Counseling for Non Promotion of Senior NCO

SFC Aaron Calmes — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:29:26 -0500

I have kind of a dual question about counselings for senior NCOs non-selected for promotion. First off, do any of the CSMs or 1SGs here give them to their soldiers? I have yet to ever receive one and didn't know if it is common Army wide.

Along with that, if you do, what do you counsel them on? When discussing board results with other passed over peers, the conversation is usually the same. Everyone reads the AAR and are pretty sure most of the comments don't apply (outdated photo, greens not ASUs, didn't certify board file, etc). How do you counsel the soldier since it is unknown and not realistically possible for each soldier to get a personal AAR from the board? The example that usually comes up is what if the soldier is making the same mistakes year after year on their board file or career and they or whoever is helping them prepare don't catch it?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2014 1:47 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 01:47:05 -0500

SFC Clames,

I have counseled both my SFCs and SSGs who did not get selected for promotion. Most of the counseling was about the appearance of the board packet to the Selection Board. DA Photo, last five NCOERs, ERB, and even there OPMF. You hit it on the head too the AAR as well. I also recommend if you are in the states you should update your records in PERSON!

Those are the thing I counseled them on. I hope it helps.

V/R

1SG Haro

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Mar 1 at 2014 3:13 AM

SGM Matthew Quick — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 03:13:04 -0500

Is this counseling required for centralized promotion boards?

I haven't formally counseled a non-select for a centralized promotion board, but we were proactive with their records BEFORE the board...this, along with reviewing DA PAM 600-25 (NCOPD Guide) and board AARs is the best we can do (in my view).

Response by 1SG Shane Hansen made Mar 1 at 2014 10:16 AM

1SG Shane Hansen — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:16:05 -0500

AR 600-8-19 says "There are no requirements to counsel Soldiers who are not recommended for promotion to SFC through SGM"

However, I would think that at a minimum, someone that has been passed over should request a sit down with the CSM and go through their board file with them and try to identify any possible issues. Another set of experienced eyes might help identify that thing that you didn't notice as a discrepancy.

I have personally sat down with my platoon sergeants and reviewed their files to make sure they are up to snuff. Some things you just can't fix though, like previous NCOERs and how they were written/rated. I also make sure they fully understand the board MILPER message and comply before they validate as well as read previous years AARs. I guess the things I do are mostly preemptive steps though. Out of the 4 PSGs I have had that have been eligible, they have all been picked up first look. So luckily I have not had to deal with the dilemma of whether or not to counsel them after the fact.

Response by SSG Robert Burns made Apr 15 at 2014 8:45 AM

SSG Robert Burns — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 08:45:11 -0400

Check out this thread for some excellent info that you could use to counsel your NCO's. It is far more revealing than the typical AAR comments. https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/fy14-sfc-summary-of-board-actions-by-mos

RallyPoint | FY14 SFC Summary of Board Actions by MOS

So here's the list of actions broken down by MOS.  I also have it broken down my TIG, TIS, CMF, Photo's, Civ Ed Years in College, Civ Ed Diploma/Degree, and Age and the QSP MOI to the board membe...