Due to the Retention Control points I may not be able to re-class and be promoted in time. Would my contract length grant me more time?

SPC Terrell Hoult — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 23:38:29 -0400

I've completed 6 years in the guard with a 1 year break in service coming up in January 2019. I wanted to re-class to a 15G or 68F but a recruiter told me that upon completion of AIT I must quickly pick up E-5....

1. How likely am I be selected for BLC to be eligible for promotion?

2. How difficult is it to be promoted in either the Aviation or Medical MOS?

4.Will I be discharged and if so what type of discharge?

Any other additional tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

Response by SSG Mark Franzen made Oct 17 at 2018 11:51 PM

SSG Mark Franzen — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 23:51:27 -0400

I would say its not going to be easy I did go to BLC until I was a Sgt which took me 2 yrs to make it to SGT but is there any other Jobs you could get into? You might maybe look at a MOS that has shortages of SGTS by cutoff score? SSG MARK FRANZEN USA VET

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2018 1:32 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 01:32:31 -0400

Any ideas?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2018 3:37 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 03:37:02 -0400

This says you're in the Guard, so retention control points don't apply. If you are going active:
1. You might not be eligible because of RCP but if the MEPS allows you in, you'll get more than enough time till your ETS date to complete school and promote - unless you're a slacker, in which case, promotion wasn't important enough to you and you'll separate. Thank you for your service.
2. Look at the HRC Enlisted promotions web site and see the historical promotion points for SGT & SSG to decide if it's hard or not. I was a medic and picked up SGT & SSG at 695 and 777. Everything is harder than Infantry in terms of promoting in the Army, but it's very doable.
3. Was there a 3?
4. You'll be given plenty of time to promote. If you suck at life and fail to keep up with your peers you'll receive a reenlistment prohibition code of 9G that prevents you from reenlisting until you promote. You will ETS and be eligible for full separation pay if you commit to three years reserve duty.

My tip is, if HRC allows you to take these low density MOSs, accept that promotions suck and you'll need college, PT, and correspondence courses to pin. These MOS's seem awesome from the outside but if you aren't competitive they will chew you up and spit you out as a terminal E4 or E5. People leave these MOS's to get promoted. So when you enroll, start working on the work to pin SFC. The qualifications that would get you promoted to E7 in Infantry will barely make points for E5 in other jobs.
Good luck on your next job.

Response by MAJ Rene De La Rosa made Oct 18 at 2018 6:06 AM

MAJ Rene De La Rosa — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 06:06:36 -0400

Option 3: prime power generator. Promotion potential is endless, because everybody LEAVES! The recruiters are at the gates with their business cards with this MOS.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2018 10:25 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 10:25:56 -0400

In aviation promotions are more likely in an airframe MOS (R, T, U) than in a back shops MOS. In the Guard though, promotions are often very slow just because slots are so limited regardless of MOS.

Are you talking about going Guard or Active? Because RCPs aren't even a thing in the Guard that I'm aware of. As long as you get your NCOES schools and courses complete, it's just a matter of when the slots open up. Also in the Guard, you don't get "selected" for B/A/S/MLC, when you're eligible because you have your TiS/TiG and SSDs completed, they'll go into ATRRS and enter you for a school date.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 19 at 2018 8:39 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 08:39:01 -0400

First thing is first. We don't have the "up or out" in the guard. I can personally attest to this. Due to massive MP slot issues and over-manning, I've been an e4 for almost 9 years... its actually oddly common. I could reclass and pick up my SGT tomorrow, but I love my job as an MP so rank isn't important. It'll come when it comes. Second, you need to talk to your admin nco and find out if there's an open vacancy list for your state or something similar. It's a list that literally shows all the SGT and above slots that your state cannot fill due to a multitude of reasons.