Posted on Nov 12, 2014
What are good ways to move up in your military career?
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Being a PV2, I've done the best I can to show my abilities, even though most NCO and Senior NCO's may laugh, I know the little input my certificates and raw ability can prove; I'd just like to know more motivating tips that might make a new soldier recognized within a unit.
Posted >1 y ago
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When I was the senior medic for my cav scout Troop (Company for those not cav) I was witness to a lot of the meetings held at the Troop level between the CO, PLs, 1SG, and PSGs. Whenever there was a discussion about which PFC to promote early to SPC the same points were always brought up. Which soldier volunteered to do extra work/details? Which soldier went back to their barracks room to study instead of playing Call of Duty? Which soldier displayed the most effort? Which soldier did everything they could to stand ahead of their peers instead of coasting under the radar?
As a PV2 you almost certainly do not see these types of conversations happening at the higher levels, but I guarantee you that they do happen. You may not think that extra effort is noticed and appreciated, but trust me when I say that it most certainly is. You may not reap the rewards immediately, you may not receive any kind of praise or acknowledgement on the spot, but karma catches up to you. Soldiers that do these things are the ones given early promotions when available. They are the ones that are given slots to career advancing schools and training. Specialists that accomplish these things are the ones that are selected to attend promotion boards for a chance at reaching Sergeant and beyond. Keep your nose clean. Play well with others. Prove your worth by setting yourself ahead of your peers. This is how you advance your career.
As a PV2 you almost certainly do not see these types of conversations happening at the higher levels, but I guarantee you that they do happen. You may not think that extra effort is noticed and appreciated, but trust me when I say that it most certainly is. You may not reap the rewards immediately, you may not receive any kind of praise or acknowledgement on the spot, but karma catches up to you. Soldiers that do these things are the ones given early promotions when available. They are the ones that are given slots to career advancing schools and training. Specialists that accomplish these things are the ones that are selected to attend promotion boards for a chance at reaching Sergeant and beyond. Keep your nose clean. Play well with others. Prove your worth by setting yourself ahead of your peers. This is how you advance your career.
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PV2 (Join to see) Do your job, and do it well. Do everything that you can to better yourself, going to schools, getting certifications, if you know that you have a qual or a class that is coming up or going to be coming due be proactive and reach out to get it done. Don't make your Chain of Command have to ask you to do things. If you see something that needs to be taken care of, take care of it. As stupid as it may sound, if you are walking around on Post and you see trash on the ground, pick it up. Take care of the mission, take care of your men, and take care of yourself. And lastly, be a mentor, make sure that whoever is below you, knows how to do your job.
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1SG (Join to see)
Establish good communication habits with your immediate leadership. Don't make your squad or team leader have to find you. If you finish a task early, ask where else you can help. Don't be that guy that looks for every chance to sham. If you smoke, try not to use smoking as an excuse to always be away from a task all the time.
If feasible, see if you can be the guidon bearer. This gives you some visibility with the command team and you often get some informal one-on-one with the commander and first Sergeant while the company is forming.
MSgt Allan Folsom mentioned show up on time. I would amend that with be Early. I love by the old mantra "early is on time, on time is late". Most leaders are starting to mentally talley their charges about 10 minutes before a given time point; when someone is just on time, the thoughts of "where the hell is ___?" have already started to f orm.
If feasible, see if you can be the guidon bearer. This gives you some visibility with the command team and you often get some informal one-on-one with the commander and first Sergeant while the company is forming.
MSgt Allan Folsom mentioned show up on time. I would amend that with be Early. I love by the old mantra "early is on time, on time is late". Most leaders are starting to mentally talley their charges about 10 minutes before a given time point; when someone is just on time, the thoughts of "where the hell is ___?" have already started to f orm.
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To prove worthy of increased responsibility, first prove yourself as one able to follow instructions, and although frowned upon by some. Volunteer, get qualified to work any job in your unit. If you become disgruntled, keep it to yourself. Be a motivating factor to others. You will stand out.
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