Nearly 6,800 staff sergeants of the Regular Army and Active Guard and Reserve (Army Reserve) have been recommended for promotion to sergeant first class by a board that met in June.

Some NCOs considered for promotion had incorrect records, board members reported after they met. In some cases, NCOs' Enlisted Record Briefs had not been updated, and height and weight records were inconsistent. Board members also cited poor performance on fitness tests.

Promotions off the new list will begin in October, as August promotions completed the 2014 list.

Despite the drawdown, the selection total for 2015 is larger than last year, thanks in part to pending changes in the enlisted promotion system called Select-Train-Educate-Promote, or STEP.

Under STEP requirements that take effect next year, soldiers must have credit for completion of certain professional military education courses to qualify for promotion pin-on to the ranks of sergeant, staff sergeant and sergeant first class.

DOWNLOAD: SFC promotion list statistics

The new rule will not apply to the staff sergeants on the new sergeant first class list.

However, beginning with the SFC board that meets in June 2016, selectees must complete the Senior Leader Course to qualify for promotion pin-on to E7.

In a related rule change, senior NCO selection lists will expire 18 months after being approved by Pentagon personnel officials. Soldiers who do not meet the education requirement for promotion pin-on by the expiration date will lose their promotable status and will have to recompete for promotion selection.

These pending changes prompted the Army to expand the SFC selection totals for this year's board by up to 6 percent in some specialties to ensure it will have enough promotable soldiers to meet future sergeant first class requirements, according to Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Uribe-Huitron, chief of the Human Resources Command's enlisted promotions branch.

All total, the board recommended 6,783 RA and AGR soldiers for promotion, which is about 900 more than last year.

About one-quarter of the 23,965 Regular Army staff sergeants considered by the fiscal 2015 E7 board made the cut for promotion, while the select rate for Army Reserve AGR soldiers was 58.3 percent, with 778 of the 1,335 candidates being selected.

The primary zone select rate for the RA board was 19 percent, the same as last year, and the secondary zone rate was 34 percent, slightly lower than last year's rate of 38 percent.

Overall select rates for Army-level commands and direct reporting units in the RA category ranged from a low of 9 percent for Army Cyber Command to 61 percent for Army Special Operations Command.

Select rates for some of the major commands were 43 percent for Recruiting Command; 26 percent, Army South; 23 percent, Training and Doctrine Command; 20 percent each for Army Europe and Army Pacific; 21 percent for Army Central; 18 percent for Forces Command; 13 percent for Army Materiel Command, and 11 percent for Army North.

The average select rate for the Army's 11 combat divisions was 17 percent, with a high of nearly 20 percent for the 101st Airborne Division, to a low of 12 percent for 1st Armored Division.

Selections by career management field averaged 25 percent, and ranged from a low of 3 percent for CMF 46 (public affairs), to a high of 99 percent for CMF 18 (Special Forces).

As is customary for senior NCO boards, the E7 panel provided an after-action report to senior personnel officials with recommendations for the promotion selection process:

Enlisted Record Briefs

Many of the ERBs reviewed by the board were not updated by NCOs, an oversight that sends a bad signal to selection panel members.

"NCOs who did not take the time to properly review and prepare their file were looked upon less favorably," according to the promotion board.

NCO Evaluation Reports

Senior raters who rank-ordered soldiers in their promotion potential evaluation assisted the board members in discerning who the best-qualified soldiers were for promotion.

Raters and senior raters need to be specific in their comments and quantify their assessment of the NCO, without leaving that responsibility entirely to the board," the panelists reported. "it was extremely helpful when a senior rater would state that the NCO was rated #1, 2 or 3 out of ## NCOs, and to either promote ahead of, with, or behind their peers."

Physical Fitness

Raters assist board members in identifying soldiers who are best-qualified for promotion when they provide specific data regarding physical fitness and weight control improvements.

"The board observed a large number of number of NCOs who did not make the effort to excel on the Army Physical Fitness Test," the members said. "The Army places a high emphasis on fitness and uses it as an indicator of a leader who strives for excellence."

"At its core, physical fitness readiness must become a matter of personal pride where the NCO takes personal responsibility and holds themselves accountable to the standard," they reported.

Broadening Assignments

While broadening assignments, such as drill sergeant, recruiter, observer/controller and MOS instructor can increase an NCO's competitiveness for promotion if performed well, such duties should not be undertaken if they provide short-shrift to key operational assignments.

"It is crucial that NCOs demonstrate proficiency within their MOS in those key operational assignments for a minimum period of 24 months," the board members reported.

"Many files were looked at less favorably due to being too top-heavy in broadening assignment opportunities when compared to operational assignment experience, or simply the file had too little time in operational assignments," they said.

Fudging Height and Weight Data

Similar to other senior NCO promotion boards of the past, including the 2014 master sergeant board, the 2015 sergeant first class panel reported that many files had inconsistencies in the height and weight data reported on consecutive evaluation reports.

"Several files showed NCOs who were either enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program, were APFT failures, or both, and where the NCO's height measurement would greatly fluctuate (usually increase) between consecutive NCOERs, often corresponding with an increase in weight measurement," the panelists reported.

"While this gives the perception of a program that potentially isn't to standard, it further appears to the board that when there is negative progress on the weight control program, it may be accepted practice to give the NCO latitude by adjusting their height," they said.

The panel members said raters must ensure that height and weight standards are consistent across rating periods, and that NCOs who do not meet Army standards within regulation time limits should be chaptered out.

"Unit first sergeants must enforce the standardization of the Army's Body Composition Program and appoint quality trained personnel to assist with managing the program," the board members said.

"The board saw a high number of NCOs who, by regulation, fell in the category of being overweight, thus struggling with AR 600-9 (Army Body Composition Program) compliance.

"Unit level leadership must ensure that all information provided on the NCO's evaluation report, to include APFT and height and weight (data), is complete, accurate and in accordance with AR 600-9," said the board members.

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