The commander of the 4th Infantry Division has ordered an investigation after at least two soldiers from the division's combat aviation brigade had their promotions rescinded.

The investigation will look at problems relating to recent sergeant and staff sergeant promotions at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Reports, including from U.S. Army W.T.F.! Moments, a Facebook page popular with soldiers, indicate the same thing has happened to several more soldiers on Fort Carson.

Maj. Gen. Ryan Gonsalves ordered the Army Regulation 15-6 to "determine what units were involved, how many soldiers were affected and what boards are in question," said Dani Johnson, a spokeswoman for Fort Carson.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Johnson declined to provide additional information.

She did say that Army Human Resources Command rescinded the promotions for the two 4th CAB soldiers because they did not meet the Army's new STEP policy.

In this file photo, soldiers from 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, receive guidance about their promotion board.

Photo Credit: Sgt. Kimberly Hackbarth/Army

STEP, or Select-Train-Educate-Promote, went into effect Jan. 1 for promotion to sergeant and staff sergeant. The new policy requires soldiers to have the appropriate level of professional military education before they can be promoted.

According to the Military Personnel message that went out to the force, beginning in January, soldiers must complete the Basic Leader Course (formerly known as the Warrior Leader Course) before they can be promoted to sergeant. Soldiers must complete the Advanced Leader Course before they can be promoted to staff sergeant.

Soldiers on the recommended list for promotion who are not graduates of the required course "will not be considered fully qualified for promotion pin-on, regardless of their accumulated promotion points," according to the MILPER message.

Officials at Human Resources Command are not involved in the 15-6 investigation taking place at Fort Carson, said Lt. Col. Janet Herrick, a spokeswoman for the command.

"If there's an issue, we'll continue to work with the installations, but we're not aware right now what the issue is," she said.

About Michelle Tan

Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.

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