Are reduction boards in the USAR a thing of the past?

2014-04-09T10:01:06-04:00

I have been in almost 9 years now and I have heard of the mysterious thing called "reduction board". Yet, I have yet to see it happen stateside. I have only seen it overseas for violations that occurred while on active duty status. Has anyone else experienced this? What do you feel is the reasoning behind this? Do you think this will change in the future?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 10 at 2014 7:55 AM

2014-04-10T07:55:37-04:00

I saw this happen in the early 90s. The reason it happens is that the Army decides that a certain year group has too many officers assessed into that year group so they decide to do a retention board. A 3rd of year group '90 got cut by a 1LT retention board. After that board the next CPT's board was abysmal and some 1LTs were even passed over for promotion to CPT. I think the Army is going through the same set of events now.

Response by BG Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2014 11:32 AM

2014-05-07T11:32:54-04:00

Reductions Boards are convened by the same authority as promotion boards. So for E-5 and E-6, the Reduction Board can be held at the battalion level. I have mandated that all my battalions hold one a year to clean out those ranks that have NCOs that perform poorly and make room for those that can advance. Grades at E-7 and above would need to be at HQDA.