Will promotions to SFC generally open more SSG slots and lower promotion points?

The points are only a guide to how far down the Army has to reach to find the number of qualified promotable NCOs for the next month.

They are not comparable between MOS, but only amongst the singular MOS.

For April, let's say, Army says we need 3 new Staff Sergeants. The top five promotable Sergeants have PPW points of 732, 718, 690, 607, 584.

Points that month will be 690.

If they need 5, then the points will be 584.

Side note... that does NOT mean that the next month, if the Army promoted only 3 for April, then the Army needs one for May, the points would be 607. There might be a newly promotable Sergeant who's points are 714... and so, while Sergeant 607 is excited that they're next in line, if they rest on their laurels, they'll be passed by as new promotables move on up.

It's a constantly changing scale that only serves to evaluate us amongst our peers and to provide Big Army a reasonable OML.

It's a pyramid structure.

Every SSG promoted to SFC is one SGT promoted to SSG. Every SSG "passed over" who has to get during the coming fiscal year also opens up a slot.

Theoretically, that will lower the "points" needed, because the points are determined by how many available slots there are.

In concurrence with most of what everybody else said.

Also not the SFC board itself but the QSP/QMP board will open slots due to the fact that there is a significant force reduction in the SSG ranks. The army is trimming the fat by keeping only the best and brightest who aren't stagnant and have great potential to advance. This opens positions to younger,more motivated, competent and delving young SGTs by freeing up slots that were being held by fat incompetent SSGs who were unable to advance. You know, those guys that make SSG and stay there ten years until they retire....