Getting Promoted

The promotion from E4 to E5 is pretty big. You're finally an NCO and those stripes look awfully nice on your collar. Its a big step and an exciting one too. When I was recommended to appear before the E5 promotion board I was very excited --and very nervous.

Promotions in the Army are tricky and even now, 20 years later, I'm sketchy on the exact details and its also possible in 20 years somethings have changed. But such as it were (and as clear as my memory serves me), getting promoted to E2 & E3 were basically automatic. I mean, your command could recommend you not be promoted but they certainly had to show just cause. Basically, you get the E2 and E3 after serving so much time. I think E2 is after 6 months of service. E4 is sort of automatic too but you have to be recommended for promotion and there also has to be a slot within your unit for an E4 but its pretty easy to get E4. After that E5 and above gets tricky. You earn a promotion by merit, yes but also by the availability of an E5 slot within your MOS, Military Occupational Speciality. In my case, JAG. So DA, Department of the Army, and your MOS command will look at ALL the soldiers in JAG and determine the need for each rank. So to simplify this, let's say DA decides the need for E5's in JAG is 500 and let's say they currently have 480. Well that means in that year they only want to promote 20 more Army wide. That's not a lot. So in order to keep from having 200 E4's promoted they set up a point system.

Am I confusing you yet?

So the point system is based on a lot of things; awards, accomplishments, schooling and training, civilian education, etc. So in the case stated above, since DA is only looking for 20 E5's they'll set the JAG points to get promoted very high. So let's say on a scale of 800 they'll set the points for promotion to 750. That's pretty high so only the very top soldiers will get that promotion. Now let's say JAG needs 500 E5's and they only currently have 100. So then they will set the points to get promoted very low --like 450. Every year each MOS within the Army establishes a number for promotion to E5 and above, each E grade having their own specified points.

Granted, I've just given you a very basic explanation and left out a lot of details but that's basically how promotions were. So yes, there is merit in getting promoted because first of all, you have to get recommended. Secondly, you have to earn those points. Not every soldier has the same amount of points. What seems unfair though is each MOS has their own points. Whereas JAG may set their E5 promotions to 750 points, an Infantry soldier, 11B, might only need 400 points to get promoted. So you might have a JAG E4 with 6 years time in service not getting promoted and then you might have an 11B with 4 years time in service getting promoted.

Now to get promoted to E5 and above, you must first appear before a board. For E5 and E6 that board consists of NCO's at a local level, battalion, etc. Appearing before the board you are given points for different things like your military presence, military appearance (uniform) and also asked a variety of questions in which you must know the answers to. The board then gives you points based on all those things. I think for an E5 board the maximum points were 200 and of course, those 200 points go towards meeting the points for promotion.

Okay, have I totally confused you because I'm starting to confuse my own self.

All that was to say this -- I was recommended to appear before the E5 board and so I began preparing myself for such.

Whew, I need a nap now. This post took a lot outta me.