gamble1130
04-01-2009, 07:16 PM
I have given much thought to this subject, as it requires such. The current centralized promotion system is the biggest crock the Army has going on at the moment. The reality that a handfull of CSM's, SGM's and a few officers can scan over 30,000+ records in 30 days and actually pick well qualified candidates for promotion is rediculous. The chance for error is to high as well as letting qualified NCO's slip through the crack due to lack of understanding from senior leadership. Example: SSG Joe is high speed and looks like a champ on his records minus the ARCOM he forgot to add. SSG Smith is average, but has zero errors in her records and has done nothing bad, so to speak, in her career. Who would the board be more likely to select in the current promotion system? I can take a wild guess that it's not SSG Joe. The fundamental problem with our current system is that the people that sit on these boards are random people who know nothing about you and what kind of leader you are. Unless you are one of the lucky ones who know someone sitting on the board or belong to the secret squirl club. I have never heard of a major corporation promote its members without personally knowing them or meeting with them. NCOERS are so subjective and protocall is different in every unit. Board members penalize NCO's who's senior enlisted and offiicer raters can't correctly write an NCOER. How is that SSG Joes fault? You can only pass up a well qualified NCO once maybe twice before they ETS, drop a warrant packet, or go green to gold. A big problem with the senior NCO corps is the way in which they where selected, Garbage in ...Garbage out so to speak. I look at alot of my senior leaders and wonder what the heck the board was thinking, as im sure alot of you do.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
Set benchmarks - if benchmarks where good enough to judge a war in iraq with, they should be good enough for this. 1. Assossiates Degree for SFC, BS for MSG, and Masters Degree for SGM and above. Oh wait enlisted are supposed to be stupid so lets nix that. 2. Must have held certain positions - which for the most part is what happens now - minus some positions outrank the others. It should be a either/or system like a recruiter or an instructor. The current system would favor a recruiter for some unknown reasoning. Most NCO's have very little control over what positions they get placed in. 3. Must possess a Secret clearance - why does the army keep promoting people with criminal backgrounds, how does that reflect the army values? 4. Must have a Letter of recommendation from company through division commander in records. If the people you work for don't have a say in the process then it doesnt work. Doing this will encourage initiative and weed out the scrubs that stand around, do nothing and get promoted. You fill in the rest, but these benchmarks are a much better system rather than NCO's having no real idea of how the current process even works or how to get ahead.
Another Possible Solution:
Not as big on this one but I think its better than the current system. Each unit should be allocated a certain number of NCO's they can promote. They do this for E2-E6 now, so why not E-7 to E-9. While there is room for the Good ole Boy club to strike gold here. There is also a great deal of transparency to the soldiers of that unit. It will take a more vigiliant IG and EO program, but again it will bring some transparency to the system. The current system is shrowded in secrecy and lack of information.
Let me know what you think, I know you have some ideas.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
Set benchmarks - if benchmarks where good enough to judge a war in iraq with, they should be good enough for this. 1. Assossiates Degree for SFC, BS for MSG, and Masters Degree for SGM and above. Oh wait enlisted are supposed to be stupid so lets nix that. 2. Must have held certain positions - which for the most part is what happens now - minus some positions outrank the others. It should be a either/or system like a recruiter or an instructor. The current system would favor a recruiter for some unknown reasoning. Most NCO's have very little control over what positions they get placed in. 3. Must possess a Secret clearance - why does the army keep promoting people with criminal backgrounds, how does that reflect the army values? 4. Must have a Letter of recommendation from company through division commander in records. If the people you work for don't have a say in the process then it doesnt work. Doing this will encourage initiative and weed out the scrubs that stand around, do nothing and get promoted. You fill in the rest, but these benchmarks are a much better system rather than NCO's having no real idea of how the current process even works or how to get ahead.
Another Possible Solution:
Not as big on this one but I think its better than the current system. Each unit should be allocated a certain number of NCO's they can promote. They do this for E2-E6 now, so why not E-7 to E-9. While there is room for the Good ole Boy club to strike gold here. There is also a great deal of transparency to the soldiers of that unit. It will take a more vigiliant IG and EO program, but again it will bring some transparency to the system. The current system is shrowded in secrecy and lack of information.
Let me know what you think, I know you have some ideas.