Promotion to Platoon Sergeant and Sergeant First Class (E-7)
The Platoon Sergeant's Roles and Responsibilities
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Army
Enlisted
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The platoon sergeant is considered key in the command structure of
the Army. As the platoon sergeant, you will generally have several
staff sergeants who work under your direct leadership. In the absence
of your platoon leader, you would be in command the platoon. During
the Vietnam era, the platoon sergeant was affectionately referred
to as the "Plat-Daddy", and although the term has since
faded, the role remains that of the "Father of the Platoon."
The Sergeant First Class's Roles and Responsibilities
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The platoon sergeant is considered key in the command structure
of the Army.
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The sergeant first class may serve in a position subordinate to the
platoon sergeant or may serve as the noncommissioned Officer in Charge
(NCOIC) of the section with all the attendant responsibilities and
duties of the platoon sergeant. The rank of Platoon Sergeant or Sergeant
First Class is the entry point to the Senior NCO (SNCO) ranks. As
a SNCO you will be expected to bring your years of experience to bear
in quick, accurate decisions that are in the best interest of the
mission and your soldiers.
Information courtesy of U.S. Army
The Platoon Sergeant / Sergeant 1st Class Promotion Process
Unlike the promotion processes for Private through Staff Sergeant, your unit commander has little to do with the promotion process to E-7, E-8, and E-9. These promotions are completely centralized at Head Quarters of the Department of the Army (HQDA).
Enlisted Centralized Selection Boards are convened Army-wide, at the U.S. Army Enlisted Records and Evaluations Center (USAEREC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. USAEREC is a subordinate command of U.S. Army's Personnel Command (PERSCOM).
The Centralized Selection Board (CSB)
Each year HQDA determines how many soldiers within each MOS it plans to promote to the ranks of E-7, E-8, and E-9. About four months prior to convening the board HQDA also establishes and announces the zones for each board to consider. These zones define the date of rank (DOR) requirements for consideration by the CSB for both primary zone (PZ) or secondary zone (SZ) selection.
The PZ consists of all soldiers of a specific grade whose DOR falls within the announced zone for consideration. The SZ provides outstanding soldiers, with a later DOR, an opportunity to compete ahead of their contemporaries.
There is no minimum time-in-grade (TIG) requirement for promotion to E-7, E-8, or E-9, but you must meet the following minimum time-in-service (TIS) requirements to be eligible for promotion:
Sergeant First Class (E-7) - 6 years.
Master Sergeant/First Sergeant (E-8) - 8 years.
Sergeant Major (E-9) - 9 years.
Note: These are minimum TIS requirements -- it is extremely difficult to make the rank of Sergeant Major in 9 years.
The Centralized Selection Board consists of officers and NCOs with a general officer serving as the board president. The boards are divided into nine to eleven separate panels, which in turn, review and score the candidates records.
Although you do not personally meet the Centralized Selection Board, you may write to the president of the promotion board to provide documents and information. Although this written communication is authorized, it should only address information that is not provided in your records that you feel will have an impact on the board’s deliberations.
The promotion records consist of your Microfiche Record Review, Official Photograph, Personnel Qualification Record, and Personnel Data Sheet -- essentially everything that is in your military records, including decorations (medals), dates of service, dates of assignments, duty positions (past and present), performance reports, educational accomplishments, military training, Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) score, and records of disciplinary.
The members of the board are required to consider your entire career. This ensures that no single event, good or bad, will determine your standing in relationship to your peers.
The board members vote independently on each record, scoring them on a scale of 1+/ - to 6 +/- . A score of 3 or better indicates that you are fully qualified, but a score of 2 or less means that you will be retained in grade or referred to the Qualitative Management Program (QMP).
All the candidate's records are then rank-ordered based on the score given by the board members. The Army then takes all the selectees (without regard to MOS), and assigns them a promotion sequence number, which is assigned according to seniority.
Example: The Army will give the lowest sequence number (0001) to the selectee with the most time-in-grade. Each month, for the next 12 months, the Army will then release the sequence numbers of those to be promoted during that month. This ensures a smooth promotion flow for the following 12 months.
More Army Enlisted Promotions Systems
1st Sergeant and Master Sgt. |
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