Why don't E6 promotion boards ask more questions about MOS knowledge?

2015-02-02T01:05:17-05:00

Why is the Army still basing the E5 and E6 promotions on boards about general Army questions and questionable leadership styles? Why not MOS capabilities knowledge? We joined the Army to learn a skill, gain some self-awareness, discipline, and to become a leader. Everyone needs to know their job before they think about becoming NCO's. What are your thoughts?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2015 1:06 AM

2015-02-02T01:06:57-05:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member, it seems to me that the promotion board these days is sort of a formality.

It is not a true promotion board that grants points like back in the day.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2015 1:15 AM

2015-02-02T01:15:44-05:00

SGT I always ask MOS questions.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2015 1:37 AM

2015-02-02T01:37:27-05:00

From my experiance i think that would be a great idea but unfortunitly does not happen. It could be just my unit but If your not in the "IN" crowd it does not matter if you know your job. When i was an E4 i have taught everyone in my section how to properly be an Apache helicopter mechanic from subordinates, peers, and superiors alike to be passed on by them. Because i wasnt in the "IN" crowd i focused on my job and to make sure everyone met or excedded the expectations of their job. I could just be frustrated too. Ive been with the same company for 7 years and 3 deployments and just irritated with it. My 2 cents anyways.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2015 2:25 AM

2015-02-02T02:25:03-05:00

SGT Private RallyPoint Member someone recommended to attend the promotion board is recommended by their leaders. They should already be proficient in their MOS if their leaders are recommending they be promoted. There should be more than just general questions asked at a promotion board. The SMA required promotion boards to ask questions based on doctrine from the ADPs and ADRPs, along with general Soldier knowledge. To be a good NCO you need to know more than your job, you need to know what to do if one of your Soldiers is having financial problems, you need to know how and why the individual tasks you train your Soldiers on compliment the collective tasks that support your units METL, you need to know unit/Army history so you can teach your Soldiers how proud they should be to serve in the unit.

I have thrown many Soldiers and NCOs out of promotion boards who were not ready to be NCOs or the next level of NCO. I knew they were damn good Infantrymen, just weren't ready to be damn good NCOs.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 2 at 2015 8:10 AM

2015-02-02T08:10:15-05:00

You are being promoted to be a leader of Soldiers i.e. you best know how to lead. Also depending on the unit you could have several different MOS as board members and not even on from your MOS. For example, my second and third board appearances were in a MI battalion and I was a signal MOS. None of my board members were even signal so how are they going to ask an MOS question to me. However, my second board in the MI Battalion was situational questions because the CSM believed anyone could upchuck the answers from the study guide, he wanted to see what stuck from studying and to see if you were ready for the next step.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2015 12:27 AM

2015-02-04T00:27:39-05:00

Today I listened in on a infantry promotion board and found that my question still stands. Why is the standards for an infantryman different than that of another MOS within this unit? They say that they are treating rack Soldier the same regardless of MOS, this is very untrue. Not to say that this is just for the infantry. While I was in Korea, I sponsored a Soldier (92y) to the board and he was given very hard questions. While a 13m was just asked to say the NCO creed. WTF!

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2016 5:25 PM

2016-04-04T17:25:10-04:00

SGT and SSG de-centralized promotion boards are based off of general military achievement and overall performance potential attributed to whether or not you have the potential to be a good leader. Your NCOER's are reviewed in your promotion board packets to SSG, so those NCOER's will reflect both general leadership and MOS capabilities. MOS proficiency is the responsibility of your rater and senior rater. It's thier job to ensure that you are MOS proficient and that you are getting the proper OJT and low density training to help improve your MOS skills.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 23 at 2018 5:47 PM

2018-10-23T17:47:43-04:00

If you are going to the SSG board there should be less MOS specific questions because your new rank will require more administrative skills. I always ask situational based questions that show knowledge of Army systems and programs, ei ACS. You should have already shown mastery of your MOS to your first line supervisor who made the recommendation for you to attend the board.