Posted on Jun 16, 2016
Could a Letter to the President of the Board have a negative impact on my career?
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Question. I've been doing some research on how a letter to the President of the Board for the SFC board, could have a negative or positive impact on your chances of being selected. I've had to write a little for the FY16 SFC promotion board because I still had roughly 5 things that I felt needed to be brought to the boards attention (board file corrections). Will it be viewed as I did not handle everything in a timely fashion, or will it be viewed as I care about my career? Thoughts anyone????
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Promotion Board
Promotion Board
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 11
Suspended Profile
SFC (Join to see) I decided against the letter to the board myself from talking to my peers. I don't know if that was a good decision or not. The main reason for my decision was it is hard to determine what the main focus of the board is and by writing the letter you highlights the failures the board members may have overlooked. Additionally, the AAR comments always talk about how the letters are poorly wrote, not to the point and not correctly formatted. So I feared that I would be in that category and make it even worse on myself.
SFC (Join to see)
Battle I actually agree with you on that one. Every since I've submitted the letter I've been thinking that maybe I screwed myself over. The o my reason I decided to send it in was because I read that although it points out the deficiencies with your board file, it shows the board that you are aware of what is wrong with your file and that it shows you care about your career. Was a toss up for me but that's just the direction I decided to go. Hopefully it doesn't hurt me. Lesson learned for my first look at SFC is how I'll have to view it
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Suspended Profile
I hope it works out in your favor. I feel you on the lesson learned and I consider that I should have wrote a letter to the board. I guess we got to wait a couple months then we will find out.
It depends......
Is the item to be corrected factual, tangible? So a number, award, duty position? Or a thought.. Im better then that last NCOER, dont hold it against me.
Is the fact to be corrected a likely deciding factor or data point to be considered in the promotion board? or are you trying to correct something that while wrong, would not be considered by the board anyway?
My personal take,, even if the worng data is YOUR fault..Acknowledging that mistake and taking the corrective steps to fix it, AND informing the board of same is a positive thing in my book.. the problem is, the board is made up of individual humans with thier own opinions... what we think is a positive or negitive action may not be seen the same by them.
Is the item to be corrected factual, tangible? So a number, award, duty position? Or a thought.. Im better then that last NCOER, dont hold it against me.
Is the fact to be corrected a likely deciding factor or data point to be considered in the promotion board? or are you trying to correct something that while wrong, would not be considered by the board anyway?
My personal take,, even if the worng data is YOUR fault..Acknowledging that mistake and taking the corrective steps to fix it, AND informing the board of same is a positive thing in my book.. the problem is, the board is made up of individual humans with thier own opinions... what we think is a positive or negitive action may not be seen the same by them.
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SFC (Join to see)
SGM. Thanks for the input. In my letter I pointed out that my DD 214 was not on my board file, and that I had two awards on my ERB from my time in the Navy that were not presented with a certificate and/or award recommendation. Also, my Canadian Jump Wings were not reflected in my board file, as well as my two 1059's from WLC (which someone else's was uploaded to my file that I had removed) and ALC. Those were the five things I pointed out in my letter. Short and brief but very descripted with references and attachments
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CSM Chuck Stafford
SFC (Join to see) - My view, FWIW, I wouldn't hold your proactiveness against you. Seems you are supplementing your file with documents; in this case, completing the picture of you to the board and maybe providing the discriminators that make you stand out from your peers. Correcting a "false" narrative in your file is another scenario and a poorly written letter without substantiation comes off as whining - that's never a good thing.
IMO, you did the right thing. Good Luck.
IMO, you did the right thing. Good Luck.
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SSG (Join to see)
SGM Erik Marquez Would you recommend writing a letter to express a thought/clarification? For example: my assignment history on paper (ERB) seems a little lackluster and I stayed in a duty position for twice as long as the norm, however that's due to me wanting my kids who are in the EFMP to have stability in their treatment and therapy which took a hot minute to get access to in the first place. Thanks for any input!
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CAPT John Kittler
CSM Chuck Stafford - Good stuff !
My comments assume all promotion boards have the same dedicated professional folks that work in similar fashion.
If there is meat, send it in. If there is fluff, leave it out.
If you have something that appears not to have been included that is significant, e.g. an award, ok, send it in and maybe summarize your best points regarding promotion.
Show them you know your stuff with a properly written letter that shows you know what they are looking for and provide it to them.
Make it easier for the person who reviews and presents your record, they only have about a gazillion of them to do. That you care enough to ensure they have the correct picture and summarize it does count.
If you know what you are doing it will help. Find someone who has been on a board and see if they will help. Get the admin person to ensure proper format if you need it. This may sound obvious, but spell check and grammar check.
99% of your work has already been done before the board. If you are in the front pack, you may not need the letter. If you are near or in the crunch zone, it will either help or hurt depending on what you write and write about.
Be in the front of the pack. That is how the CSM got to be the CSM !
My comments assume all promotion boards have the same dedicated professional folks that work in similar fashion.
If there is meat, send it in. If there is fluff, leave it out.
If you have something that appears not to have been included that is significant, e.g. an award, ok, send it in and maybe summarize your best points regarding promotion.
Show them you know your stuff with a properly written letter that shows you know what they are looking for and provide it to them.
Make it easier for the person who reviews and presents your record, they only have about a gazillion of them to do. That you care enough to ensure they have the correct picture and summarize it does count.
If you know what you are doing it will help. Find someone who has been on a board and see if they will help. Get the admin person to ensure proper format if you need it. This may sound obvious, but spell check and grammar check.
99% of your work has already been done before the board. If you are in the front pack, you may not need the letter. If you are near or in the crunch zone, it will either help or hurt depending on what you write and write about.
Be in the front of the pack. That is how the CSM got to be the CSM !
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This is my first look. But I honestly think it depends on the nature of the letter. 5 things that were wrong with your board file is a lot of things. I'm pretty sure the board file is open for around two months which should be sufficient time to get things done. However, I do not know your situation, but personally I feel that if they are easy things (i.e. awards, ERB updates, school certs..etc) then it wouldn't help much. Just an opinion though.
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SFC (Join to see)
Battle, yes you are right. I was on my board file the day it opened. The main things were two awards that reflect on my ERB but I had no certificate for from the Navy, and my DD214 was not uploaded to my actual board file. The other two were 1059's from WLC and ALC. Multiple attempts to get these things done to reflect on my board file, but these things didn't go too smooth.
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SFC (Join to see)
Hmm.. sounds like your S-1 wasn't treating you fairly. the 1059's should have been uploaded easily. Also any time I do anything with S-1 I have them sign a DA 200. Hopefully you did that and used it as substantiating documentation to the president of the board with your letter. As for the awards, it is extremely important that your DA Photo match your ERB and your ERB match your OMPF. if you couldn't obtain the certificates and don't have your DD214, you should omit the awards from your photo and the ERB. For instance. I am Level III combatives, which means I took level 1 and 2, but I don't have the certificates in my possession so I had to take level 1 and 2 off my ERB.
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