SQT (Skill Qualification Test)

In short the answer is Yes....it was a way for the Officers and Sr NCOs to know a bit more about where their Soldiers and Jr NCOs were at competency-wise in their MOSs, and was a tool to be utilized for training, schooling and promotions. Should never have been done away with, far too many individuals got promoted that were "board-smart" but were so incompetent in their jobs that they ended up being moved out of their positions due to their un-trainability , ie. couldn't perform as a tank gunner as a SGT, moved to the BN Support Platoon to be in charge of ammo or a fueler.

They should never have gotten rid of it in the first place, but it was a victim of the budget and that is why it will also probably not return. It is a costly program to keep updated with the rapid changes in technology.

Yes, Yes, Yes a thousand times YES!!! Not just for a means of separating and identifying the Army's best and brightest, but also as a means of staying proficient in ones MOS ESPECIALLY during times while serving in non-traditional roles and special duty assignments. I spent 2 years as an AIT Instructor and the last 3 as a BDE S3 Operations NCO. While the 2 years spent as an instructor were technically within my MOS, the material I was presenting in my classes was static and repeated itself every 8 weeks and 3 days. In my eyes, I have been working outside of my MOS for 5 years and counting now and am currently on orders to Ft. Eustis. To say I'm a bit apprehensive is an understatement since I do not feel that I am current (I have completed the GCSS-Army correspondence but nothing more) within my MOS nor have I had the opportunity to practice anything that would be within the 92A realm. It pains me to admit I am no longer a SME...