How to Be Considered for Promotion if You’ve Been on Active Duty for Less Than 1 Year
The FY23 promotion board NAVADMIN was released this month. If you are in-zone or above-zone for an upcoming promotion board but you’ve been on active duty for less than 1 year, you should read #7 from the NAVADMIN, which says (I edited out the line only portion and focused on staff corps relevant content only):
7. In-zone and above-zone eligible officers in the grades of chief warrant officer 2/3/4, lieutenant, lieutenant commander and commander, whose placement on the Active-Duty list is within one year of the convening dates of these boards, are automatically deferred unless they specifically request to be considered. The officer may waive this deferment and request consideration for promotion, in writing, emailed to NPC_Officer_SELBD_Elig_Waivers.fct(at)navy.mil or mailed to:
Commander, Navy Personnel Command (PERS-802)
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-0000For in-zone and above-zone eligible staff corps officers in the grade of commander, in-zone and
above-zone eligible line and staff corps officers in the grades of lieutenant commander and lieutenant, and in-zone and above-zone chief warrant officers, the request must be received by PERS-802 not later than 2359 CST 30 days prior to the convening date of the respective board. Specifically:Selection To Convening Date Due Date / Time
Staff Corps Captain 8 FEB 22 8 JAN 22 / 2359 CST
Staff Corps Commander 2 MAY 22 1 APR 22 / 2359 CST
Staff Corps Lieutenant Commander 2 MAY 22 1 APR 22 / 2359 CST
What does this mean and why would it apply to you? Maybe you had prior service, you went to medical school, and now you’re a senior LT who is in-zone for LCDR right away. Maybe you did a civilian NADDS residency and you are in-zone right away for LCDR. There might be other situations that would put you in this position, like getting time-in-grade credit for other experience.
If you believe you are in this position, here is what I’d do:
- Confirm you are in-zone or above-zone. How can you do this? The easiest way if you are MC or DC is to read Chapter 2 of the Promo Prep. Or you can read this post that explains how zones work for the various corps.
- If you wish to be considered for promotion to LCDR, CDR, or CAPT, do what it says above. Send the letter simply requesting this. It can probably be a very short letter. There is no need to be verbose.
- Also, here is a great article on this topic from the August 2018 Medical Corps Newsletter:
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 