Senior POs that chose an out of rate special duty shore assignment; does that help or hurt your career?

My only shore duty while I was enlisted was an out of rate job. I did a recruiting your and I am pretty sure that it played a role in my selection for LDO. No matter what you do or where you go, work hard and take care of your people.

In my opinion you have to get the right mentor at every command you are in. The Chiefs selection board, again in my opinion, is a who knows who selection process because as we have all seen that not the best of the best are always picked up.
That being said, even though I never made Chief I feel it was because I was more of a loaner, I got both my ESWS and EAWS, got the right awards, got the right evals, worked hard, took on a lot of collateral duties, conducted training and mentoring for my junior sailors, I put them up for awards, and more. I spent 18 out of 24 years onboard ships, my choice, I loved being at sea, I felt more valuable and like I was making a difference.
I have a lot of respect for the Chiefs community so don't take what I said the wrong way but getting in with the right CPO's is going to work out better for you or anyone who wants to make Chief.

As "out-of-rate" as my two shore tours have been, it hasn't hurt in any way, but it hasn't guaranteed Chief, despite the whole "the board looks for 'out-of-rate' tours" bunk. Your BEST bet? Read the precepts and do what is on them, PME, JPME, etc., do your job to the best of your abilities, get every PQS / JQR done that you are eligible to do, and train your Sailors - ALWAYS train your Sailors, and have quantifiable achievements on your evals. All an out-of-rate tour does, in my opinion, is make you a more well-rounded Sailor that has the potential to bring more to the table.

It depends on how long they stay in an out of rate billet. Say the senior PO took an attache assignment for 1 overseas tour and the next time the person is up for order they went back in rate, it could help their career. The board always looks at Sailors who excel in diversified assignments. The reason I never wanted anything to do with becoming a Classifier (NEC 2612) was because it would limit my choice of where I would be stationed.

I believe a joint service or out of rate assignment completed successfully is a ticket that must be punched for advancement!!

As long as you have good sea/shore flow rotation and have sustained, superior performance documented in your Evals, then it shouldn't hurt you... If you do well in the out shore duty assignment, it may even give you the extra nod... Of course every situation is unique and this is "broad" advice... A lot would depend on what you have done up to this point in your career

If things now are anything like they were when I was in, OS is a very large rating. Do you have a specialty NEC, against whom you compete for promotion, or are you in the general OS community. If in the broader community, then getting experience outside your rating isn't a bad idea.

Just as you had to get an ESWS or EAWS pin (or mabye EIDWS?) - whichever one you have, you had to learn about things outside your rating. As a Chief, you may be called on to do more than supervise OSs in CIC. Those collateral command duties require you have a broader knowledge.

Additionally, I don't know how the Enlisted community sees it, but the Officer community pretty much requires joint tours for senior ranks. If you get a job in a NATO or EUCOM HQ, you will get the jointness creds (and maybe some joint medals too). Plus, European duty can be amazing because of the liberty opportunities...

I would talk to your community manager at NAVPERS/BUPERS whatever they call it these days, and see what they say. They know the OS community issues better than anyone else, and can best advise you.

Good luck...

There's no way of guessing what the CPO selection board will look for as a make or break item year to year. I was working out of my rate for two years as a training PO prior to being selected. Reading the board precepts from the last few years might give you some insight but in the end it comes down to the MCPO's reviewing your record in Millington. My advice would be to find a MCPO in your command who has sat on the board and get some direction. If that doesn't work contact me and I'll get you in touch with my mentor. He's an AWCM who has been on a ton of advancement boards.

First, very little anyone ever tells you about promotion is a guarantee. You can make yourself more competitive but there is no silver bullet. It's about numbers. As a first class and below, I never did anything in the Navy I didn't want to do or enjoy doing.
That said, you have a lot to consider.
PO1 Miller had a good point. What's available in Europe? Start with considering those options.
What options are available if you don't take special duty?
After that, your rate has something to do with it.
What are the promotion numbers, in your rating, for others who have taken special duty assignments?
What are the promotion rates out of the special duty assignments you're considering?
Have others in your rating served in that assignment? What was their promotion like?
At the end of the day it will always come down to how you perform, wherever you go.

I did an out of rate assignment as a First. Detailer wanted me to go recruiting. When I insisted he told me I would never make Cheif but I did. Times change though this was back in the early 90s