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?

The problem is if the soldier gets injured, there is an LOD. If the injury requires additional treatment the soldier may need to be extended past their ETS to complete that treatment. If this soldier is say an E6 and holds the only E6 position in their MOS in your unit, they go on a temp profile for up to a year. You have an E5 that thought they were getting promoted as soon as SGT PT ETSs and they don't. So SSG PT still isn't better after a year and their profile becomes permanent then they start the MEB/PEB process minimum another year before discharge. In the mean time your E5 doesn't get promoted, it effects your readiness numbers and the other E5s and probably E4s and E6s think the Command Climate sucks because " thoose DBs really screwed over SSG PT and SGT E5. Plus your Admin staff is pissed because you made them do a lot of extra work. That is why it is a problem.

It is possible that SSG PT will get transferred to a Med Hold unit at the end of the first year whe the profile goes permanent but it is also possible this whole process can drag out a lot longer.

Too many people worry about the "what if's" and those people will make great bureaucrats. If the Army has some artificial point at which they will no longer allow/require a soldier who is about to reach ETS to perform his duties -- beyond a couple of days to check out, etc. -- they should give him an early out when that point is reached. If he is not performing full duty when he is physically capable of doing so, -- it makes no sense to pay full benefits to someone who will not be required to perform full duty.

1SG Walter Craig Sorry, 1stSgt, but I'm not sure what you're asking.

Thanks for the explanation. I seriously doubt that any recruit is asking that question and no recruiter is painting a negative picture, so that is irrelevant. I know recruiting duty is tough and those guys do a great job, I just don't see the amount of slack that everyone complaining seem to think they are entitled to. If they get it, that's fine, but all the bitching and complaining and excuses why it HAS to be that way just rubs me the wrong way.