Sending NCOs/Soldiers to the promotion board

SFC Anabel Cepero — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 20:56:21 -0500

Many units have a 90 day rule (give or take) where they assess the NCO/Soldier before sending them to the promotion board. Do you think this is too long, too short or just right? What if you know for a fact that a NCO/Soldier is ready/has the potential; would you wait the 90 days or send them?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2014 8:57 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 20:57:29 -0500

If you feel they are ready send them. Just dont set them up for failure.

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Mar 2 at 2014 9:17 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 21:17:35 -0500

Well, "if you know for a fact that a NCO/Soldier is ready/has the potential", they can be sent prior to the arbitrary 90-day rule.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 2 at 2014 10:15 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 22:15:57 -0500

I like the 90 day waiting period because the 30 thirty odd days are eaten up by permissive TDY, appointments to set up utilities/services, and orientation.
The unit CoC is the last barrier to keeping sub-par individuals from getting recommended for promotion if they know how to game the system.
I want the time to say "I could write an official evaluation of your performance and potential for record in the ERS" to recommend someone for promotion.

Response by 1SG Alan Bailey made Mar 3 at 2014 1:14 PM

1SG Alan Bailey — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:14:58 -0500

I always needed the 90 days, because there were some situations I wanted to put Soldiers in before I would send them. I wanted them to write a counseling statement, be incharge of a detail run PT formation. this is just some of the things I want to see. Just because the Soldier is good at memorizing doctrine does'nt mean they are ready to lead Soldiers.

Response by SPC(P) Jay Heenan made Feb 27 at 2015 1:57 AM

SPC(P) Jay Heenan — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 01:57:52 -0500

This is a crappy topic for me...90 days is fine as long as the NCO's are going to be around for that long. My other issue, does it really take 90 days to evaluate your new Soldier? Even with permissive TDY, inprocessing, etc., if you spend some time with them, I would guess (unless you are a new leader), it will take you a lot less than 90 days. Just my opinion...

Response by SSG(P) Vanessa Walters made Sep 7 at 2015 2:23 PM

SSG(P) Vanessa Walters — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 14:23:24 -0400

SSG Cepero, this "90 day rule" as you call it is a common misconception in the Army and actually has nothing to do with recommending a Soldier to the board. This has become more of an unwritten rule based on a lack of research. As a first line supervisor, you will generally know if a Soldier is capable of leading and caring for other Soldiers and accomplishing missions for the greater good of the unit. I've had a Soldier that PCSed to my duty station and fell under me and instantly was my go to guy and acted as a team leader to a few Soldiers in my squad and he excelled. I also had Soldiers that were senior E4s that were not capable. Use your best judgment when recommending a Soldier or NCO to a board of any kind. It is our responsibility as leaders to set up the future leaders for success. Good luck to you and I hope this helped. Below is the excerpt from AR 623-3.
Most people confuse this with AR 623–3 Evaluation Reporting System, Section III, Roles and Responsibilities of Rating Chain Members
2–10. The rated Soldier
a. The rated Soldier is the subject of the evaluation and has considerable responsibility in the evaluation process.
(1) Normally, to be eligible for an evaluation report, a Soldier will complete 90 calendar days in the same position under the same rater. Nonrated periods are not included in this 90-day period (see DA Pam 623–3).

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 8 at 2017 4:00 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 16:00:32 -0400

I would think waiting to see how the soldier preforms in a team leader or squad leader role would be beneficial before sending them to the board inside of the 90 day mark.