Posted on May 15, 2014
SFC Military Police
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Ok I'll admit it, I'm a gym rat and like to do PT on my own because I know what I need, I know my limits and I know what I don't need. I've never found any benefit to Guerrilla drills, log PT or flipping gigantic tires and if I ever end up having to pull my HMMWV down the road I will be speaking with my mechanics.
Seriously though the majority of unit led PT I see is sorely inadequate and ultimately ends up with everyone doing what one person thinks they need to do. How can we say that we have an organization of professionals yet we don't trust them to take charge of their own physical fitness? Sure there are those soldiers that when confronted with a choice would rather not do PT but that just shows that they don't want to be here, easy fix.
The Army said I need to pass a PT test twice a year and meet HT/WT standards, got it, and I go to the gym nearly everyday to meet those standards, I don't need someone to tell me what to do. The Army also says I need to come to work everyday but no one comes to my house and wakes me up.
The point I'm trying to make is that disciplined soldiers will do what needs to be done even when no one is watching in order to meet the standard and accomplish the mission. The undisciplined soldiers won't and that will help us to get rid of them but we need to treat the good soldiers like adults. If they can't be trusted to do what's expected then we don't need them in the first place.
Edited 10 y ago
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Responses: 30
MSG Wade Huffman
12
12
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I hear what you're saying and I'll go out on a limb here and say that organized PT will go away around the same time that they do away with the reflective belts!!
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MSG Wade Huffman
MSG Wade Huffman
10 y
Chief...consider yourself lucky! The banana suits went out in the mid to late 80s. No one mourned their passing!
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SPC Rebecca Lovie
SPC Rebecca Lovie
10 y
I think organized PT shouldn't be removed but expanded to incorporate encouragement and motivation spreading beyond the unit formation into our communities http://www.risespiritualcadence.weebly.com
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SFC Squad Leader
SFC (Join to see)
>1 y
heres



Here's the problem with doing away with organized PT there are far too many Soldiers that will not do any kind of PT and we have to be ready mentally and physically to fight and win our nations wars. How can this be achieved if we have so many fat bodies and sit and play video games all day if they were able to.
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GySgt (Other / Not listed)
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9
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Nothing like running in a formation in boots and utilities singing cadence up the hills of Camp Pendleton then to the pool swimming while dragging your buddy then doing squad pushups and lunges, then having to indian run it back while passing sandbags. When I was a boot, our Corporals and Sergeants smoked us and when I was them, I did the same. Nobody complained about not benefiting from PT. The Corps loves team work not "I"ndividual.
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SSG Maurice P.
SSG Maurice P.
>1 y
YES YOUR 1000% RIGHT ON MY BROTHER ........I MISS IT AND IF THE CADENCE CALLER
WAS A FORMER D.I IT WAS HEAVEN HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHETHOSE INDIAN RUNS KICKED ASS BUT GOT YOU IN SHAPE LIKE A CHAMP...OOHRAH YOU MOTIVIATED ME SSGT FAIR I MISS IT SO MUCH SEMPER FI MY BROTHER
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SSG Maurice P.
SSG Maurice P.
>1 y
ZERO DARK THIRTY AT THE PULLUP BARS AFTER THE PULLUPS AND SIT UPS IN FORMATION WE GO ..............LEFT RIGHT LEFT DOUBLE TIME MARCH I LOVED IT AND MISS IT
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SPC Marguerite Wright
SPC Marguerite Wright
4 y
Yeah. I miss being on post, the sounds and uniforms, the cadences and the formations. There was a discipline and team work and spirit that civilian life does not come close to touching. When I dropped, my buddies dropped and we just kept pushing and laughing our asses off as we did. We'd take off to the gym at lunch and wake up at O'Dark Hundred hyped. How often do you get paid to work out, FFS? And for how long will you get to be Young and alive? I am glad I served when I did. The griping I hear nowadays makes me wonder what type of field buddy most of these people would make when the crap hits the fan.
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SSG Operations
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As much as I hate organized PT, It serves its purpose. Team building, instruction etc. I think it should be kept at the squad level and below. Better to train our Juniors on how to properly train etc. If you find yourself outside of that squad type enviorment then PT should be more relaxed and informal.
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WO1 Hh 60 M Pilot
WO1 (Join to see)
10 y
Agreed. Organized PT is meant to improve unit cohesion, provide a controlled environment for educating and training junior leaders, develop fundamental fitness ideals, and maintain soldiers fitness levels.

I think there should be an included portion of proper diet, though. Seems like the Army is not only the largest in service members but waist size as well.
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