Should not being ABN, AASLT, etc qualified prevent you from going to promotion board or NCOES?

This question is a good one. Here is my answer. When a Soldier is being recommended for promotion are we not recommending based off POTENTIAL????? I think so and with that being said not having either school should not stop you from be recommended for promotion. NOW as Soldiers you should want to separate ourselves from our peers so to do that WE must take advantage of ALL schools and course set forth. When you are going to the Soldier or NCO of the Month boards those are deal breakers that will crush a Soldier. So as leaders we must push and push our Soldiers to the limit to be the best and ABOVE their PEERS. If you are in an ABN Unit then go ABN if your in am AASLT Unit then go to AASLT. These numbers actually are looked at hard by BIG Army.

I am in an Airborne unit and I have my wings, but in order to go to the promotion board for E-6 they strongly urge you to complete jump master. Otherwise you get frowned upon.

82nd, 101st, Special Mission BDES, most of which are volunteer assignments by the way, require one or more of these qualifications to be able to do the job you volunteered for. If you are not Airborne at 82nd, you will not get promoted because you fail to meet minimum requirements for a unit you volunteered for.<br><br>Now, if your unit is not authorized these slots, or adequate training opportunities (most of your non "special-operation" units have 2-3 spots available a year, which usually go to a promising LT or SGT), making that a requirement to promote would be inappropriate.<br><br>So, if you don't want to go to jump school, but still want to get promoted, don't volunteer for a unit on jump status. Plenty of "leg" units out there right now.<br>

I have no input to add on the promotion board, but just for the record, neither Airborne nor Air Assault are special operations courses.

SGT,<div><br></div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp;This is not an issue of right, wrong or makes sense. It is an issue of esprit de corp. You desire to be in a unit with a sense of heritage, as such, you honor that heritage or move on.</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp;The nature of those units is such that your supervisor will look at you, a SSG or SGT, who is not wearing the badge, and the SPC you supervise, who is, and you will be disregarded, regardless of your relative expertise, because he has honored the tradition when you have not.</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp;Besides, whether you are a 35 series, or a 25 series, you may need to be called on to perform a task. Civil engineers were rushed through Airborne insertion techniques for Panama because heavy construction equipment was on the airfield preventing a landing. A previously untrained volunteer jumped into the airfield to remove the equipment so the aircraft could land. As a 25, setting up a CP for the jump party, including satellite and digital coms to coordinate further actions in hostile territory. As a 35 series electronic signal intercept, to provide immediate threat warnings to the PL or CO.</div><div>If you don't want to jump, don't jump. If you don't want to be a Spartan, don't be a Spartan. This isn't rocket science... and an RP discussion isn't going to change the mind of the BDE CSM.</div>

Personally, I wish we had resources that made everyone in uniform airborne and air assault qualified. If I was a leader in a specialized unit and had someone state that they wanted to be in a leadership position in that very same specialized unit, I would not only insist that they went to the school first, but if they refused I would move them to make room for someone else. It's the military, and we do what is best for the success of the unit, not the individual.

Baaa haaa haaaa should have went to school Joe, but hey the Army needs LEGS too lol

With the draw down the Army is going to become more competitive. Soldiers should be striving to complete those schools and seperate themselves from their peers. These schools might be the difference when the Army wants to keep only the best.

Being a dirty nasty leg, I would say if you made that bed of being in a ABN/AASLT unit then lie in it! The units needs all to be certifird because that is its mission! However, a debilitating injury should be an excetion to the rule. If not, the soldier should be transferred to a leg unit!

I spent over two years in the 1-508th, 82nd ABN. If you were NAP (Non-Airborne Person) and you refused to go they would either kick u out of the unit or keep you from anything like schools. The only thing I could think is why would you go to this unit and not go to the school that is required. I have a brother out in 101st and if you don't pass Air Assault you are bound to get screwed as long as you are in the unit.