As a Corpsman and a PT Tech, my advancement quota is one of the lowest. Can we not just cease corpsman A school for 1 year to bring it up?

When I was in advancement was decided by who you knew. After 10 years in I was only a HM3 8404 I was forced out. Maxed out time in service, award points and time in grade (over 6 years). Even though I aced the exam still could not advance. Pesky little thing called the eval. Never could get the early premonition box checked. Still had 4.5 and above evals. Guess it is who you blew instead of who you knew. That and no certification of knowledge when you leave despite some of the best training in the world. What a waste.

Majority of my NEC retired at E-6 as there was so few Chief Billets. We once went 3 years without making a Chief. We used to joke they either had to retire, or we killed one to open a slot.

PO3 Grimm one of the problems for advancement in your chosen specialty is that you have few sea billets so your point score is lower than other HMs in the exam cycle. As far as cutting out A and C schools is concerned, "Son, that ain't gonna happen!" Fortunately or unfortunately, as the case may be, the Navy provides the highest quality education to its people over all of the other services. That is a well known fact in the civilian community and makes it very attractive for the techs to finish out their enlistments and go back to the world. The Navy could do better in designing its advancement procedures but there is always going to be the need for fresh new corpsmen to man the wards and the ships. Best of luck in your future.