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

Going up on boards is part of the game. Don't fight it because that is not a fight you will win. The bottom line is troops should know the information and already be prepared. No different than trying to get out of a uniform inspection because it isn't ready. It is required to have and should already be prepped. You won't win against a E8/E9 with stuff like this.

I'm way late to the table on this, but damn. The SGT Audie Murphy board and the SGT Morales board are *NOT* like the promotion boards. Yes, a good NCO should always be ready to go to the promotion board, no matter how short of a prep time you have. The knowledge base for those boards is the ordinary knowledge you should be accumulating as a soldier.

The SAMC and Morales boards are *not*, and if a soldier's never show any interest in them before, and gets 8 days notice, that is NOT enough time to prepare, even for the most motivated soldier. I see a lot of comments in this thread where if I were face to face with the person, even if they outranked me, I'd call them a shitty leader, because they're excusing leadership setting the soldier up for failure. A bad performance due to lack of prep time on one of these boards *will* hurt the soldier.

Back when I was an active duty NCO, bullshit like this was rampant, because of senior NCOs "forgetting" to disseminate information.

Tell him start studing , when you slected to attend a board you must attend , I was give 2 days to get ready for a Trawing 11 sailor of the year board , I was afraid of making a fool out of myself, But those individuals that nominated you for the board , seen something in you that made them recommend you , it doesnt matter whether you are selected or not, at least you put forth the effort, as I did I wasn’t selected either. So go for it.

Just do it. it's good for your career. Does it mean you're awesome? No. The awesome ones are too busy accomplishing the mission and taking care of their Soldiers while other people are studying for boards. But it will make you stand out, and should help come promotion time...

Just my personal thoughts here from a former S3 Staffer. Did anyone think that maybe one of the questions from the board will be how long have you had notice - just one thought there.

Two, there are also two trains of thought here! One, the Command always wants to send an NCO to represent their Command, so treat it as a slot for school, as in your next promotion, whether as a PLT SGT, 1SG or SGM. This does two things, represents their unit by sending the best, gives an NCO the opportunity to shine as well as offer the troop with a better than average promotion potential. Two, a part of the boarding process is to build self esteem! Hence, when you depart the military, you will be better prepared to sit down and discuss things that maybe you are uncomfortable about, all the while, not studying for the discussion. Along those lines, how well does one perform under pressure? Are they suited to lead at the highest levels of Corp, MACOM or Army along with the associated pressures in today's military?

So, considering the aforementioned, take head to your NCO Creed's 1st paragraph, 3rd sentence, "regardless of the situation I find myself" and 2nd paragraph, 1st sentence, "Competence is my watchword". With that, grab your package troop, you are going for a ride!

On the flip-side, simply tossing one into the fire un-prepared with no time doesn't look good for the Command in any situation, however that said, did anyone think that maybe the board is by default designed with little notice so that only the best will shine? Case in point, do you have a 24-hr duffle set-up for deployment - why, so you are ready! As an NCO did you need to be told to do this, or, did you do it on your own to be pre-pared? If your Command said hey, we just had a slot open up for an NCO school, would you turn it down, are you ready? Don't you think that maybe you should prepare yourself as a just in case scenario knowing that you could get called into a board? Just saying...

And before you look at my grade and think no experience, I went to my first and only board for promotion, meaning, I never went to any SOM boards. Took my 199 in stride from the 8th Army CSM! Since being medically retired, I've never had an interview where I didn't get the job!

Take it for what you will, complain or drive-on!

If he is a good NCO then I don't see the problem. How he performs at this board isn't going to impact his career, and if he has 8 days, then he has some time to study board questions. This might even do him some good. Board experience never hurts.

I was put up for a Soldier of the Quarter board by an SFC with very questionable leadership skills.

I had been a fuck up in the National Guard after release from the Corps, and during a deployment to Kosovo finally got my shit together, busted my ass and made Sergeant, several years after I probably should have if I hadn't been "'Shitbird Six Actual."

The SFC was the type of the NCO who would burn through as many Soldiers as she could to ensure 1) the mission was accomplished, and 2) SHE was heaped all the praise for doing so.

She submitted my name, I firmly believe to this day, primarily to show that SHE had turned around the biggest shitbird the CALGUARD had ever seen. I told my NCOIC that I did not wish to be on the board, that I wanted to put my promotion to work, and quietly end the long period of mediocrity I had finally ended. He told me what an honor it was, yudda yudda yudda, but I was firm that I did not wish to participate, and told him my reasoning.

I went to the company first sergeant, a solid, squared away and wonderful leader. I told with respect, that if ordered to do so, I would show up and share with the board my feelings, and let them decide what they felt was right. The first sergeant told me not to sweat it, and we found another younger Soldier who wished to participate (whom I helped prepare and who won the board).

The SFC was furious with me, and shouted that I WOULD be on the board. I told her to take it up with the First Sergeant; she instead went to the Colonel I was working for, who was understandably pissed at me. When I shared with him the SFC's reasoning for being so "Gung ho" about me participating, and when he asked other senior NCO's about my account, he had a new understanding about her over zealousness.

Bottom line; it's a tremendous honor to be part of that selection process, BUT it should not be made to be mandatory. Some Soldiers believe, as I did and still do, that their abilities shine in other ways, and don't wish to be paraded in front of a selection board but instead allowed to just do what they do best, take care of their troops and accomplish the mission. Just my two cents, no intention to offend any of you who have been on, or conducted, said boards.

SHITBIRD SIX ACTUAL, OUT!

No one should be forced to compete. It goes against what the award stands for. I am also curious as to why the leadership is forcing him to go. Is it because they see potential in him or is it just to try and bolster their numbers to higher HQs. If the leadership sees great potential in this young NCO, then they should do their best to encourage and guide him towards that goal. Even if he did well in the board and got inducted, what are the chances that he is going to be active in the club? As others have stated previously, the purpose of getting into the club is not to get a shiny medallion and better promotion chances. It is about giving back to others; your community, fellow Soldiers, families, etc... The best way to influence others to WANT to compete for SAMC is by them observing the actions and examples of others in the club. If they see SAMC members actively out in the community and on post doing great things, this will help get others intrigued and interested in becoming part of that team. Just my two cents...

That should be the Sergeant choice, been there done that, I had a First Sergeant with no balls who sat back afraid to move and informed me the S-3 said I would take my crew for testing one day after returning from Korea to Hawaii with no recovering time, the point is there are steps he can take like the Inspection General office, a lot of people's were not happy but the got over it and I were given two weeks to recover and prep. You do have choices.

Can they be forced too? Yes - it's not illegal/immoral. Should they be forced to? Now that's another story.