How do you respond when you hear a soldier complaining about another soldier's promotion?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 11:59:18 -0500

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Feb 24 at 2016 12:01 PM

SSG Audwin Scott — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:01:14 -0500

I didn't like it, especially when the fellow NCO had the same opportunity to do what I did to get promoted.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 12:02 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:02:42 -0500

If they are complaining I ask them what they have done to get promoted. A lot of times Soldiers complain about not getting promoted when their peers are, but when you ask them what they are doing for themselves to get promoted I hear stuttering, and backtracking on their complaining.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 12:06 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:06:27 -0500

Just turn it around and ask them why they didn't do what they needed to do in order to get promoted.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 12:34 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:34:43 -0500

SFC Private RallyPoint Member, I have and will continue to preach to all of the soldiers that I've served with to worry about yourself and everything will work its way out. What I mean about worrying about yourself is the fact that you should aim to prepare, train and educate yourself in your MOS so that you can be an effective team member. Make sure your ducks are in a row before you judge someone else getting promoted or recieving accolades. Instead of worrying about other people getting promoted, you should seek counsel from your supervisor and find out what you need to improve on so that you can get promoted.

Response by Sgt Jay Jones made Feb 24 at 2016 12:41 PM

Sgt Jay Jones — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:41:50 -0500

I spent many years as a Civil Servant in the Federal Government. Believe me if you want to see jealousy it is prevalent. With a vast amount of the promotions there will invariable be an EEO complaint filed by someone who feels they are more or better qualified for the promotion than the person who was promoted. I have seen anger at the person who was promoted being overtly displayed. As a Manager I would point out two things to those not selected. 1) Why are you angry at the person who was promoted? They don't have the power to promote themselves. If you have any anger, justified or unjustified then it should be leveled at the person who made the selection and not the recipient. 2) How do you know you are better qualified? The Manager has a responsibility to analyze his/her team and determine where the strengths and weaknesses are. The best person for the vacancy is the person that can most bring balance to that team to ensure the mission can be accomplished. Now I know this is slightly different than the Military atmosphere, however, some of the same basic principles remain. A lot of military promotions are a result of Promotion Boards. If you are not selected you have to ask yourself why? I would request feedback from my rating official as to what my strength's and weaknesses are and any recommendation they could offer to strengthen my individual changes for the next promotion cycle. I was on active duty during the draw down from Vietnam. I was promoted to Sergeant in two years. I remained a Sergeant for three years. I had never failed in the Marine Corps at anything. I even had Officers and SNCO's tell me that if I stayed in the Marine Corps that I would be an Officer in ten years. To my surprise I found myself getting passed over for promotion to Staff Sergeant twice. Needless to say I was devastated, because I wanted to have a career in the Marine Corps. So, I requested to get out and found a career as an Air Traffic Controller. I retired with a total of 36 years Federal Service as the Operations Manager of an Air Traffic Control Facility covering the entire state of Louisiana with over 20 years of experience in management or supervision. One other important lesson I learned is how does the non-selectee or non-promoted individual handle themselves after the disappointment. You would be surprised how many people's reactions and actions justify why they were not selected.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Feb 24 at 2016 12:43 PM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:43:17 -0500

When I was selected for SFC, I had a fellow SSG friend of mine that wouldn't even look me in the eye or say a word to me. I knew he was pissed I got selected and he didn't but acting like that really pissed me off. I didn't talk to him until he got promoted to SFC a couple of years later. I congratulated him on his promotion and then gave him a good piece of my mind about how he acted.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Feb 24 at 2016 12:55 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:55:16 -0500

I didn't hear much of that but when I did the people complaining were usually people who did just enough to scrape by and made no effort to improve themselves.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 1:05 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 13:05:20 -0500

Tell them to STFU and smoke their bawls off?

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 1:56 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 13:56:42 -0500

Tell that soldier they can learn a thing or two.

Response by SFC Craig Dalen made Feb 24 at 2016 4:13 PM

SFC Craig Dalen — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 16:13:28 -0500

I always replied with good luck next year to those people...

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 4:48 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 16:48:02 -0500

Two words:
"Try harder"

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Feb 24 at 2016 5:21 PM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 17:21:33 -0500

Point out their left and right limits and tell them to watch their lane?

Response by Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth made Feb 24 at 2016 5:54 PM

Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 17:54:47 -0500

He did something right and you didn't as captured in his records (which by the way you can't see)...SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP...Soldier up and move out. Try harder the next time and it might be you.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 6:23 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 18:23:17 -0500

I would have told them to try harder next time. I knew who my peers were, knew what competition I had to beat. It all came down to my performance/evaluations, my previous duty assignments/& positions held and my college that probably gave me more points on the board. Many don’t put the time or effort to improve self, so they have no one to blame but themselves.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 6:44 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 18:44:59 -0500

Tell him to suck it up and work harder if he wants to get promoted. Obviously, if someone else got picked up over he did, then he is clearly not displaying conduct and competence to accomplish the job.

Response by PFC Tuan Trang made Feb 24 at 2016 7:10 PM

PFC Tuan Trang — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:10:15 -0500

Nothing, i'll say "work harder", you earn your promotion when you/your files look good from the chain of command.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 7:10 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:10:58 -0500

I would just say to them "suck it up buttercup!" It was not for them to decide who is ready for promotion. They obviously weren't on the same level as the one that was promoted. If that can't realize that then they are only showing why they weren't promoted.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 8:21 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 20:21:16 -0500

Look them in the eye and say "shoulda picked a better MOS". Drop mike, Do about face and step off.

Response by SGT Sean Sullenger made Feb 24 at 2016 9:48 PM

SGT Sean Sullenger — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 21:48:23 -0500

Tell them to suck it up and drive on.work harder, next time you will be promoted.

Response by SGT Kristin Wiley made Feb 25 at 2016 12:37 AM

SGT Kristin Wiley — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 00:37:33 -0500

Personally, I've encountered situations (below centralized promotions) where merit was not considered in the promotion process at all. If the platoon sergeant liked you, you would get a waiver or board appearance, if they didn't you were SOL. As a junior soldier, taking this type of issue up your chain of command doesn't bode well. At these ranks, your word means almost nothing, and you are just 'disgruntled' whether or not you are justified.