Can a soldier be forced to attend an Audie Murphy board?

When I was an E6 (AGR) at Detachment level, I was told to be at the State HQ in 2 days to compete for the Soldier of the Year. I was given nothing to study, only to be in Class A uniform and report to the State Board. The E4 (AGR) armorer at the Detachment was also told to report with me. I had no idea how we were selected to represent the Brigade at the competition. After we got to the State HQ (300 plus miles in a CUCV) we were sitting and waiting to be called to the board, when I overheard some of the others talking about getting the study guide from their Bde CSM a month earlier. I had no idea what they were talking about. I reported to the board and sat in the middle of the room looking at the State CSM as well as 6 other Bde CSMs. I was pretty confident with my answers as we proceeded down the line, when it came to my own Bde CSM. His first question was "Do you know who you Bde CSM is?" I calmly said "Yes Command Sergeant Major, that would be you". He looked surprised and then told me that his question would be related to map reading/land navigation. I don't think that he knew that I had been on supporting the State OCS junior phase for the last 2 years and was a key instructor on map reading/land navigation. I could only thing "Go ahead, give it your best shot". He then asked be to explain the process of "Resection" to him. Not only did I give him the best and most thorough description of "Resection", I followed up with the description of "Modified Resection". I think I might have impressed a few of the board members. After the session, I was sitting in the break room drinking a soda, and overheard some of the soldiers talking about how they had only come to fill up the requirements of the board and that their 1SGs had told them not worry too much, that they already knew who they wanted to represent the State at the National Soldier of the Year Board. That's when my balloon was deflated. I thought "what a waste of time having me drive that far for something that was already decided. What I didn't realize was that my Bn Cdr was in the break room and had overheard the talking and took me aside and gave me a man-to-man talk and asked how I had been informed of the board. I think some heads rolled over the process.

I told that little story to lead up to this. When I became a 1SG and Command Sergeant Major, I was a member of and president of many boards, i.e., "Soldier of the Quarter" , "Soldier of the Year", "Promotion Boards", etc. When any board was in the making, I ensured that when any of my soldiers were participating in any board, that they were provided with the proper study guide(s) for that board. Granted, at the higher levels, soldiers should always be prepared for any competition that they may be asked to compete in. And, by means of proper counseling and personal observation of a soldier's performance, only the best qualified should be asked to compete.

So, with that being said, I would have to know the circumstances of how this soldier was put in this situation in the first place. Was he sent to "fill a slot" or was he actually the best qualified? If he was sent because his leadership considered him the best (was a board conducted?) then he should either accept the nomination or respectfully ask to be replaced by the next qualified. Just my opinion.

What's the military come to? Did he not have enough time in his safe zone for this or what? We were always trained to be ready at all times for everything weather it was your MOS, the field, surprise inspections, boards or war and that's what we did. Someone thought highly of him or wanted to show him how he was just skating through the motions and needed to better himself and become the soldier he signed up to be and stop playing make believe. There are soldiers looking up to him to show them the right way to be and do things. Time to step up and show them you are that shit hot or wake up and get your shit together and become the soldier he signed up to be. I wish him the best of luck with this and his career either way this plays out I'm sure his eyes (snap) are open now and he is going to be ready at all times for anything that could be thrown at him. Good luck soldier

What has the military come to? Did he not have enough time in his safe zone for this or what? Always trained in the past to be ready at all times for everything, weather it was your MOS, the field, surprise inspections, boards or war and that's what we did. Being given five days or eight days to hone his knowledge and fine tune his uniform should have been enough time. Someone thought highly of him or wanted to show him how he was just skating through the motions and needed to better himself and become the soldier he signed up to be and stop playing make believe, that he was really there and others depended on him to show them the right way. Time to step up and show them you are that shit hot or wake up and get your shit together.

Naturally a Soldier can be forced (ordered) to do anything so long as it is not illegal.
That being said, such boards (Audie Murphy, Sgt. Morales, Soldier of the Month) are not crucial to career advancement or promotion and should remain completely voluntary.
Mandating a soldier to participate speaks more about the lack of confidence the Chain of Command has in itself than the lack of confidence the soldier has in his/herself.
The Chain of Command is looking too hard to prove its own worth merely by producing a Audie Murphy candidate rather than producing a candidate that has a reasonable chance of succeeding.
If the soldier in question utterly fails the AM board then not only does the soldier embarrass his/herself but he also embarrasses the unit and the leadership.

Seems to me that many people have a hard on for being the toughest, roughest son of a gun and want recognition. On the other hand... many people want a bad ass to give props to and grovel amidst their prescence.

All NCO's should be ready in any situation regardless of the circumstances. I would dare to compare this situation in a battlefield environment. You are always called upon as an NCO to lead from the front. If this particular NCO isn't ready for this board he's definitely not living up to the spirit and challenges of the Noncommissioned Officers Corp, HOOAH!

I am not familiar with this board but my experience has been you did not have to go to boards but it would affect you either way

Is an honor to be asked to compete. Not enough time to prepare...

What is really going on. It is a board, you are not going to die. Put the time in and go. And for those saying, no one should be forced to go, sit down and be quiet. That is part of the Army. You do things you don't want to everyday. And I'm pretty sure the is a BN and a BDE board first. Don't, want to embarrass yourself, then buckle down and learn the info, it will only help you in the end. I can't believe NCOs are complaining about this. Shut up and lead from the front.

I have to agree with SGM Vidakovich, on the purpose of the board, as a board is really only a way to not only show your knowledge, but also to show confidence, and bearing in stressful situations. Basically the same qualities in all good NCO's. They aren't meant to embarrass anyone.