Posted on Dec 30, 2015
Should the Army Reserves and National Guard require a promotion board as they do AD soldiers?
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Army Reserve
Promotions
Military Career
Army National Guard
Promotion Board
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 20
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We do have boards. However due to manning restrictions of PT service, our file goes to the board. Promotions are hard enough in the Guard/Reserves!!! Why make it more difficult. We've proven over the past 15 years that our abilities equal that of Active troops.
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CPL(P) (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) - I disagree with your statement, in my case having just submitted a packet for E5 I am attached to a down trace unit falling under our brigade and am deployed with a small detachment, so I definitely don't know anybody that looked over my packet.
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SSG (Join to see)
Oh, that's weird. So you don't know the person who did your E4 eval? I'm not exactly sure how a paper board is going to work without an NCOER or E4 evaluation. My point is the only impartial way to rate persons for promotion into leadership roles should be a board in front of subject matter experts and testing competency within a MOS. I would also agree that testing would also work better than the current system the National Guard has.
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SSG (Join to see)
I sat on one of these paper boards last month and think it is a complete waste of time. E-4's should have to board just like active duty does. The way it is now most of the evaluations are done last minute by leadership that thinks they have something better to do so the soldier does not get a just evaluation most of the time. I have read many of them and you can tell who they want promoted and who they dont. I think standing in front of the CSM and 1SG's should be the way it's done.
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SFC (Join to see)
Exactly, promotion is the Reserves is hard enough. Depending on which point in time we're talking about (the regs change), you need to be lucky enough to find a position close to home in your MOS & rank. Then there needs to a slot open for your promotion rank in the same MOS. In our case, we have no full-time staff and no admin staff. So you turn a packet in. They lose it. You turn it in again. They change the format. You correct and turn it in. Then you fall under someone else for the board. Rinse and repeat. Many in the USAF Reserve have told me they have never even seen a promotion packet...just gets handled automatically by admin somewhere.
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The board is not just about how you look in your uniform, but it's paramount in the basic description of a Soldier. The board is necessary to see how you react under pressure, when faced with difficult or easy questions. If you can't perform infront of your superiors well enough how will you perform infront of your subordinates, and the public when tasked to do such. The board also shows the Soldiers ability to study and retain what he/she learned. Same thing goes if we should test out like other branches i.e. Airforce/Navy. I think the Army has the best promoting system because it puts 60% of the soldiers points in his/her hands, so either go out and accomplish them or sit back get passed up and or separated accordingly. Just my thoughts.
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SSG (Join to see)
Understandable. However, not an easy task for someone in the National Guard or Reserves. Having served in all three components, studying for a board was easy on Active Duty. It was all I had and all I needed to do. But in the Reserves and Guard, I have a full-time job outside of the Military. I have to stay proficient in those tasks, conditions and standards. It is extremely difficult for us to find time, if we have full-time jobs, to have time to study for a board. So, the legitimate promotion board isn't realistic for the non-active components.
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SFC (Join to see)
The argument that you all are making is leading me to believe that promotions in the Reserve and guard should be limited to the ones who can balance both civilian and military workloads. Being active duty is no different, we are culture on the job and have to study when time permits also. And on the other hand if we want to go to school we also have to balance that bad boy. The point of my statement was to say if you want the promotions bad enough you'll do whatever it takes to grab it. We all face our challenges with promotions it's just a matter of who will do the most to put themselves in the position when the time comes.
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Yes, promotion boards are the best way for the Command to manage and select the best qualified soldiers. Bottom line: This is typically CSM/1SG business and the board process helps shape the future NCO leadership of all the Commands.
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SPC (Join to see)
And what about Officers ? who decide which one is the best qualified ,because I know many officer that they do even know what they are doing.Why the officers does not have board promotions ,this system is unfair and discriminate between enlisted and officers
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