Senior leaders: Why send a soldier to the board before you think they're ready?

Honestly that magic time doesn't exist. I got out of the Corps in 01 as a Corporal and didn't come into the Army Reserves till 07. I was out for six years but just three by my IR time. After about a year in the Army my 1SG was telling me to put in for promotion. I told him I wasn't ready, that I still need to learn more about the Army and read up on regulations to better myself. Even though I met TIS/TIG to try and get promoted I waited till 2010 before I put my packet in and went before the board. My unit had boards before your packet went to the BN. That's when I finally felt like I was ready to take on the responsibilities of an NCO in the Army, even though I had been an NCO in the Corps. Only you will know when you are really ready to be promoted to take on a new responsibility. On the other hand if your NCOs pushed you to the board, then they must of SEEN THE POTENTIAL. Some get mad or upset when someone promotes fast because there is that possibility they may get passed up if you are fast tracking because of your hard work and dedication. Some people are THREATEN when a YOUNG SERGEANT/SOLDIER IS HUNGRY...

Well the biggest reason is to fail. I know a lot of people who fail their first board. They get nervous, they overthink it, they're not mentally prepared for it etc. But it gives them the experience they need to be more confident in the future.

Now in regards to your very specific situation, you have to realize if they think you are advancing in rank too quick, you go from being the developing NCO to the competitive leader that could replace them.

No one likes the idea of being replaced. Some also can't help their jealous feelings if you're picking up faster than they picked up when they were in your shoes. Makes you look better for retention while they could be kicked to the curb.

What you're talking about is a much more pervasive problem than you'd think. Premature promotion of unready or unwilling soldiers to leadership roles happens all over the Army, all the time. It's partly due to a cultural shift a while back, when we were expanding rapidly and needed somebody, anybody, to fill the newly-made positions that began opening up. This caused leaders to look at any subordinate with the potential for promotion, regardless of experience. Then those leaders became the senior, and promoted based on the same criteria--potential, with experience being a 'bonus'.

There's no "magic time", although some would say it's after at least a year or two time in position. Some people are naturally influential and capable leaders right from the get-go, and can very quickly grasp the ins and outs of a position. Others may need more time to get comfortable with a role. The bottom line is, that person should be A) extremely comfortable doing their own job, to the point where they could teach someone else to do it as effectively as themselves; and B) capable of executing the duties of the office above them without difficulty. They may not know the minutiae of their promoted position, but they should at least have done it several times, enough to be comfortable.

Example: SSG promotable to SFC should be intimately familiar with every aspect of squad leadership. They should be the consummate expert at relaying information to subordinate team leaders while extracting relevant information from the platoon sergeant. They should be able to jump in to any squad and operate smoothly without major incidents. In other words, they should be an expert at their current job. They should also have taken over the platoon several times, and been familiarized and trained as a platoon sergeant. It's not expected that they know every facet of the platoon sergeant's job as well as they know that of a squad leader. But they should be able to transition into that role with only a few minor hiccups.

That's the "ideal", at least. Unfortunately, we're still in that mindset from the Surge, and the only way to fight a massive cultural shift is with another massive cultural shift.