Deployment APFT

Today’s PT test wasn’t the best I’ve ever done, but I’m still pretty happy with how it went. I got 79, 94, and 73 (push-ups, sit-ups, and 2 mile run) for a total score of 246. That’s not too shabby considering I hadn’t done too much PT since the company started Individual Replacement Training (IRT) in July or August.

My APFT in September was pretty bad – without having run in a while, it was not pretty. After that, things dropped off a lot. We had block leave, my wife got sick, and during that time working out was my last priority.

Since January, though, I’ve picked things up. I went to the gym every other day or every third day, even when I went out on mission. I was happy to be in charge of myself for the first time since I joined the Army. And apparently, my time on the abdominal cruncher really paid off.

So yeah, it wasn’t my best, but I’m pretty happy with it. It was my own PT program, and it worked. I even set a goal to get to a 13:18 two mile by the end of the deployment. That would be better than I did in high school, when my one mile (only) time got as low as six minutes.

Alas, the first sergeant wasn’t happy with the overall company results, though, and decided to have everyone do PT all together. We lieutenants chafed at the idea that we too would all have to do it under the first sergeant’s guidance, but the commander said it’s important to motivate the soldiers and support our NCOs. She said there’s a perception that “officers do whatever they want.”

My response was, right! We do what we want because we take responsibility for ourselves. None of us failed. But it was to no avail.

So our NCOs make decisions that affect the officers, without our input, and we have to support them. Who, then, is the subordinate and who is the platoon leader?