Army, needing sergeants, is putting 19,000 E-4s on fast track to promotion

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=27485

The Army has a shortage of active-duty sergeants and a plan to fix the problem.

On Thursday, 19,000 qualified corporals and specialists will automatically be placed on the promotion list for sergeant, instead of having to wait for a commander to recommend them for advancement to that rank.

Army leaders decided to change the way soldiers reach the noncommissioned officer ranks because of a chronic shortage, according to according to retired Sgt. Maj. Gerald Purcell, the Army’s personnel policy integrator for enlisted professional development.

The Army currently needs about 1,500 more sergeants from 31 specialties

they were. You get good promotions when everybody is dying.

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as a result

Besides, they've eliminated the Commanding Officer as a "filter", and reduced his importance in the process.

Looks to me like these will be Junior's own little "SS" group - specially brainwashed into His ideas of warfare . . scary

That "fast-track" will be a condensed version of the WH priorities in war, and I bet not too much training on that "irrelevant" document called the Geneva Convention :eyes:

BTW

anyone feeling drafty down there?

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and being trained that they are never wrong?

Sorry that was a joke we told in the Army.

CO's can still put the kabosh on a particular SPC's promotion to NCO rank. I would imagine a good battalion commander and/or command sergeant major will want to see the counseling packets of the soldiers being denied promotion, but all it takes is his signature on a memo, just like for the junior enlisted promotions he already controls.

Still, the fact they're fast-tracking E5 promotions tells ya something. Mainly they're scraping the bottom of the barrel and they're not getting the recruiting/retention they tell the press they're getting.

Get ready, class of 2006. You're up next.

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so -

if out of 800 points in that system ,

they can MOVE ON UP with just 350??

wow - not much wonder

(From the Article:

"many unit commanders believe that soldiers should meet higher standards than the Army’s minimum before they are ready to assume leadership duties."

I think I agree with them CO's, :freak:

I see your point about the CO's being able to take some off the list

- but with what kind of pressure and repercussions from "up above"??

- more doublespeak methinks


from the article:

"Unit commanders will get a copy of the new list, and will have 15 days to strike any of their soldiers they believe should not be promoted, Purcell said.

Even if they stay on the list, those soldiers who made it automatically are limited to 350 points, which in most MOSs is nowhere near enough to be competitive, Purcell said.

But for MOSs with severe shortages, soldiers with 350 points could be promoted."
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SOOOOO

any MOS with "severe shortages"

350 is the winning number

wow

After a four year enlistment, a person without any problems will usually reach E-4 (corporal, specialist). The problem is that not enough are re-upping (big surprise).

If not, within a year of pinning on the stripes, or else they usually lose 'em. Haven't been in the regular Army since 1997, so I might not be up on the latest requirements.

Before any major influx of new recruits they have to create a wider layer middle management, as it were.

Of those 19,000, say 10,000 get the promotions. Say each one of them can support an influx of 10 new recruits. That covers an increase of 100,000 new troops.

Barring some event that causes people to rush to the recruitment offices, that kind of growth can only be met by a draft.

My opinion.

i am sure draft prep has started since "Bin Laden Determined To Attack Within the U.S." was a "for your eyes only" level headline

dated Nov. 2003. Ah, hindsight.

http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/03/11/far03001.html