What takes so long from the conclusion of the board to the results?

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:05:15 -0400

So I'm actually not in a terrible rush for the results for the MSG board. I don't really care to get promoted and potentially be forced to PCS out of my current unit. Additionally, I don't think I'm going to get picked up anyhow being that our MSG MOS is at about 130-140%.

Nevertheless, I'm super curious as to what the heck takes so long between ANY senior board and the results, and hoping someone can shed some light.

In my head, the stuff is on computers now. During the board the select or non-select by assigning points. They should already know how many they need prior to going in to the board. So say they need 11 (that's how many they picked up last year for my MSG MOS), the top 11 scores get selected.

HRC should automatically rule out anyone flagged or that doesn't meet the criteria due to this all being done by the computer.

Even for MOSs that pick up say 500 MSG or more, a computer program should be able to calculate the top scores in a fraction of a second.

In my head, within a day or two after the board closes, the board members should be on their way back to their duty stations, the computer calculated the selected individuals, and easily spits out the results for publishing. Max a week if someone has to manually input the names, which I'm sure is NOT the case.

Why does it usually take 5-8 weeks to see the results? Seems ridiculous to me.

And while we are at it, how does every board result crash HRC's website every year? I understand everyone trying to check it at once, but it seems like a pretty weak system to me. Perhaps they should restrict the results to the rank of the people being selected + 1SG/CSM and above. So for the MSG board, the first say 6-12 hours after release only us SFC, and only SFC considered, plus our 1SG and above should be able to access results.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Mar 13 at 2015 10:53 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:53:53 -0400

Some thoughts
- for officer boards, the number of officers is regulated by the Senate. All lists must be validated by the Senate.
- the Army has to de conflict it with end strength and other factors
- the Army may be "counting people out" as they exit service, before letting more move up. You see that there are some MOS that have two years worth of promotion list backed up due to non-attrition.
- manning cycles at HRC validate positions to be filled, and hence drive requirements for MOS and grade.
- many lists are timed with the start of fiscal years
- the list exists at DA in 1-n order of merit form. If they get more slots they move the cut line. If they get less, they move it up. Then it is published.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2015 11:11 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 23:11:02 -0400

Good luck on the board, CW2 Private RallyPoint Member. I like what LTC Jason Mackay wrote in reply to your post.

It seems to me that HRC (the Army) wants to be 100% sure that everyone on the list should be on the list, and that nobody is overlooked by mistake. Also, as LTC Mackay noted (and you alluded to), there's the strength/ceiling (and even floor) issue.

Plus, it wouldn't drive you and all the other SFCs eligible for selection to MSG nuts if they didn't drag it out at least a little bit!

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Mar 14 at 2015 5:40 AM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 05:40:53 -0400

You'd think it would really be that easy, and should be that easy CW2 Private RallyPoint Member, but there is still a little work to be done after the board.

Let's examine the CSL (for CSM) as an example. The release dates are targeted along with the board dates and there are many instances (for whatever myriad of reasons) those dates slip to the right. Take the current CSL, it's been completed for a while, the results of primary and alternate selects are already released however, the location of where those CSMs will go have not been released yet....it takes time to work through the specifics of the puzzle to make sure you got all the pieces you will need, to make sure you have selected enough....some will retire in lieu of going to Fort Polk, it just happens. You also have some that have just moved enough and are tired and will elect to retire instead of PCS. You have exceptional family member medical care requirements to be concerned with as well as aligning the Soldiers preference. So once all that is done, and the consideration for the inbound command is taken into consideration the results are released. We won't even get into the BOD on this one, they really have challenges at that level. Hope this helps a little to understand the timeliness.

Response by CW3 Michael Bodnar made May 10 at 2018 2:02 PM

CW3 Michael Bodnar — Thu, 10 May 2018 14:02:25 -0400

Here's something that irks me about boards in the Army. Why are the members of the board not in the same uniform as the person who the board is looking at? As a prior service Marine, every board I went to, the board members were in the same uniform as I was. I felt that it provided me something to aspire to when I looked at my NCO's and SNCO's in their uniforms. There's always talk about lack of discipline in the Army, there's one of many places to start.