What are your tips, as the Army is making vast changes, to approaching a SGT/SSG promotion board?

The changes aren't so vast as they seem at first glance, the difference is that the board questions are to be pulled from doctrine. We fell into a rut of board members and soldiers alike using online study guides as a crutch, and when those guides didn't update with the new regs people began to learn the wrong things.<div><br></div><div>The purpose of Doctrine 2015 is to allow the doctrine that drives our profession to be able to react to changes more quickly than the Army Regulations of the past. The real key to the board changes is going to be NCOs keeping up with the doctrine and ensuring that we don't revert back to the way we did things before.</div><div><br></div><div>We have been going by the new board guidelines from SMA Chandler for a while now, and the major change is that rather than going online for a study guide, a study guide is provided by the unit. Our board members and president are dedicated to evaluating a Soldier's attributes of Intellect, Presence, and Character as they display them during the board. Also, the Supervisor of that Soldier is going to explain a great deal of what the board members need to know before the process even begins.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>SGT Blake, be that NCO that ties it all together for your unit. If mock boards aren't being run, step up and run them. If study materials aren't readily available, work with the board members to come up with the materials that will set Soldiers up for success as far as answering questions but also understanding the process and how to present themselves. The best way to train and be trained is to step up and make it happen. The fact that you are looking for it shows that you are the type of NCO we need.</div>

Same thing you did for the E5 board, study, become proficient in your job knowledge, be honest and be yourself, that is the best that you can be and the most they can expect. Truth and integrity show through to the people who count.

The mock board program grows in effectiveness and participation in two ways:  making it mandatory for actual board attendance (and thereby promotion) and through time.  Sending the individual Soldier the materials (read receipts?) will not ensure that they study them unless they unequivocally understand that it is required of them and that the program works by virtue of hearing of people who used it, boarded, and got a GO.