The 7 Phases of the Promotion Board
There you are at work and your supervisor walks up to you and says, “ You have been doing a tremendous job at work and I am going to send you to the board in two months.” You are excited that your hard work is not going unnoticed but are immediately struck with nerves at the thought of attending the board.
Your peers all give you a rundown on what happens during the board but some stories vary more than others and all you want is a good explanation of what really happens at the board so you can visualize what to expect. I will describe how the board goes does step by step so you have a good idea on what to expect.
I broke down the board into 7 phases so it’s easier to visualize what happens. Once selected for the board, you should prepare everyday leading up to the board. To adequately prepare, it helps to understand and visualize exactly what you are preparing for.
Here it goes…
#1 – The Line-Up
On the day of the board, soldier will all gather into an area and wait for the president of the board to call them in. The president will instruct all of the attendees and their sponsors to enter all at once and how to line up in front of the board. Most likely, the sponsors will be standing behind their soldiers.
The president will brief the soldiers and their sponsors on what is expected of them. This is also a great time for the president to verify if the attendees are prepared. The president may ask to see shoulder boards, name plate under the jacket, gig line, length of the tie, I.D. card, and I.D. tags.
After the president is done with their briefing the attendees and their sponsors will be dismissed and everyone will exit the room and prepare for the next phase of the board: Entering
#2 – Entering
Everyone will be waiting outside of the board room for their turn to go. Occasionally the competition board soldiers will go first, followed by the promotion board attendees. If the board is only for promotion than soldiers may be called in order of rank from junior to senior.
When it’s your turn to go, the recorder (S-1 soldier who assists with the board) will call in the sponsor. The sponsor will discuss their soldier’s achievements and reasons for being recommended for promotion or attendance to the board. This will last no more than a couple minutes.
After the sponsor is done, the recorder will tell the soldier waiting outside (you) that they can knock in about 10 seconds. The recorder will shut the door and take a seat.
After the 10 seconds is up, you will knock hard and loud 3 times and wait for the president of the board to yell, “Enter”. Open the door, and walk directly to the president of the board. If you close the door behind you, make sure not to turn your back to the board. Standing an arms length away from the board table, render a hand salute and say, “SPC/SGT ______________ reporting to the president of the board”. Wait for the president to fully drop their hand salute before dropping yours.
Once the hand salute is complete, the president may initiate the board by asking you a few questions like, “how are you this morning” or something along the lines of “did you take a PT test last week?”. The latter question could be used to confirm a statement your sponsor made prior to you entering the board. That is why it’s always good to be on the same page as the sponsor prior to entering the board.
#3 – Facing Movements
The president will then ask you to execute some facing movements. This phase of the board is to position the soldier in front of the board members so they can see the uniform to identify and discrepancies. It’s also a good time to see how well the soldier presents themselves while marching and executing facing movements.
It usually goes like this, “SGT ___________ go ahead and execute a right face, two steps forward, march. Left, face. Right, Face. Two steps forward, march.” This will continue until each board member has the opportunity to take a look at the uniform.
If comments are made amongst the board members during this time, do not speak unless spoken to, this applies for the rest of the board as well. After the board members all get a chance to look over the uniform, the president will request for you to make your way to the chair and have a seat.
#4 – Biography
After you are sitting down in the chair at the position of attention. The president will ask for you to explain a little bit about yourself and include a few short and long-term goals.
While making eye contact with each board member you will explain to them your biography with intended goals for the future. This is an important first impression because it gives the board members a glance into how you handle being the center of attention. This is why I consider this to be one of the most important parts of the board and should be prepared for in advance.
The president may ask a few follow-up questions about the biography and then roll into the board questions.
#5 – Board Questions
Every board member will ask board questions and will cover the subjects listed in the MOI. There will be about 3 questions per subject depending if they are answered correctly or not.
The board members are not there to try and fail the soldier, they truly want you to succeed. Many times if the board members know the soldier has the answer but is not thinking clearly, they will give a hint or two in hopes of them remembering.
An example of the question would be: “SGT Smith, what ADP covers Army Leadership?” the soldier will respond with, “1SG, the ADP that covers Army Leadership is ADP 6-22”. If you do not have the answer to the question you can say,
“1SG, I do not recall the answer to that question at this time”.
If you know the regulation that covers the answer feel free to tell them where the answer can be found. For instance, “1SG I do not recall how many skill badges can be worn on the uniform but I know it can be found in AR 670-1”
#6 – Unit History/Creeds/Current Events
After answering all of the board member’s questions the president will finish up by asking his subject questions that usually cover the unit’s history, creeds, and current events. Knowing the unit history, especially why you have certain unit badges on your uniform is important and should be taken into account when studying for the board. The questions about unit history can vary so having a general knowledge on where the unit came from will be essential.
The soldier’s creed, NCO creed, and any unit creeds will be recited. Having the NCO creed nailed down for any board is vital no matter the rank. If you are a junior enlisted soldier attending a competition board it will get you a ton of credibility with the board members. If you are an NCO or looking to be promoted to an NCO and do not know the creed you will most definitely be turned down.
A few questions about current events will be asked to test your knowledge on what is going on around the world. A good overview of the top stories will give you plenty of information to successfully answer these questions.
#7 – Dismissal
After the president is finished with his questions, you will most likely be asked if you have any questions for the board members or anything you would like to say. This is our opportunity to address any wrong answers that you stated earlier. You can say, “Roger CSM, I would like to provide the correct answer to 1SG Johnson’s question. 1SG, the maximum skill badges allowed on the duty uniform is 5”.
If there is nothing further the president will say, “SGT Smith, you are dismissed”. This is your cue to stand up and walk up to the president, about an arms length away from the table and render a hand salute while stating the unit motto. The president will return the hand salute. Don’t forget to only drop your salute after the president has completely dropped theirs.
After the hand salute you are free to make your way to the door. Your sponsor will stay behind for a minute or so to receive feedback from the board members. The president may call the attendees back into the board room after everyone has gone through to identify who has been selected for promotion or who won the competition.
Final Thoughts
I hope this gives you a really good idea on what to expect at the board and help give visualization as to what happens during the board. Some parts may vary depending on the unit but this is the general outline that most follow. Talk with others who have recently attended to get additional tips on what to expect.
Photos by The U.S. Army,
