Posted on May 30, 2015
Senior NCO Board Tips, In A Recent Army Times Article For The FY 2015 MSG Board. (What are your thoughts?)
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First and Foremost Congrats to all the newly selected Master Sergeants. I always want to pass on information, so all is aware of the boards AARs comments. End result (hence) promotion next year!
A senior NCO selection board again has reported that too many soldiers have missing or inaccurate official photos in the documents packet that will determine if they get promoted.
As with previous boards, missing and inaccurate photos put soldiers on the fast track to non-selection.
The after-action report from the fiscal 2015 Regular Army and Active Guard and Reserve master sergeant board that met in February and March indicates the most prevalent discrepancies in files were missing photos and photos displaying awards and decorations not accounted for in a soldier’s Enlisted Record Brief.
Also troublesome were photos in which soldiers did not project a professional military appearance, such as not having a fresh haircut, and photos in which some of the sergeant first class promotion candidates were wearing staff sergeant insignia, a real no-no when it comes to competing for promotion.
The board members concluded that too many photos did not adhere to Army uniform and appearance standards, which in turn resulted in “a poor first impression” for the panelists.
A master sergeant board is no place to display a less than well-tended personnel file, given the long history of these boards generating one of the toughest promotion cuts in the Army.
The 2015 board reinforced that reputation by passing over 15,156 of the 16,658 Regular Army promotion candidates. The overall select rate of 9 percent is well below the 13 percent and 24 percent select rates for the most recent sergeant major and sergeant first class boards.
The board members also reported that many of the Enlisted Record Briefs included in the files of promotion candidates “were inaccurate Fitness Badge: NCOs who consistently demonstrated a high level of physical fitness stood out as compared to their peers, according to the board members.
“A rated NCO’s fitness should be emphasized by documenting how well the NCO performed on (his/ her) most recent physical fitness test as the first bullet on the NCOER. If the Physical Fitness Badge was earned, raters must ensure they capture that on the evaluation,” the board members said.
New board policy
Human Resources Command has abandoned its long-time practice of including the names of selection board members with the promotion recommended lists generated by the centralized officer and senior NCO boards that meet annually at its headquarters, Fort Knox, Kentucky.
“HRC leadership is continually looking to align procedures regarding boards as they pertain to officer and enlisted selections,” according to Bill Costello, a command spokesman.
“The fiscal 2015 master sergeant promotion selection list was the first to withhold the names of participants. Identities of the board president and other members of the selection board were included in correspondence to senior Army leaders, and when the list (was) pre-positioned with major Army commands,” he said.
In the past the Army not only released the names of board members, but encouraged such officials, usually field-grade officers and senior NCOs, to talk about the board process, in general terms, with audiences from their commands and organizations.
Just recently the command disseminated teaching materials, to include a mock board video, on the officer selection board system for the active component. The command is exploring the possibility of developing similar materials for NCOs, Costello said.
The officer materials can be accessed from the command’s site at http://www.hrc.army.mil.
12 Army Times 06.01.15 http://www.armytimes.com
A senior NCO selection board again has reported that too many soldiers have missing or inaccurate official photos in the documents packet that will determine if they get promoted.
As with previous boards, missing and inaccurate photos put soldiers on the fast track to non-selection.
The after-action report from the fiscal 2015 Regular Army and Active Guard and Reserve master sergeant board that met in February and March indicates the most prevalent discrepancies in files were missing photos and photos displaying awards and decorations not accounted for in a soldier’s Enlisted Record Brief.
Also troublesome were photos in which soldiers did not project a professional military appearance, such as not having a fresh haircut, and photos in which some of the sergeant first class promotion candidates were wearing staff sergeant insignia, a real no-no when it comes to competing for promotion.
The board members concluded that too many photos did not adhere to Army uniform and appearance standards, which in turn resulted in “a poor first impression” for the panelists.
A master sergeant board is no place to display a less than well-tended personnel file, given the long history of these boards generating one of the toughest promotion cuts in the Army.
The 2015 board reinforced that reputation by passing over 15,156 of the 16,658 Regular Army promotion candidates. The overall select rate of 9 percent is well below the 13 percent and 24 percent select rates for the most recent sergeant major and sergeant first class boards.
The board members also reported that many of the Enlisted Record Briefs included in the files of promotion candidates “were inaccurate Fitness Badge: NCOs who consistently demonstrated a high level of physical fitness stood out as compared to their peers, according to the board members.
“A rated NCO’s fitness should be emphasized by documenting how well the NCO performed on (his/ her) most recent physical fitness test as the first bullet on the NCOER. If the Physical Fitness Badge was earned, raters must ensure they capture that on the evaluation,” the board members said.
New board policy
Human Resources Command has abandoned its long-time practice of including the names of selection board members with the promotion recommended lists generated by the centralized officer and senior NCO boards that meet annually at its headquarters, Fort Knox, Kentucky.
“HRC leadership is continually looking to align procedures regarding boards as they pertain to officer and enlisted selections,” according to Bill Costello, a command spokesman.
“The fiscal 2015 master sergeant promotion selection list was the first to withhold the names of participants. Identities of the board president and other members of the selection board were included in correspondence to senior Army leaders, and when the list (was) pre-positioned with major Army commands,” he said.
In the past the Army not only released the names of board members, but encouraged such officials, usually field-grade officers and senior NCOs, to talk about the board process, in general terms, with audiences from their commands and organizations.
Just recently the command disseminated teaching materials, to include a mock board video, on the officer selection board system for the active component. The command is exploring the possibility of developing similar materials for NCOs, Costello said.
The officer materials can be accessed from the command’s site at http://www.hrc.army.mil.
12 Army Times 06.01.15 http://www.armytimes.com
Promotion Board
Leadership
HRC
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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1LT L S it strikes me as funny that "have your medals in order" would even be a conversation for a senior NCO. By that time, I'd sure like to think they would have 670-1 pretty much mastered.
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SGT Richard H.
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL I completely agree. My school of thought is that you should pretty much have this down by the time you go to the E5 board. I know to some it may seem kind of hard line, but these are soldier 101 things that you should know if you're expected to be a leader.
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SGT Richard H.
1LT L S I'm not (intentionally) making a dig on LT's but I can see why they would give that advice to 2LTs....it's an experience thing, and at that point, a 2LT's head is literally spinning with all the information he's taking in.
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SGT Richard H.
@1lt L s I'm not a fan of Mustaches, unless accompanied by a beard either. I always thought it portrays a look that says "Candy, Little girl?"
NCOERs is, in my opinion, a REALLY valuable course for a junior officer. I don't think enough can be said about the gravity of the responsibility of holding someone's multi-year career in your hands, and I mean from both sides of the coin... a poorly written NCOER could seriously damage a great career or advance a crappy one.
NCOERs is, in my opinion, a REALLY valuable course for a junior officer. I don't think enough can be said about the gravity of the responsibility of holding someone's multi-year career in your hands, and I mean from both sides of the coin... a poorly written NCOER could seriously damage a great career or advance a crappy one.
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In my opinion, I have seen a many NCOs promoted to SFC and MSG from very diverse career paths. I don't think there is a formula aside from eliminating the small details that you can control. Truth be told, I have had very little choice on selecting my units. I have always gone where the Army told me and did the jobs that I was given. Sure, I sought specifics schools and spoke with my leaders about various jobs within the organization to diversify my duty positions, but ultimately it is how you perform in your duty that gets evaluated. Sergeant Morales and Audie Murphy clubs can expand your background by exposing you to new experiences and give you opportunities to give back to the Soldiers and the community, but you can just as well seek schools and professional development opportunities. A wise CSM told me once that the Army will promote you when you do one thing really well, but having diversity in your background rounds you out as a NCO and gives a better chance at success when you finally have to leave that "one thing you do really well". I have always tried to better my Soldiers and organization by seeking opportunities outside of the norm. I encourage my Soldiers to perform well in NCOES schools (Commandant's List, Distinguished Leader, etc) and finally APFT. Another CSM stated that he was surprised to see how many NCOs did not have the Army Physical Fitness Badge, which is a factor completely in the candidates control (and yes, he accounted for profiles, by seeing if the NCOER stated the NCO achieved excellence in the events that could be graded). All in all, the draw-down has made centralized boards extremely competitive, so make goals in rounding yourself out in all Army domains (operational, institutional and self-development).
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SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
MSG (Join to see) well said and eloquently expressed. I whole heartily agree 100% with you on the diversity. Your chances are better for promotion. I was a 1/1 Soldier as an E-7, but father-time caught up with me. Just look at my profile. But all good Soldiers, keep on Soldiering no matter what! Great post and appreciate the advise, which is priceless.
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MSG (Join to see)
SFC Joe S. Davis, thank you for the affirmation. I do wish you and all others the best in the careers and lives.
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You would think but people make mistakes. I caught a mistake on my uniform and that was after 3 other seniors looked at it. I got lucky but I can only assume someone else didn't get lucky.
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