Thousands of active duty staff sergeants can rest easier this summer. They won't be considered for involuntary separation or early retirement by Quality Service Program panels.

While the QSP screenings will focus on soldiers in select military occupational specialties, the basic zones of vulnerability will include:

• Regular Army and Active Guard and Reserve (Army Reserve) command sergeants major and sergeants major with E9 dates of rank of June 16, 2012, and earlier, and basic active service dates of June 16, 1985, and later.

• Active Guard and Reserve (Army Reserve) staff sergeants with E6 dates of rank of June 3, 2011, and earlier, and basic active serve dates of June 3, 1996, and later. While Regular Army E6s will not be reviewed by the June board, a message will be issued in the future announcing the criteria and dates for the next RA staff sergeant QSP board.

The AGR staff sergeant screenings will be held in conjunction with the sergeant first class promotion board that meets June 2-July 2 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The QSP screening for sergeants major will be held in conjunction with the nominative command sergeant major and key billet sergeant major board that meets June 15-19.

QSP, implemented in April 2012, is a force-shaping process that imperils the careers of NCOs who are in specialties that are overstrength, or that have stagnate promotion opportunities, or both.

Soldiers selected for involuntary separation or early retirement under QSP are victims of the drawdown, and who are otherwise fully qualified for service and who during normal times would not be forced to leave active duty.

Since being implemented in 2012, more than 2,000 soldiers have been involuntarily separated under QSP, or have voluntarily left service under the threat of a retention screening.

The Army also has been booting out soldiers under the Qualitative Management Program, a quality control process unrelated to the drawdown, that is triggered when derogatory information relating to indiscipline or poor performance is documented in a soldier's official file.

QMP screenings are conducted, as needed, by senior NCO promotion boards. Over the past five years, nearly 2,000 senior NCOs have been screened for retention by these boards, with most of those soldiers being forced to retire.

Sergeant majors

The sergeant major QSP screening will include Regular Army and Active Guard and Reserve soldiers who meet the date of rank requirements listed above, and who hold one of the following specialties as their primary MOS:

Regular Army - 11Z (infantry senior sergeant), 12A (engineer senior sergeant), 13Z (field artillery senior sergeant), 14Z (air defense senior sergeant), 15P (aviation operations specialist), 15Z (aircraft maintenance senior sergeant), 19Z (armor senior sergeant), 25B (information technology specialist), 25E (electromagnetic spectrum manager), 25X (chief signal NCO), 25Z (visual information operations chief), 27D (paralegal specialist), 31B (military police) and 31D (CID special agent).

Also, 35Z (signals intelligence senior sergeant), 36B (financial management technician), 42A (human resources specialist), 42R (public affairs broadcast specialist), 68Z (chief medical NCO), 74D (CBRN specialist), 79R (recruiter), 79S (career counselor), 88Z (transportation senior sergeant) and 89B (ammunition specialist).

Also, 91Z (mechanical maintenance supervisor), 92F (petroleum supply specialist), 92G (food service specialist), 92M (mortuary affairs specialist), 92R (parachute rigger), 92Z (senior NCO logistician) and 94Z (senior electronic maintenance chief).

Active Guard and Reserve – 11Z (infantry senior sergeant), 12A (engineer senior sergeant), 15Z (aircraft maintenance senior sergeant), 31B (military police), 31E (internment and resettlement specialist), 35Z (signals intelligence senior sergeant) and 36B (financial management technician).

Also, 37F (psychological operations specialist), 38B (civil affairs specialist), 56M (chaplain assistant), 68Z (chief medical NCO), 88Z (transportation senior sergeant), 92F (petroleum supply specialist) and 92Z (senior NCO logistician).

Sergeant majors, both RA and AGR, with approved retirement dates as of June 4 will not be considered by either board, even if they hold an MOS that is in the target inventory.

Staff sergeants

The staff sergeant QSP screening that begins June 2 will include Army Reserve AGR soldiers who meet the date of rank and service requirements listed above, and who hold one of the following specialties as their primary MOS:

09L (interpreter/translator), 11B (infantryman), 12T (technical engineer), 12V (concrete and asphalt equipment operator), 19D (cavalry scout), 25M (multimedia illustrator), 25N (nodal network systems operator-maintainer), 35N (signals intelligence analyst) and 46R (public affairs broadcast specialist).

Also, 68G (patient administration specialist), 68R (veterinary food inspection specialist), 68X (behavior health specialist), 74D (CBRN specialist), 88K (watercraft operator), 91B (wheeled vehicle mechanic), 91C (utilities equipment repairer), 91D (power generation equipment repairer), 91L (construction equipment repairer) and 92G (food service specialist).

Staff sergeants who are in promotable status as of the board convening date, or who have approved retirements as of May 22 will not be included in the QSP population, even if they hold a target MOS.

Personnel officials strongly recommend that soldiers who are eligible for a QSP screening review their official file to make sure it is correct and up to date.NCOs can use the Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System to view their file online at: https://iperms.hrc.army.mil/rms/login.jsp.

Access to 'restricted files'

Under a policy implemented in 2014, QSP retention screenings will include certain documents in the "restricted" folder of an NCO's personnel file.

Restricted file documents are not routinely provided to selection boards. Items in the restricted folder that are now provided to QSP boards include:

• Article 15s and other Uniform Code of Military Justice actions that have not been set aside

• Department of the Army Suitability Board filings of unfavorable information

• Punitive or administrative letters of reprimand, admonition or censure.

Share:
In Other News
Load More