Posted on Aug 4, 2014
How would you select the waiver for a PFC to SPC promotion?
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A waiver comes down to your unit for advancement from PFC to SPC. Two soldiers come to mind who are eligible for the waiver. Their job performance, personal conduct, weapons score, and APFT are the same across the board. Typical answer would be to hold a board to see who does better and grant that individual the waiver, but say time constraints hinder this option. On the other hand Soldier One has competed in a Soldier of the Quarter Board who did not win, but placed a very close second, and Soldier Two is Combatives Level Two certified, but also Soldier One has never had the opportunity to attend Combatives Level One for the reason they just do not hold the Level One course where I am currently stationed and Soldier Two has had many oppurtinities to volunteer to attend a Soldier of the Quarter Board would you use these as a tipping point? If so who would receive the waiver?
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Excellent question and I have been there and done that, got the t-shirt on the Soldier end! The out of the box Soldier who demonstrates a little more when not asked to do it is whom I go to on equal levels. Soldier one in my opinion as he may not have been afforded the combative training level probably would as he already steps out of the box. May I just say that after winning Soldier of the Year for a Corps, my 1SG still did not grant me the waiver to SPC, he gave it strictly based on DOR and nothing more. We had 23 PFCs and he said everyone had to wait their turn. To this very day I would still like to see my 1SG again and say some things to him, after his salute of course!
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WO1 (Join to see)
That is the current situation right now as well I was told it will lead up to DOR which are only separated by 20 days.
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WO1 (Join to see)
Which I whole heartedly disagree with, as being in the Army longer does not mean you have better leadership qualities then someone with less time
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CW5 Sam R. Baker
Agreed, the CG actually asked my commander and 1SG to promote me as he did not wish to take a PFC to the annual AUSA convention in Washington DC, however the 1SG reminded the chain of command that it is a unit decision and he sent me to DC with PFC stripes on my new dress blues that I had won during the board. Indirectly it made the 1SG look like a dumb ass because everyone in the unit to include the Soldier knew and expected a promotion after that many boards. I mean seriously I don't think PFCs go running around asking about DOR, but back then it was 26 months for the mandatory promotion to SPC, not sure what it is anymore however. I thought stepping up for the board was a positive indicator, regardless of where you place, it is merely going.
On that point when I walked into brigade the other day, the hall was full of Soldiers in ASUs and I asked if it was a month/quarter or promotion board. It was a promotion board, and I asked the SPC about going to a month board, he said he had never been. Sooooooo, long story short, when it matters (stripes) he has never experienced a board and is going in nervous as hell. Month and quarter boards set a Soldier up for future success win or lose.
On that point when I walked into brigade the other day, the hall was full of Soldiers in ASUs and I asked if it was a month/quarter or promotion board. It was a promotion board, and I asked the SPC about going to a month board, he said he had never been. Sooooooo, long story short, when it matters (stripes) he has never experienced a board and is going in nervous as hell. Month and quarter boards set a Soldier up for future success win or lose.
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I would look to see who had more civilian education credits. Might be a tie breaker right there.
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CW5 Sam R. Baker
Interesting you mention that Sir, as for me sitting on the WO selection board, that is the first thing I look at even before the DA photo! It demonstrates potential to grow in the ranks, however recency is a huge indicator as is grades!
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WO1 (Join to see)
Sir I also agree with you both soldiers currently have no civilian education as of now, but they are recently enrolled. So what I'm basically asking after looking at total Soldier concept, these two factors are what's left and thank you for your insight
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I would say the Soldier who competed in the board; combatives is a great thing to have as it goes on your ERB and is promotion points, which are incentives themselves. The board however, isn't something a Soldier would commonly get any type of reward for (other than an impact award if approved), and to me is much more tedious than combatives solely due to time spent studying, money spent/prepping ASUs, etc. therefore, in my opinion, that Soldier that competed in the board should stand out more for the waiver. That shows willingness to compete against many others in a progressive and career productive way.
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