How do you all feel about leaders who do not show up for PT?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 23:52:28 -0400

Response by SGT Chris Stephens made Jul 25 at 2019 12:49 AM

SGT Chris Stephens — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:49:21 -0400

I understand there are things that leaders have to sometimes take care of, but leaders who feel like they are above PT'ing with their units are worthless. I worked harder for leaders that were there every day with us at PT, rain or shine.

Response by Capt Michael Wilford made Jul 25 at 2019 2:04 AM

Capt Michael Wilford — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 02:04:28 -0400

When you say leaders, are you referring to the Commissioned Officers, to the Senior NCOs, or to both? For the Senior NCOs to not be present is a problem as they are the day to day leaders and should always be present and visible. It is my opinion that the Company Commander, Company XO, and the Platoon leaders should at least be present for PT on Fridays. When I was in the Marine Corps, the Commissioned Officers did PT as a group and the NCOs led PT for the enlisted Marines and on Fridays, the Officers led PT for their respective companies. One Friday a month we did BN PT, which was led by the BN Commander and the BN SgtMaj.

Response by SFC Christopher Taggart made Jul 25 at 2019 6:00 AM

SFC Christopher Taggart — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 06:00:48 -0400

I was always there, no matter what...I will admit, I needed it. As for other Senior Leaders, I think they were trying to hide the fact, they weren't as strong in their PT as they portrayed. Soldiers will over look that you're not as strong as the younger soldiers are, because of your age. Let's admit it guys and gals, age will catch up to you...and yes, my units also had several 40-something Supermen, who can put a 17 y.o. to shame, but that wasn't the norm.

Response by CW4 Craig Urban made Jul 25 at 2019 8:17 AM

CW4 Craig Urban — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 08:17:59 -0400

Ever see a SGM doing PT? Not in my day

Response by CPL Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 10:01 AM

CPL Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 10:01:02 -0400

Not much of a leader then are they?
“Lead by example or don’t lead at all.” ‘Nuff said.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Jul 25 at 2019 10:02 AM

Lt Col Charlie Brown — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 10:02:25 -0400

I always did. Some of my bosses did. In fact, if I had a troop failing weight or fitness standards, we worked out together 3 days a week.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 10:45 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 10:45:44 -0400

This must be an MP thing. Everywhere I've been the leaders do PT. In the 82nd, the Division Commander and CSM were out on Ardennes Street every day. You can guarantee that if they were there, so was every Brigade and Battalion CSM and Commander, all the way down to the Platoon Sergeants and Platoon Leaders. When I worked at SF Group, the Battalion CSM and Commander were out doing PT every day, and the ODA team captains were doing PT with their teams. Even here in my Stryker Infantry Battalion you can see all the leadership doing PT with their own people. It's what builds unit cohesion. The CSM and Commander are out there running around with their Soldiers, doing PT with different groups on different days. There is no such thing as "leaders are too busy". Either everyone is busy and the whole platoon is working, or everyone is available and the platoon/squad/team are doing PT together. I think if ever one of our leaders tried that excuse of being too busy, their immediate commander would check that behavior quickly.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 25 at 2019 11:07 AM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 11:07:04 -0400

They aren't leaders!

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 25 at 2019 6:12 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 18:12:27 -0400

I spent a career making every PT whatever. As I aged and went up in rank, I was certain the personnel side assigned all the gazelles to me along with uniform shrinkage. So hitting the 32 year mark and still passing the PT was "good", but having the gazelles pass me saying "We're with you Skipper" was most excellent. I never felt ashamed as I always did the best I could. Kept life simple by following the Plan of the Day.

Response by CSM William Everroad made Jul 26 at 2019 12:37 PM

CSM William Everroad — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 12:37:04 -0400

I suspect that when "leaders" don't show up for PT, it is a top-level culture thing. I have seen Commanders tell their officers they will do PT with their unit, and because they did, it set the expectation that everyone will be there. It is easy to blame the NCOs because they are supposed to do the right thing, which is be there with their Soldiers, but because fitness is the Commander's program, the easiest thing to do is set that expectation out of the gate. If a SGT isn't there with the team, or the SSG with their Squad, etc it shows a serious lack of respect and care for their Soldiers and I would be wondering what sort of oversight and leader development the Senior enlisted are conducting.

Response by SFC Ralph E Kelley made Jul 26 at 2019 10:27 PM

SFC Ralph E Kelley — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 22:27:56 -0400

Leaders lead the PT. I did it from the time I was promoted CPL thru to PSG.
After I became a SSG I made sure I led the PT at least once a week when we were in garrison. The rest of the time I attended, but had the SGTs lead their teams in calisthenics, but consolidated for the runs. NCOs rotated calling cadence.
When I was a PSG I often had to get up early to organize ranges, chow, facilities, etc, etc...
BUT when I did attend PT, I led the PT and made sure to bust their nutz so they could complain to the CO.