Would it hurt my career to go from COCOM to COCOM?

It is absolutely critical to get tactical time if you want to stay in the military. Not just for the broadening, but for your own development and time with Soldiers. You aren't leading much at the COCOM or ASCC level. As a SSG you should be around Soldiers and training and leading them.

Also take a look at promotion board precepts over the past few years and get a handle on how they look at it. My experience sitting on boards is dated but I lived through the dark years of "joint is death" to "joint shall not be disadvantaged". The issue I've seen more of is similar tours can result in a gap in something else that makes up the desired pedigree. If there are 5-6 must do things, don't delay getting them punched as Cpt Murphy's Law will intervene if you work it too fine. Also consider if you'll lose touch with the important things of your MOS, i.e. hands on doing real things in the real world with your troops.

Think about the kind of paper you'll get from the second tour. About all you can get from a COCOM is "he's a great staff wonk". What you can get elsewhere is paper that directly talks about the contribution you made to primary mission success. That's the difference the "shall not be disadvantaged" piece was supposed to overcome but that only goes so far. Boards not only look at what you've done, they try to project what you'll do down the road and will you likely succeed. Silence on critical contributions and leadership stretches the betting odds, hence a dangerous place to be if you're in the third crunch.

BTW, I had 5 years with PACOM but made sure I had two lives. I was 7th Fleet Engineer a part of it and then shifted to State and USAID work in SE Asia, mostly in Cambodia. So you can get "operational" paper if you're able to get out in the real world.

I don't think that it would hurt your career, but I will say that senior boards look closely at variety of assignments. It is to your advantage to seek out new challenges. But if you feel that you have found a niche where you excel, by all means do another tour at a COCOM.

Not sure what is more important to you however I would focus on professional career over military. If your looking for some freash air with EUCOM you wouldn't need to move. Personally I would avoid CENTCOM as there seems to be some senior leadership issues within that command. However moving to any regional command J-2 I think would be considered more of a lateral move. I think the next move would be with one of the intelligence agencies like DIA or NSA. Here you could transition from military to civilian and yet remain within the intelligence community.

http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/50-spies-say-isis-intelligence-was-cooked/

Yes it will hurt you. Do not waste a PCS move on something that will not build you as a diverse leader. This is especially true in today's financially restrained environment.

If you have a good relationship with your commander and he is willing to let you go. But if your are a great asset you will be waiting a long time to move on.

Never stay too long at a Hqs. Get back to the line position for a more balanced career pattern.

As is the norm for almost any question in the military, it depends. You need to look at your previous assignments and NCOERs. Joint assignments are viewed as broadening assignments, even though you're still performing your primary function. You're doing so at the Strategic level. Do you have Tactical or Operational experience already? If not, you should be looking for one of those assignments. Do you have rated time in leadership positions that are consistent with your career path? It sounds like you have some based on one of your other comments. As sad as it sounds though, you could be setting yourself up to be viewed as "hiding out" in the joint world by going from one COCOM to another. You'd be hanging your hopes and dreams on your records going before a promotion board where the members would recognize that you're seeking to broaden your experience and knowledge base as an analyst by working a different AOR. It seems the recent trend for promotions is that assignments geared toward building the force (instructor, drill sergeant, recruiter) are being viewed more favorably. You may want to take a serious look into that route. You have a lot of experience now that can benefit a new generation of soldiers going through AIT. I don't know enough about you or your career to really be able to point you in the best direction, but hopefully one of the options I mentioned jumps out at you as the best course of action to pursue.

If you haven't had the opportunity to lead troops and want to stay competitive with your peers for E-7/8, then the more correct answer will be to seek out a tactical assignment where you can lead soldiers. That answer can of course take many forms beyond the "line unit S-2", from either PCSing to deploying an operational rotation (i.e. CJTF-HOA or one of the other JTF's) with your COCOM that would give you a report card which includes leading soldiers.

SSG Scheil, Things change over time and I don't really know the OPTEMPO for you at this time but, several things that I experienced in my 24 year career is that for NCOs it is imperative to be well rounded and have experience with Staff and Leadership time as well as serving in special duties such as recruiting/drill sergeant. Keep in contact with your branch especially Senior NCOs within your branch to seek counsel and mentorship. Professional Development is always a must. If your NCOERs are true and honest they can also be an invaluable tool in guiding you for improvement as one of the NCO Corps leadership traits is Know yourself and seek self improvement!!! Hope this helps and Thank you for your service to our great Nation!!!