Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston announced Wednesday that NCOs who have not yet completed the Army Master Leader Course (MLC) may still be promoted starting next month.
The military plans to introduce a new policy on November 1 that allows soldiers to be temporarily promoted to E8 for up to one year and give these NCOs time to attend the course or a certificate of completion in the backend personnel system from service.
This system can be stopped while you are tracking promotions and participating in MLC, which is for the entire military and is not broken down by specialty such as infantry.
Some soldiers saw gaps between their graduation and the time this was reflected in their records and as a result they were not qualified for promotion on paper. In the past, soldiers were sent to school after they had been in the army. The Order of Merit List (OML) was intended to provide a broader view of a soldier’s qualifications and rank troops for the next promotion based on a broad spectrum.
Even under the ranking system, a soldier completing the course would catapult themselves to the top of the list. Now, the Army will temporarily exclude the MLC in the OML, although this is still under evaluation.
“We’re going to temporary promotions based on the requirements we need, based off the OML,” Grinston said. “If you were No. 1 and you were skipped because of [school], you’ll get promoted for one year. We’re also going to increase the slots [for MLC].”
Previously, when it came to selecting soldiers for the Master Leader Course, it was based on who was at the top of the OML, although the soldiers may have already graduated. . That was wasting time planning soldiers who were already there.
“What we’re saying is, if I’m No. 5 on the OML, and even if I don’t have the certificate in the system, I’m going to get promoted,” Grinston said. “I might have not even gone to school.”
Other Army NCO schools, such as Basic and Advanced Leadership Courses, are for specific jobs, and those schools and promotions will see no change, Grinston said. However, he noted that promotions of all ranks are being investigated to see if any changes are necessary.
Rewritten by Veteran X Team
Sourced from: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/10/13/senior-army-enlisted-can-soon-be-temporarily-promoted-without-nco-schooling.html
