What can I do as an E-2 that will help me in the future when becoming an E-5?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:01:14 -0500

I currently average a 260 on my PT score, I'm not settled with just that though. My goal is past the maximum 300. I want to know what else I can do though.
Is it too early to start SSD1?
How do promotion points work?
Is it possible to hit E-5 before the end of my 3 year contract?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 4:19 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:19:39 -0500

So some ideas for you
1. Continue to work on PT, your score is great so keep it there. I would also work on getting ready for the new PT test
2. It is never to early to get your SSD1 completed, I had mine completed before I hit E4
3. Promotions points required for E5 are based on the strength of your MOS. Some MOS's will have a lower amount of points required to hit E5 (like your combat MOS's) so you will need to find out what your MOS is at, changes every year.
4.You get points for PT score, Marksman, Awards, Army courses and classes but you can also get them for civilian education. One thing you can work on now is getting enrolled in some college courses to help with points, use your FTA to pay for it.
5. Is it possible to hit E5 in 3 years? It is, but not if you came in as an e1/e2 (unless extreme circumstances call for it), hard work can get you there in 4/5 years.

Side note: make sure your leadership knows your goals, it will help you get to courses and get the extra experience you need. Also, SSD1 is going away very soon, you may want to talk to your S1 about timeline to complete this before it changes to the new system.

Best of luck!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 29 at 2019 4:24 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:24:27 -0500

Keep a great attitude.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 4:41 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 16:41:35 -0500

The one thing many forget as they strive to improve and seek promotion is excelling at their current assignment. The absolute FIRST thing I always looked at was the one's performance of his/her day to day job. Everything else that has been noted is good. But, if one's current job performance was not up to par that person doesn't get looked at further.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Jan 29 at 2019 5:25 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:25:23 -0500

Do the best you can at everything you are tasked with. Ask questions, not why but what else can I learn, how can I do it better. When you have a free minute or day assist your Team with their tasks. Volunteer without being cheesy, be subtle, and don’t take on tasks that interfere with your duties. Be respectful and always show discipline and loyalty. Participate in unit activities. Read the unit study guide, look beyond the questions and answers to the references, and study your MOS manuals.

Stand tall, do what is right, own your mistakes and be humble. Thank you for your service.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 5:54 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:54:00 -0500

I'll leave the current promotion point system to currently-serving Soldiers, but to me, the most important thing about a potential leader is demonstrated reliability. Get things done.

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 7:11 PM

2LT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 19:11:38 -0500

SPC Private RallyPoint Member i love this attitude!
It's a crying shame when Soldiers are happy as lower enlisted and have no drive to excel.
Keep it up!
As SSG Private RallyPoint Member said, let your leadership know your ambitions. Leaders take pride in helping their soldiers advance.
Make yourself available! When those school seats open up and they need someone to fill them, make sure it's you they turn to.
Lastly, compete. Best Warrior competition, Soldier of the month/year. These competitions help build your army knowledge, help you network, and can earn you awards and even schools if you win.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 10:14 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 22:14:37 -0500

SPC Private RallyPoint Member Making plans and setting goals is the first step toward success. Always have a great attitude and be willing to help out your fellow soldiers. Keep current on both your MOS and general Army skills. Continuing your education is a must whether you make the Army a career or decide to get out after your initial enlistment. Good luck.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2019 10:27 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 22:27:23 -0500

Sounds like a question for your team leader, but I'm happy to answer this one for you.
As far as pt goes. 260 isn't awful, but it's also not great...you can maximize your pt by doing pt during your off time.
Second, it is never too soon to do ssd1. Unfortunately I was forced to complete it in about a week. You have plenty of time to do ssd1, don't rush yourself through it like most people do. Actually take the time to do it properly and learn what it has to offer. Many people including myself were forced to be done with it within a tight time hack. It has a lot to offer new soldiers...
If you want promotion points, do correspondence courses, your team leader should be able to show you how to sign up for them and most of them are easy. They will give you promotion points. My mos required like 30 something promotion points, some require hundreds of points.
I was promoted to e-5 in 2 and a half years, so it is very possible. Put in packets for any schools your unit is willing to send you to.
You sound like a motivated troop. Hit the books, study hard, pt hard, and the rest should fall into place if you have good leadership. Good luck.

Response by SGT Donald Croswhite made Jan 30 at 2019 1:30 AM

SGT Donald Croswhite — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 01:30:02 -0500

All the suggestions that have been given to you are great. Here's one major thing that can stop you cold. If you haven't graduated BLC, you won't get promoted. And those slots are going to go to senior SPCs and Corporals. I not saying don't better yourself. What I am saying is your career is not totally in your hands. Another thing, reaching SGT is a great feeling. But don't make a rank your sole goal. Make sure your good leader who takes care of his soldiers, that's more important. Rank will come.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2019 2:06 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 02:06:46 -0500

Start your college degree. It's worth promotion points for E5 and E6 and it takes the longest to max out. Those correspondence courses aren't worth a damn after you pin SSG, but that degree still makes you more competitive against your peers in the ranks after that, and MI has several Masters degree programs for senior NCOs thay the Army will pay for you to attend.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2019 3:35 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 03:35:10 -0500

Maxing PT isn’t easy, but it’s simple. Keep at it.
In addition to PT, do what you can for marksmanship and keeping other WTBD’s somewhat fresh in your mind. I’m not sure just how Hooah your MOS is, but that knowledge will help regardless.

Ask your leadership about if it’s still even worth it to do SSD1, I believe they’re doing away with it pretty soon, I’m just not able to recall/give you specific details at the moment. If I remember right, it’s being replaced by something called DLC1.

Promotion points are a cumulation of your accomplishments in Military Training (PT/Marksmanship), Awards/Decorations (exactly what it sounds like), Military Education (correspondence hours, any schools that offer badges of some sort, correspondence hours) and Civilian Education (college). Your points, if everything on your ERB/SRB is up to date, can be found online at the HRC enlisted page. There is a link with the words “Promotion Point Worksheet” or just “PPW”. Each MOS has a “Cutoff” for promotions to E5 or E6 (Cutoff points are also on HRC website). What this means is that if your MOS is not in high demand for E5’s, the cutoff score may be high, making it harder to get above the cutoff. If the MOS is in high demand for E6’s, the cutoff score for that may be low.
As for getting these points, keep your PT/Marksmanship up, get your correspondence hours done, get some Army schools (Air Assault, Airborne, etc) out of the way, get your college done if you haven’t already. If you have, you have to send your transcripts to S1 and/or your installation’s Education Center, and just ne an overall good soldier.

It is possible to hit E5 in three years, secondary zone for promotion to E5 is 17 months TIS 5 months TIG (E4).

Get the CREED OF THE NON COMISSIONED OFFICER down ASAP, it’s quite a mouthful. Don’t only know the words, but know what each line really means, be able to start from anywhere. Treat it with as much importance as the Soldier’s Creed. When reciting, don’t call it “The NCO Creed.” Creed of the Non Comissioned Officer. Never too early to start learning this.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2019 5:34 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 05:34:55 -0500

There is quite some good advice here already given, but as someone who feels a great sense of inspiration and pride when a newer soldier asks things like this in an incoming generation of lazier and laizier soldiers, this amps me up.

First of, this should be something you talk with your first line about as well, as I am not signal and will not pretend to understand what you do. They should have guidance on classes, references and resources to help you understand your job better.

From the outside looking in, here are my tips:

Before everything, PT and readiness are incredibly important. Take PT seriously every day, and work to improve yourself on your free time. Become familiar with AKO, where to find your medical readiness (ALWAYS take initiative on you Global Assesment Test, PHA and medical readiness. If something turns red or amber, go fix it). Ask your first line if you have any questions.

PHASE 1: this is to help set up a good start and foundation in your unit.

1) Work hard, work smartly. This is a no brainer. The harder you work and the more effort you put into things, the more your leadership is going to notice that “hey, this guy is busting his butt”.
2) Never settle for anything less than perfection. A lot of the times soldiers will complete given tasks half heartedly. They refuse to put in the extra work to accomplish the mission to utter perfection and settle for a “good enough to say I did it” approach. Don’t be this guy. You’re better than that.
3) MEMORIZE IMPLIED TASKS. Because you’re a newer soldier, don’t be afraid to ask what these are. Write them down and JUST DO IT when necessary. There is always something to do even when there isn’t. Doing this will help show you have initiative and drive, and we’ll, let’s be honest: you’re going to end up doing it one way or another. It’s better to knock it out than to wait and have to be told. Worse case scenario, study your job or clean something. At least you’ll be doing something.
4) STUDY your job. Pull out your units SOPs, your primary doctrines, ect. If you come accords something that confuses you, ask.
5) ASK QUESTIONS. If you don’t know what’s going on or what you should be doing, ASK. If you need help understanding something ASK. If you need help ASK.
6) lastly, READ the basic regulations along with thier corresponding DA PAM(AR670-1 primarily)/ blue book of your duty station etc.. if someone corrects you on something, LOOK IT UP in the regulations. The more you understand about the regulations and what’s expected of you the better you are likely to perform. Looking it up yourself not only helps you understand where to find it, and to not just take anything people say to you at face value (that’s why we have so many “false” regulations. Leaders were told they couldn’t do x or that y had to be a certain way and they never bothered to check), but also because reading it yourself will help you retain it and thus you may accurately correct others yourself.

Phase 2: this phase is what to start working on when you feel you have a good grasp on what’s expected of you.

1) Complete SSD2. This is definitely the first thing. A little pro tip: if you’re having trouble getting it to pop up make sure you’re in Internet Explorer and not Edge, go to the tools button and click compatibility settings, make sure all websites are removed from the compatibility, and uncheck both boxes on the bottom. That’s half the problems soldiers run into on that thing. Anyways, complete the training. It takes a long time, but completing it will put you in a great spot. It will also auto populate on your Soldier Enlistment Brief (SRB) and as a newer soldier looks great and is a good soldier development tool (it isn’t called Soldier Self Development 1 for nothing)
2) Go to a soldier of the month board. Don’t wait for anyone to ask you to go. Give yourself a good month or two out, MAKE SURE you get a previous MOI from a previous board so that you know exactly what you need to study to be successful, and start studying those AR, FM, ADP/ADRPs etc on top of you basic soldier stuff such as LDRSHIP, soldiers creed, army song, your division song and anything special like division pillars/missions/focus or whatever they call them in your division. planning in advance will give your leader a good timeline for your comfortability and shows your initiaive and willingness to achieve. If you win, you’ll be sent on to higher and higher boards and you typically get some sort of award for winning (though I didn’t for NCO of the month and quarter, so don’t always expect it. The experience for the promotion board is valuable enough though). IF YOU LOSE KEEP ASKING TO GO AGAIN. So many soldiers give up after they lose. Keep studying and going until you win or unless your command says someone else’s turn to go. Most soldiers pass up this opportunity though because it’s hard, so go gettem.
3) START LEARNING THE CREED OF A NON-COMMISIONED OFFICER. Start memorizing this now. SERIOUSLY. It will help so much the sooner you commit it to memory and keep it there. It will also help during the board as well. If you go to a soldier of the month board as a private, chances are they won’t ask you to recite it. BUT at the end when they ask if you have anything you want to say, you should stand at attention and below it. Want to know how to win the board as a PFC? When you can recite and live by the Creed better than that 4 year specialist. That aside, the sooner you learn the Creed, the sooner you can start implementing the mentality and becoming a leader in your own right.

Phase 3: This phase is when later when you have started really picking up traction in your career.
1) Start correspondence courses. This is training online, mostly random topics you can choose from that basically offer college/promotion points per every. I honestly need to look more into how the have the new way set up as I haven’t looked at it in a couple years. I’ll look at it more in depth when I get a chance and get back to you with more details if you like, but you first line should have a good idea on how to help you access these and start knocking them out.
2) Start college classes. One of the biggest things is to, before you jump into anything, ask to TRANSFER YOUR ARMY EXPERIENCE INTO COLLEGE CREDIT. The education center will help you with that. Texas Central College will give you the most college credit for your army education but I am no way endorsing them, just saying, you can take that for what it’s worth. Usually you’ll have about 8-6 college courses you need to complete. The fact is, even if you only do one class a semester and it takes you forever to actually get your associates degree, transferring the army educarion that’s ALREADY JUST SITTING THERE ANYWAYS is just letting free promotion points and a jump start to your education go to waste.
3) as soon as you can probably once you get to SPC, ask to start counseling newer soldiers and ask guidance and refer to AR 6-22 to do so. Working with your first line on counseling will help prepare you to be a better leader, help make your fellow soldiers better, and help you understand the process in and out.
4) go to your schools rep, ask for your divisions schools booklet. It should have every school and what you need for the packet that you must build for that school. If they don’t have that, at least go for some basics and ask them why you need for that school: combatives, air assault, airborne etc. and get a list of what you need. Build the packet, THEN bring it to you first line for revisions and help for the things you don’t understand or can’t complete. It’ll show you really want to go, you have the drive to do it yourself, and you want it more than anyone else because chances are no one else took the initiative.
5) Ask to go to the promotion board. Just like the soldier of the month board, plan in advance, make sure you’re qualified, and get after it.

Just some other basic but invaluable advice:

1) You get food, shelter, healthcare ect. already coming out of your account. SAVE YOYR MONEY. Sure, get some internet and basic things for enjoyment, but put away $100+ or so a month into a savings account and pretend it doesn’t exist unless in emergencies.

2) START INVESTING INTO Thrift Saving Plan AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You can do it quickly from my pay where you find you Leave and Earnings Statement. On the main page, near the bottom you’ll see Roth TSP/TSP or along those lines. Click it and leave it at 5%. This ensures that you’re already starting to invest, but when you qualify and the Blendid Retirement System kicks in marching up to 5% that you put in, that you don’t have to worry about changing any contribution. After that, go into the TSP site and reallocate the funds from going only to the G fund which will make you next to no money in interest, and allocate them all into C,S, and I funds. These allocations will yield way better results in growth so by the time you’re ready to get out you have a good start. This retirement plan can be transferred to normal IRAs as well so take advantage of the government matching your contribution after the first year.

Buy an Iron and use it. You don’t have to do your WHOLE uniform per se, but at least iron your collar. It’ll make you look much crisper.

Dedicate at least 1 hour an evening to doing something productive. Turn off all electronics and read something army related, study, do a class, or read a self help book or an informational book. I like to read about investing, car upkeep, politics, and brain functions/psychology. Reading is incredibly underrated. Statistically is you read 3 books on one subject and fully understand hat you are reading, you’ll know more than 90% of the average person on that subject and can be considered a subject matter expert. On top of this, continuous reading will help sustain your literacy and help you be a more proficient writer. I promise you, the army makes you more and more illiterate the less you read and write.

While on this topic, it’s very late and I’m typing this on a small screen on my phone, with a text box 2 lines big. I apologize in advance for spelling and grammatical errors. I will come back and edit once I get to a computer later this week.

Hope this helped. Good luck and keep up your motivation.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2019 12:16 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 12:16:43 -0500

Get SSD1 completed asap, as in within the next month before the Army switches to DLC, a harder course that requires you to actually pay attention.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Jan 30 at 2019 12:37 PM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 12:37:49 -0500

Your ambition and positive attitude characterized in the question are a great first step to getting ahead in the Army or the civilian world. Good for you. PT is important, but so is knowing your job. You need to be a stand-out at your MOS. Learn all the technical stuff about your job. Become an expert with all the equipment needed to perform the work. Ask questions when you run up against a situation or piece of equipment you haven't seen before--your NCOs should be able and willing to help. Learn to communicate clearly. Be organized and keep it short and clear. Listen constructively to your sergeants and officers. Try to understand what they are communicating at the information and emotional levels rather than only thinking about the next statement or question you might make. Resist opportunities to do or say stupid stuff.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2019 4:24 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 16:24:19 -0500

You can definitely make it in a little over 3 yrs, I came in as a fuzzy and still made it with barely over 3 yrs. points change every month so visit army cut off scores or go straight to HRCs page to check those out. All depends on your MOS though if you’ll be able to make it, college is a big one though, knock out as much college and correspondence courses as possible

Response by SSG Lance Davidson made Feb 3 at 2019 4:26 PM

SSG Lance Davidson — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 16:26:16 -0500

First you need to realize that a pay grade and a rank are different. The best way to prep is to think of it as a rank and responsibility. Prove you are responsible and work hard. Your first line should know about waivers considering you will need them to get to specialist quick enough to make time in grade for the secondary zone. In addition to that it's about the level you are working at. Study and learn you job well. A Sergeants first job is to train and lead soldiers.

Response by CPT Earl George made Apr 11 at 2019 8:04 AM

CPT Earl George — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 08:04:34 -0400

work on your education, both military and civilian