As the title says my wife was forced to take a PT test although she was pregnant but had not had the final word back from the DOC! I have googled it and searched but i cant find anything that says she would have her E4 backdated once she takes a PT Test after she has the baby. Any help would greatly appreciated.

Okay first off, she is not "officially" pregnant until a military lab test says she is. How soon after she found out she was pregnant (I'm asumming she took a home test) did she go to the clinic on post and get a test done?
Also, I'm not sure what you are asking about. Why would her E-4 promotion get held up because she's pregnant? Did she fail the PT test and get flagged? Or did she fail the tape test? I'm confused.

sorry for the lcak of info, yes she was flagged for the failing the run.

Ref: AR 40-501, 7-9, d. (7)

quote:

(7) Upon the diagnosis of pregnancy, the Soldier is exempt from regular unit physical fitness training and APFT testing/weight standards for the duration of the pregnancy and 180 days past pregnancy termination.

So, if your wife took the APFT when she had not yet been diagnosed by competent medical authority as being pregnant, and failed the run portion of the APFT, then was subsequently flagged, then she will remain flagged as a PFC for the duration of her pregnancy and 180 days after termination of the pregnancy.

The command may opt to have leniency if the projected due date is less than 9 months after the date of the APFT, since that would mean physiologically speaking she may have been pregnant at that time, but that is at their discretion.

Hate to say it, but it seems your wife may be stuck in the exact same situation my wife was stuck in a few years back. And yes, she had to wait the 15 months for termination of pregnancy +180 days before being able to take the APFT again. And even then she failed, due to complications (wripped stitches, infection, etc) with the cesarean section.

So, my best advice:
Have your wife speak with the commander using his open-door policy to discuss the issue. If he is not lenient in the slightest, then that issue is final and dead. Let it be.

Additionally, don't allow your wife to prescribe to the "I'm eating for two now" thought process. She needs to maintain as much physical activity as she is able to, and needs to eat healthy foods (large contingent of raw and/or steamed vegetables, turkey/chicken/tuna, red meat if necessary, avoid sweets and carbonated beverages).

The intent is that she stay in decent shape during her pregnancy so it is possible to pass her APFT at 180 days postpartum. If she gained 80 pounds during the pregnancy (only 20-30 of which is actually from the child), then it isn't going to happen.

And good luck. I don't envy your (or her) position, although I am familiar with it.

Like other have stated if she was not dignosed by a doctor, then how does the Army know she is pregnant? They cant, and how long after she knew she was pregnant did she go to the doctor? how long after she knew did the PT test occur?

If she is flagged and the flag remains then she will NOT get that SPC backdated, she will get it when after she gets that flag taken off.

Diagnosed? Its not a disease she has that requires time consuming lab tests be run and analyzed. Pee on a stick from WalMart and she will know the answer in one minute.
Why does the chain of command want someone to wait days or even weeks for an Army clinic to "officially" tell someone they are pregnant?
I guess the Army finally solved the whole question of whether life begins at conception of 9 weeks into gestation.

Nope.....life begins when the Army officially diagnoses someone as pregnant.

quote:

Originally posted by whyme:
Diagnosed? Its not a disease she has that requires time consuming lab tests be run and analyzed. Pee on a stick from WalMart and she will know the answer in one minute.
Why does the chain of command want someone to wait days or even weeks for an Army clinic to "officially" tell someone they are pregnant?
I guess the Army finally solved the whole question of whether life begins at conception of 9 weeks into gestation.

Nope.....life begins when the Army officially diagnoses someone as pregnant.

You know why? Because home tests can fail. Because people can cheat with them. It wouldn't take much for a shamming female soldier to get her pregnant sister to pee on a stick and use that as evidence to get out of an APFT she knows she'll fail.

quote:

Originally posted by whyme:
Diagnosed? Its not a disease she has that requires time consuming lab tests be run and analyzed. Pee on a stick from WalMart and she will know the answer in one minute.
Why does the chain of command want someone to wait days or even weeks for an Army clinic to "officially" tell someone they are pregnant?
I guess the Army finally solved the whole question of whether life begins at conception of 9 weeks into gestation.

Nope.....life begins when the Army officially diagnoses someone as pregnant.

It is the same deal anywhere. You think an insurance company is going to start paying for prenatal care just because someone says they peed on a stick? Or a civilian company is going to start giving time off for appointments without professional proof? The Army does no different.

quote:

Originally posted by whyme:
Diagnosed? Its not a disease she has that requires time consuming lab tests be run and analyzed. Pee on a stick from WalMart and she will know the answer in one minute.
Why does the chain of command want someone to wait days or even weeks for an Army clinic to "officially" tell someone they are pregnant?
I guess the Army finally solved the whole question of whether life begins at conception of 9 weeks into gestation.

Nope.....life begins when the Army officially diagnoses someone as pregnant.

OK calm down stop being paranoid and think about this like a normal person with a little bit of common sense....

Lets say a female Soldier knows she is going to fail the PT test, so she gets her pregnant friend to pee on a stick for her, then tells her Chain of Command she is pregnant the day of the PT test, and yes it needs to be "diagnosed" by a doctor just like civilians do too to get tricare (i know my wife had to)...and no its not a disease....wow you are really sour about smoething and just take every chance you get to turn things around and make the Army look bad.

Correct TransAm....And no Chain of Command would make a soldier wait to get a test. It's her responsibility to go to the clinic ASAP once she takes a home test. Last I knew, you cannot be denied medical care. So if she decides to wait to go there and get her blood test and profile, then that's on her.

Although as far as the original poster's concern, I believe it would be up to the command's discretion to remove the flag. And in all honesty, a commander should do that considering it's a pretty good reason why she would fail a test. But then again, the dates could always be really close.

Army regulations aside, physiologically speaking, unless a woman is sick throwing up repeatedly, the difference between not being pregnant and being in the first trimester are so slight that a woman who is actually in shape should be able to pass a PT test no problem still.

Now if she's throwing up nonstop and dehydrated, that's another issue altogether.

That being said, the Army regulation is what it is. It's command discretion whether or not the flag will get removed, as I said before. The onus is on the Soldier to go to medical and get the official diagnosis as soon as she thinks she may be pregnant.

Nobody will take care of your career better than you. And if you don't, nobody else will.

Exactly, Eureeka and SSG Prophet...

quote:

Originally posted by SSG Prophet:
Army regulations aside, physiologically speaking, unless a woman is sick throwing up repeatedly, the difference between not being pregnant and being in the first trimester are so slight that a woman who is actually in shape should be able to pass a PT test no problem still.

Now if she's throwing up nonstop and dehydrated, that's another issue altogether.

While I'll be the first person to say that every woman and every pregnancy is different, I have to agree with you. I'm currently PG with my second and I have to say that within the first trimester, the only problem I would have had is being exhausted quickly.

Why cant we give her the benefit of the doubt? The stories on this forum are overwhelmingly about distrust and soldiers getting screwed over. Its usually about someones chain of command not believing them and/or screwing them over so they come here for advice.

Why cant out leaders show some faith? It wouldnt kill anyone for them to have waited however long it takes the damn TMC to produce results. Maybe this is her first baby and she is nervous, thinking that a PT test would injure it.

And the home tests are over 98% accurate, that enough to convice me if I were on a jury or in the girls chain of command.

I didn't attack anyone. Benefit of the doubt isn't even a part of the topic. I simply stated what the Army's official response to the question is and cited the appropriate AR.

Stop whining. If you don't like the Army, go somewhere else. Nobody forced you to enlist.