Ethics Thought Brief -- Semi-Centralized Promotion
Abstract
Upon entry to the United States Army, an NCO immediately makes an indelible impression on the trainee's mindset. In most circumstances, the Soldier graduates and immediately yearns to be like his or her first NCO mentor. The Soldier trains hard, enrolls in correspondence courses, and takes college classes. This transformation process inevitably culminates in that Soldier's appearance before a local promotion board and eventual promotion. But what happens if the Soldier is not promoted? The reasons generally fall into two areas that remain contentious and inconsistent: commander's points and promotion board points. These two categories are highly subjective in nature. As such, they are the bane of many a Soldier who fails to earn promotion. As the Soldier seeks answers to why he or she did not achieve the maximum of 150 points available for each of these categories, the dilemma begins to come into focus. Given the current operational tempo that has produced a set of haves and have nots amongst those competing for promotion, how do leaders level the playing field yet still enforce the standard set forth by the U.S. Army? How do the Commander and the promotion board equally assess and award points to those recommended for promotion regardless of physical location (i.e., the battlefields of Afghanistan vs. the halls of Walter Reed), Military Occupational Specialty, or mission? I recommend that Army leadership seriously consider eliminating commander's points and promotion board points. In their stead, two new categories could be created. These two categories are evaluation of the 40 warrior tasks and 11 battle drills. Also, a written test of leadership-related topics in scenario-driven situations could be administered. These would be comparable to those previously covered by local promotion boards. This new system has the additional benefit of being sustainable whether a Soldier is in garrison or deployed to a combat zone.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 03, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA596600
Entities
People
- Robert D. Wojtaszczyk
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy