Posted on Mar 22, 2021
Where can I get more insight on how to get promoted to SGT before my contract ends?
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I'll try to keep this short. Prior service USMC to US Army. I'm approaching 8 years total but 6 as an SPC/E-4. I was told I can't go past 8 years as a SPC so I extended for one more year last year in order to try to get promoted to SGT. Literally my entire Army contract I've been a SPC and NOBODY has talked to me about getting promoted. Nobody is tracking my status and every time I ask about how to go about things in order to get promoted, nobody helps me or gives me answers. I have a family and I really want to get promoted. I've done DLC, they "claim" I don’t have to go to board since I was recommended by MLI. I just need more help with this complicated situation. There's a lot more details. But I have 4 months until my ETS (since apparently I can't re-enlist) and nobody has noticed. I've brought it up and they just don't give a crap. I can give more details if needed.
Promotions
Re-enlistment
Retention
CS: Culinary Specialist
Specialist
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 8
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First let me say that I can tell you haven't actually sat down with a Career Counselor based on your information. You absolutely do not have to ETS this year and you can extend today. Don't listen to the junk your peers say, always go to the source. In the Army, Regulations are King. Always go to the source or else the subject matter expert when you're in a bind. As a rule, either your peers or wrong because they're ignorant, or they're wrong because the policies change too fast. But, usually your peers are wrong so go find a subject matter expert. If your pipes are broke you don't go see an electrician, you see a plumber. Figure out who the SME is in any given problem.
One of the quirks about the Army is that nobody talks to you about promotions because it's kind of viewed as a rite of passage. You have to learn what you need to know and that's part of the process. In a great leadership situation you might have a mentor who will teach you, but your mentor might teach you by making you find the answer yourself. One of the most important lessons you learn in the Army is how to research the answer for yourself. Since it's your promotion most people look at it as you will find the answer once you're motivated enough to do so.
However, prior service like yourself are severely disadvantaged by this thinking. So, I'll give you a few resources to start so you can be on par with your peers.
First off, you'll definitely want to get deep into AR 600-8-19 Enlisted Promotions. You fall under the section of Semi Centralized promotions.
As for Retention, you are a promotable E4 since you are MLI. There is no "claim", read the regs and you don't have to be cynical. Your ERB will show you that you're already promotable, you don't have to believe or disbelieve anyone's claim. The Retention Control Point for a promotable E4 - AKA High Year Tenure in the Navy, AF, and USMC - is 10 years of Active Federal Service. If you have Reserve time it doesn't count against you but does count for pay. Your AFS is determined by your BASD. If your BASD does not give you the correct credit for your active time then your Career Counselor or S1 can fix that. Your BASD is not the day you joined the military. It's the day that's used to determine when you hit 20 years of active federal service for retirement. That means that if you are approaching 8 years of ACTIVE federal service then you can still extend your contract out to your 10 year mark. If you are having trouble with this, PM me here and I will put you in contact with the right person to help you
One of the quirks about the Army is that nobody talks to you about promotions because it's kind of viewed as a rite of passage. You have to learn what you need to know and that's part of the process. In a great leadership situation you might have a mentor who will teach you, but your mentor might teach you by making you find the answer yourself. One of the most important lessons you learn in the Army is how to research the answer for yourself. Since it's your promotion most people look at it as you will find the answer once you're motivated enough to do so.
However, prior service like yourself are severely disadvantaged by this thinking. So, I'll give you a few resources to start so you can be on par with your peers.
First off, you'll definitely want to get deep into AR 600-8-19 Enlisted Promotions. You fall under the section of Semi Centralized promotions.
As for Retention, you are a promotable E4 since you are MLI. There is no "claim", read the regs and you don't have to be cynical. Your ERB will show you that you're already promotable, you don't have to believe or disbelieve anyone's claim. The Retention Control Point for a promotable E4 - AKA High Year Tenure in the Navy, AF, and USMC - is 10 years of Active Federal Service. If you have Reserve time it doesn't count against you but does count for pay. Your AFS is determined by your BASD. If your BASD does not give you the correct credit for your active time then your Career Counselor or S1 can fix that. Your BASD is not the day you joined the military. It's the day that's used to determine when you hit 20 years of active federal service for retirement. That means that if you are approaching 8 years of ACTIVE federal service then you can still extend your contract out to your 10 year mark. If you are having trouble with this, PM me here and I will put you in contact with the right person to help you
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SGT Derick J.
As mentioned above the limit is 8 when you're not promotable, 10 when you're promotable. You're already on the MLI so you're good to reenlist or extend for an extra 2 years. Fixing your BASD is a hassle on its own as I'm trying to fix one my joes pay issue for the absolute longest. Hopefully that's already fix for you. Next thing for you would be BLC and then cut off (promotion points). In order to get a class date you'll have to find your S3 or schools NCOIC. Typically found inside the BN Headquarters. They'll review your PPW and create a list of all the E4 Promotables and select eligible people for BLC. In order to get selected you'll need to maximize every category to what you can do. APFT, Weapon Qual, Awards, Military Education, and Civilian Education.
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SFC (Join to see)
SGT Derick J. fixing BASD is very easy. Your Career Counselor or your S1 will create a DA 1506 with the correct BASD. BASD does not affect their pay, however. PEBD determines the amount your Soldier should be getting paid. It's still the same process and still an extremely easy fix. Your Soldiers BASD does come into consideration for the next rank, so it's important to get that fixed for promotion purposes.
If you have any issues, please PM me directly. Service dates are such an easy correction and they make a huge impact on Soldiers morale that it's always a pleasure to fix it and see someone getting back pay
If you have any issues, please PM me directly. Service dates are such an easy correction and they make a huge impact on Soldiers morale that it's always a pleasure to fix it and see someone getting back pay
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SGT Derick J.
SFC (Join to see) Will do. We've already completed the 1506 and submitted it, but its constantly being kicked back for minor errors from the finance team. I'll PM here shortly. It's a been a little while since I've contacted Finance and see what else is missing. Our client transition from the National Guard and into Active Duty. We were able to calculate the amount of time of service and how long their break in service was, so ideally the hard part is out.
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SFC (Join to see)
SGT Derick J. if by "we" you mean anyone other than your Career Counselor created the 1506, you're fighting an uphill battle with post finance. They are extremely picky about these things. A single digit off or missing, any missing documents, or even missing a signature and they will kick it back.
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When I was NCOIC of Enlisted Promotions 83-87, everything was based upon promotion points. Not sure what they are doing now. Would suggest SFC James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" might be able to provide assistance. Good Luck
(the I G might be a possible resource)
(the I G might be a possible resource)
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SGT(P) (Join to see)
It still is mostly based on points but I have no idea how to get promotions points or where to start since I keep asking my CoC and they leave me hanging. I may just have to go to the IG.
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SPC Nancy Greene
Points come from Military education, civilian education, medals, certificates of achievement and used to need time in service and time in grade. The promotion board used to award up to 200 points. You PFT scores also count for points as well as weapons qualification. The cut off scores are set by DA HQ and based upon the ‘needs’ of the Army. I was ADMIN and my scores were ‘frozen’ at 998 out of 1000 the entire time I was on Active Duty. I was a SP4(P) for two of my four years. Have you gone through your chain of Command? If you are ‘promotable’ there should be a record of your points in your records. I would suggest reviewing your personnel records and ask questions from there. If you were recommended for promotion, there should be written documentation in your records. When I was Active Duty everything was done with pen and paper and I could create Promotion Point Worksheets from 201 files in less than 30 minutes. With today’s technology, I’m not sure how things work. Start with S1 and check out your records. I would definitely recommend your chain of Command before the IG...Commands do NOT like IG complaints, even though they are very effective! Request permission to go to your MILPO and have someone go over your records. I wish I could be more helpful. Technology changed everything to compute-based records which require someone to upload your information. Good Luck and keep me posted! Connect with me and I will try to assist you with this process! Nancy SGT(P) (Join to see)
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SFC (Join to see)
Your PPW will break it down for you on what you have in the system when it comes to points. The easiest way is correspondence courses on something like Skillport. You could honestly max out that during a four day weekend if you really tried. The next easiest one usually would be PT test and weapons qual. With the change to ACFT And COVID I am not sure how they are doing that for Soldiers who want to get their score higher. Maxing out on weapons should be easier to do. Do you also have any certificates for classes that are 40 hours or longer like Field Sanitation or Armorer class. Those are worth points also. Some of your awards you might have gotten from Marines might count also. I would take everything you have and take it to your S1 and they should be able to tell you. Most awards if they are on your ERB should be on your PPW if they are worth points, like AAM and ARCOMs. SGT(P) (Join to see)
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