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Fast track your promotion

With enlisted promotions mired in a severe slump, soldiers in overstrength specialties can improve their career prospects by switching military occupational specialties, according to Army personnel officials.

Soldiers who transfer out of overmanned specialties can be promoted quickly, or in some cases even automatically, and they will get bonuses in some specialties.

The service’s latest hot jobs list, officially called “reclassification in/out calls,” was announced June 24, days after the Army issued the smallest monthly noncommissioned officer promotion forecast in decades.

The June “in/out” calls identify the strength level and reclassification opportunities in the active-component force as it stands now.

The Army also has updated the Bonus Extension and Retraining, or BEAR, program that allows soldiers who transfer to priority understrength specialties to retrain and collect cash bonuses of $1,000 to $27,000.

This month’s promotion forecast, calculated from July cutoff scores and senior NCO sequence numbers, authorizes 1,137 promotions, the sixth month in a row that advancements to sergeant through sergeant major have fallen short of 3,000.

A manning surge has outpaced promotion vacancies throughout the force, leading to the slump. The Army reached its end-strength goal of 547,400 years ahead of schedule, and retention is strong, partly due to a tough civilian job market.

Promotion requirements can vary greatly from one month to the next, based on design changes in the force, according to Gerald Purcell of the Military Personnel Management Directorate in the Office of the G1.

“If Army leaders decide to make changes in the design of a heavy brigade combat team or a Stryker brigade,” Purcell said, “then that could affect promotions very quickly.”

Purcell said soldiers should adjust to these changes.

“NCOs across the Army should be familiar with the in/out calls, and they should be counseling themselves and their soldiers about the ramifications of those calls.

“The bottom line is that if you are in an MOS that is overstrength at your grade, the in/out calls are telling you it is time to leave and go to a skill that is understrength, and where your opportunity for promotion and growth is greater,” Purcell said.

When soldiers look at an MOS for possible transfer, they should ask three questions, said Jim Bragg, chief of Human Resources Command’s enlisted retention branch:

• Does my MOS and skill level have an out call, meaning its overstrength?

• Is the MOS and skill level open to reclassification?

• Is training available to the new MOS?

First-term soldiers also should consult cutoff scores and the monthly sergeant and staff sergeant promotion-points trend report to decide if they want to change jobs.

Soldiers can use the Army Times Enlisted Promotion Calculator for help in doing their own analysis.

After soldiers have researched a job change, they should contact their local career counselor, according to Bragg.

Counselors have access to the RETAIN system, which can provide the latest information about reclassification criteria, and the availability of MOS qualification training.

Promotable specialists and corporals in any MOS can get promoted fast if they reclassify to one of several chronically short-handed specialties, called STAR MOSs.

To qualify, they must have been on the servicewide sergeants list for more than one year.

Once they switch to the new MOS, these soldiers are on the fast track to E-5, and may get sergeant chevrons in one to two months.

Since the calls were last updated Jan. 30, about 130 changes have been made to the manning status of the 194 enlisted MOSs, either opening or closing them to reclassification.

Two of the Army’s large career fields, military intelligence and mechanical maintenance, have had several specialties open to inbound junior-ranking soldiers over the past few months.

Some of the specialties in the understrength column, or “Y” column, of the in and out calls are 35F intelligence analyst; 35H common ground station analyst; 35M human intelligence collector; 35P cryptologic linguist; 52C utilities equipment repairer; 52D power-generation equipment repairer; 62B construction equipment repairer, and 63H track vehicle repairer.

Other specialties that have been open to soldiers are now closed to some ranks.

For example, MOS 11B infantryman was open to the ranks of staff sergeant and sergeant first class in January, but is now balanced at those ranks as well as at master sergeant and sergeant major.

That means no more infantrymen are needed in those ranks. Balanced MOSs generally are closed to movement in and out. However, 11B remains open to the ranks of private through sergeant.

Some other MOSs that have come into balance recently include some air defense and aviation specialties.

The BEAR program not only offers increased promotion opportunity for soldiers who transfer out of an overstrength MOS, but cash bonuses for soldiers who successfully retrain in several priority specialties listed as critical skills and special critical skills.

Payment amounts for the critical-skill option range from $1,000 to $12,000, depending on rank and length of additional service obligation. Bonuses for the special critical-skill category go up to $27,000.

Payment levels have been sharply reduced in this section of the BEAR program since the Army reached its force expansion goal of 547,000 soldiers.

However, bonuses for the special-critical skill option remain steady as the Army tries to attract more soldiers to jobs in certain special operations, signal, military intelligence, engineer, public affairs and ordnance specialties.

Three specialties on the Army’s special critical skill list can give automatic promotions to sergeant and staff sergeant for qualified soldiers who transfer to them.

The specialties in the recently announced Special MOS Alignment Promotion Program include 21P prime power production specialist, 35L counterintelligence agent and 51C acquisition, logistics and technology contracting NCO.

These are included in the Selective Re-enlistment Bonus program. Bonuses range from $6,000 to $27,000, depending on rank and length of re-enlistment.

MOSs on the special critical skill list perform high-priority duties in the combat zone, such as 21P and 35L, or are required because of changes in force structure, such as 51C, which is a key skill for Army Contracting Command.

Soldiers must meet prerequisites for promotion to the next higher grade to qualify.

Related data

• Latest in/out calls

• Latest BEAR updates

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