying you did, just that all three categories can make your life miserable in ways you can't much push back against.

SPC Stiv ChenRobbins - Thing is, if there was anything other than the fact that I seemed to get lots of accolades and they didn't. I was not aware that I had done anything to "piss off" anyone.