National Guard NCOs, how do we fix our APFT numbers? We can not force soldiers to PT outside of IDT status. How can we fix it?

PT during each monthly drill, both days, at end of day. That way they go home feeling energized and feeling good. This should help to inspire them to work out on their own at home diring the month. Give them a PT plan and creative ideas on how to improve strength, improve endurance, cardio without costs of gym memberships and better techniques for PT test exercisrs. Not everyone can afford a gym mbrship in order to be reimbursed, not everyone lives close enough to a gym to go, even those who do, dont; regularly, involves more time and gas, other valuable resources... empower them, dont write them off without trying to get them out of a rut...

If no medical issues are found then you must follow the regs. This is where true leadership comes in to play, if your soldiers are failing, its on you. They either wantbto be here or they dont. Withold drill pay till they pass. Hpws that idea?

I was in Germany one time and I remember standing in the motor pool in formation waiting for the SGM and the BN Commander to show up. The issue was we all were in shorts and tee shirts and they the SGM and BN Commander showed up in full sweats and as we got rained on they stood under cover in the maintenance bays dry and then made us go on a 5 mile run after getting soaked. My point is if the lower ranks need to meet the standards then no matter what rank, or job you hold in the military you should be held to that standard too. Period. If you want to put a lower enlisted out for PT failure then you need do the same to the higher ranks for their failures or lack of even doing any physical training because of their position or rank.

I want to be able to trust my fellow soldier just in case he/she has to drag my ass a mile to safety just as I would do for them. Fitness is key to a successful mission. All active duty, National Guard and reserves should be held to the same standards of fitness and readability.

The upper NCO command has to agree but take half of each drill day and use old school Max PT on them have them in a separate platoon as a further shame to fix themselves if they cant pass after six months separate them

1SG (Join to see) you will have no issues when ACFT comes out.

Ok in all seriousness you can only hold your Soldiers to a standard while they are on orders, but you can help motivate them. You can have your Commander implement a program to reward those who excel and rebuke those who fail the standards such as AAMs (would need to work with BC) for 270 and above or 300s with 270-299 getting COAs. Reduce all E-5/E-6 (O-5 level) a rank for failing their APFT and ht/wt and CO CDR can reduce E-4 and below. However, some are great Soldiers for everything else and this may kill their motivation and soon you will have a no-show. First-line leader involvement helps. I know some SGTs who would meet with their Soldiers who lived by them at the gym or a park to workout to get them to pass.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution, so it's challenging. The Guard, and probably reserves, operate a bit differently. We won't separate a soldier for failing the APFT, but they won't get promoted and they won't be retained. For anyone in a leadership position, take the job away and drop them in rank. Dropping rank is also an option for lower enlisted. Incentivize performance, set a unit goal and if the goal is met then provide a unit cook-out. Reimburse soldiers for a gym membership, at a limit; you can still accomplish a lot with a Planer Fitness membership. Recognize efforts, I received a coin from our BDE commander for getting over 290, a soldier that struggles to pass might receive a letter of commendation for hitting a specific mark of improvement. Provide resources, soldiers may not know the best way to improve and just keep doing the same things that prevent them from passing. Outside motivation isn't always difficult to find, organizations such as Team RWB will have weekly events and can help some soldiers network better, and provide resources that the soldier can use. It seems like a whirlwind of options, but the best plan of attack is three dimensional and doesn't rely on one method of approach.

Having completed last month a half marathon after not running for 4 years (my last APFT was April 2014 before retirement). My one and only half before that was in 2012. You don't need a gym or expensive equipment, but a work out plan and some common sense to avoid injury and recovery time. It was a painful 5 months, but at 58 1/2 I completed the run 2.5 hours. So these young Soldiers can do it. All kinds of rewards at the end of the run.

Having been in all three components I can comment in this. Yes, a free gym membership might encourage or help a few but people pay and don't go every January. What you need is a monthly work out schedule, and a set goal for each Soldier with some kind of reward or recognition: both individual and unit.

The problem I see is the numbers game. While young hard-chargers advocate for the “counsel and separate” approach they will not get the support from the higher ups because bodies in slots justifies a unit’s existence. Reduce the force and you cannot justify the expense of the units so they get rolled up. Fewer units means fewer major commands. Fewer major commands mean your general isn’t authorized as many stars. This is why it is he’s to remove AWOL Soldiers and such. So to change this we must have a leadership change that focuses more on the readiness of the force than their rank.