Re: [OT] US Army NCO promotions, was Personal hoody-hoo

--- "K.H.Ranitzsch" <KH.Ranitzsch@t-online.de> wrote:
> > I've already heard rumors 1SG wants to pin me
> corporal
> > to fill out his duty roster.  We're sucking on
> E5s.
> 
> Could you explain this for people who are not
> familiar with the details of
> the US Army system ?
> I know (roughly) what a corporal is. I assume 1SG is
> a first sergeant ? But
> what does the whole phrase mean ?

OK, there's 3 parts to making SGT which is the most
junior NCO normally used by US Army.  Paygrade is E-5.
 There's points, board, and PLDC.  PLDC is a school
which my 1SG (Indeed, First Sergeant, company senior
NCO) wants to get me into next month if possible. 
Points is a centralized Army system where you recieve
X amounts for job performance, PT Test, weapon
qualification, awards and decorations, military
education, and civillian education.  I have 296, plus
146 from the board (which take effect in 60 days). 
The Army sets the points required for promotion higher
and lower to control how many people are promoted
based on how many NCOs they need.  For my MOS, the
cutoff score is 415.  So I'm 27 over the minimum.  

The promotion board consists of standing in front of
senior NCOs (except in my case--the BN Commander was
subbing for the CSM who was in Pennsylvania for a
conference) while they throw trivia questions at you
(What day is the Army birthday?  What types of gasses
does the promask not protect against?  What are the 9
principles of battle-focused training?	How many days
extra duty may be assigned by a company commander? 
etc.) while they asess you for military bearing,
confidence, and knowledge.  Nerve-wracking but I'm
done with it untill I'm ready to be promoted again.

Once a soldier has been the board he is said to be in
"promotable status".  This means he is definitely
viewed as a sergeant-in-training, and to this end is
often pinned (it's not a real promotion since you
don't make any more money) corporal, which fits you in
on the bottom of the NCO rungs allowing you to pull
duties which require an NCO to supervise, such as CQ. 
This gem of a duty involves sitting up for 24 hours on
the bottom floor of the barracks handling emergencies.
 Hence the reference to the duty roster.  A corporal
is an ersatz sergeant.

John

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