promotion
NDAA 2020 Limits Promotion Opportunity to Max of 95%
The Medical Corps has historically had a 100% promotion opportunity for O4/LCDR, but the 2020 NDAA limits promotion opportunities to 95%:
I have no insight into why this change was made, and would only be guessing, so I won’t bother. How would this have affected our most recent FY20 board?
The FY20 O4 board had 253 LTs in-zone and a 100% promotion opportunity for O4, therefore they were allowed to pick 253 LTs total from those in-zone, below-zone, and above-zone. Here’s how it broke down:
As you can see, they picked 253 (6 + 223 + 18).
If you apply a 95% promotion opportunity, they would have only been able to pick 240 (253 x 95%), so 13 people would have lost out.
Whether this will lead to less below-zone picks or what other effects it will have we’ll just have to see.
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – What is the Obligation for Accepting Promotion? What if You Don’t Want the Promotion?
Question: What is the obligation for accepting promotion?
Answer: There is no obligation if you end up resigning. If you want to retire, though, the additional obligation is:
- 2 years for LCDR
- 3 years for CDR and CAPT
This can all be found on page 5 of OPNAVINST 1811.3A. Or you can read one of my other posts called “You were accepted for promotion to O5 or O6 – should you accept it?” where I break it all down for you.
Question: What if you want to decline the promotion? The promotion NAVADMIN that comes out every month tells you how to decline it in paragraph 2:
2. If a selected officer does not decline promotion in writing prior to the
projected date of rank (noted above in paragraph 1), that officer is
considered to have accepted the promotion on the date indicated. An officer
who chooses to decline promotion must submit the declination in writing to
COMNAVPERSCOM (PERS-806) within 30 days of the release of this
NAVADMIN. Limited duty officers declining appointment to lieutenant will be
reverted to enlisted status within 90 days of projected promotion date.
What’s New in the FY21 O5 Promotion Board Convening Order?
There were a lot of changes in the FY21 O6 promotion board convening order that emphasized operational medicine and readiness, but what about the recently released O5 order? While there are some minor changes from last year’s order I won’t address, here are all the important changes…
Page 2 of the FY21 Order
The promotion opportunities went from 85% down to 83% for the Dental Corps and from 63% down to 55% for the Medical Service Corps. The Medical and Nurse Corps remained the same at 77% and 70%, respectively.
Pages 8-10, Paragraph 6 – Medical Community Considerations
Language was added that emphasized operational medicine and readiness. I put the new language in underlined italics:
- “Knowledge and proven performance/experience in a variety of settings including operational medicine, joint medical operations, and current garrison health care and fleet/FMF support is necessary.”
- “Additionally, Navy Medicine greatly values joint experience and formal education, including JPME with knowledge and experience in a variety of settings including joint medical operations and current garrison health care delivery and operational support initiatives.”
- “They must understand and use best clinical practices and business tools in managing the health and readiness of our operating forces to ensure they are healthy and on the job.” A reference to “population health” was changed to “health and readiness.”
- This statement was added, “Excellence in operational support settings should receive special consideration as Navy Medicine shifts greater focus to readiness and operational support.“
- “Best and fully qualified officers for the rank of commander and below will be those who have demonstrated superior sustained performance in jobs that demonstrate increasing responsibility, scope and complexity across the spectrum of military medicine, especially inclusive of operational platforms.
The Bottom Line
Operational medicine and readiness is emphasized in the new O5 promotion board convening order.
FY21 O4 and O5 Promotion Board Convening Orders Released – O5 Promotion Opportunity is 77%, Same as Last Year
Here they are:
FY-21 Active Duty O4 Staff Corps Convening Order
FY-21 Active Duty O5 Staff Corps Convening Order
The promotion opportunities are 77% for O5 and 100% (like it always is for O4). For historical reference, here is an excerpt from the Promo Prep:
What Are My Chances of Promoting?
See the tables below for the actual promotion statistics for the Medical Corps.
| FY10 | FY11 | FY12 | FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | |
| LCDR | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| CDR | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 70% | 70% | 65% | 75% | 85% | 77% | 77% |
| CAPT | 80% | 80% | 80% | 60% | 60% | 60% | 50% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 81% | 91% |
Medical Corps promotion opportunity. This percentage is multiplied by the zone size to give the number of officers to be selected for promotion. For example, if the promotion opportunity is 60% and there are 100 officers in-zone, then 60 will be selected for promotion. This 60, however, may come from officers who are below-zone, in-zone, or above-zone. For example, maybe 50 of the 60 are in-zone, and 10 are above-zone. That is why the percentage of people in-zone who are selected for promotion is always lower than the promotion opportunity. See below…
| FY10 | FY11 | FY12 | FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | |
| LCDR | N/A | N/A | N/A | 97% | 89% | 90% | 93% | 88% | 85% | 87% | 91% | |
| CDR | N/A | N/A | N/A | 58% | 66% | 49% | 53% | 44% | 40% | 52% | 53% | |
| CAPT | N/A | N/A | N/A | 55% | 43% | 47% | 39% | 34% | 37% | 41% | 51% | 53% |
Actual percentage of in-zone Medical Corps candidates selected for promotion. N/A = data not available.
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – The Book – Chapter 3 – Career Progression and Promotion Board Math
Introduction
When you start your Naval career, the future is largely a mystery. As you progress in your career, things will crystalize, you’ll become wiser, and you’ll think, “It would have been nice to know all of this in the beginning.”
I’m going to try and tell you what you should have known about career progression and promotion board math from the beginning.
Career Progression
This diagram below demonstrates the typical career progression of a Medical Corps officer who has no prior service. Assuming you are not picked early for promotion, you typically promote every six years. You will become a Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) at approximately 6 years, a Commander (CDR) at 12 years, and a Captain (CAPT) at 18 years. I had no prior service, I have never been promoted early, and this is exactly the timing I experienced in my career.
Along the left are the ranges of promotion opportunity for each rank from fiscal year 2010-2021. In each year, the promotion opportunity for LCDR has been 100%. In theory, if all the Lieutenants are suitable for promotion they can all be promoted to LCDR. When it comes to the promotion opportunities for CDR or CAPT, interpreting them is a touch more difficult because we have to talk about promotion board math.
Promotion Board Math
In Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19), people were very excited about a 90% promotion opportunity for the FY19 Staff Corps O6 promotion board. But it was easy to misinterpret this opportunity. It did not mean that 90% of CDRs were selected for CAPT.
Where Does the Promotion Opportunity Come From?
The short answer is from manpower projections. How many physicians are getting out or retiring? What is the current Medical Corps manning level for that rank? What are future needs anticipated to be? What is the size of the promotion zone? The answers to all of these questions determines the promotion opportunity and guide Navy Personnel Command (NPC) and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) when they are making their decision.
As you can see here, the promotion opportunity varies from year-to-year:
| FY10 | FY11 | FY12 | FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | |
| LCDR | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
| CDR | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 70% | 70% | 65% | 75% | 85% | 77% | |
| CAPT | 80% | 80% | 80% | 60% | 60% | 60% | 50% | 70% | 80% | 90% | 81% | 91% |
Historical promotion opportunities for FY10-21.
But as you can see here, the percentage who are promoted from the in zone group is substantially lower:
| FY10 | FY11 | FY12 | FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | |
| LCDR | N/A | N/A | N/A | 97% | 89% | 90% | 93% | 88% | 85% | 87% | 91% | |
| CDR | N/A | N/A | N/A | 58% | 66% | 49% | 53% | 44% | 40% | 52% | 53% | |
| CAPT | N/A | N/A | N/A | 55% | 43% | 47% | 39% | 34% | 37% | 41% | 51% | 53% |
Historical percentage of in-zone candidates selected for promotion for FY10-21.
Promotion Board Zones
There are three “zones” for promotion – below zone, in zone, and above zone. Medical Corps officers are below zone for two years, in zone for one year, and above zone until they are either selected for promotion or get out of the Navy. A few people are usually picked early or below zone, but most people will not get picked until they are in or above zone.
FY19 O6 Promotion Board Math
In FY19, there were 74 CDRs in zone for promotion. To figure out how many officers can be selected for promotion, you have to multiple the zone size by the promotion opportunity. For example, if you take the 90% promotion opportunity everyone was excited about and multiply it by the zone size of 74, you’ll see that they could have promoted 67 CDRs to CAPT during the board:
90% opportunity X 74 people in zone = 66.6 (rounded up to 67) people they can pick for O6
These 67, though, were picked from CDRs who were below zone, in zone, or above zone. Usually, there is a small number picked from below zone, and a much larger number from the in zone and above zone categories. Here were the results:
As you can see, the 90% promotion opportunity only led to a 41% selection rate for those who were in zone. The remainder came from the below and above zone CDRs.
The Bottom Line on Career Progression
The typical career progression occurs with a promotion every six years, as detailed in the diagram below. The promotion opportunities listed, though, result in a much lower chance of getting picked when you are in zone because the selections come from those below, in, and above zone.
Navy Times – Selection Boards to Resume in July, Navy Says
I had previously announced this, but here is an article about it as well:
2020 Update – What Should You Do If You Didn’t Promote?
If you are particularly interested in this post, I’m sorry. You or someone you care about probably failed to promote. In reality, nowadays it is normal and expected to fail to promote to O5 and O6, so you have company. Here are my suggestions for those that fail to promote.
Try to Figure Out Why You Didn’t Promote
First, try to figure out why you didn’t promote. Because the promotion board members are not allowed to speak about your board, you’ll never actually find out why you failed to promote, but you can usually take a pretty educated guess if you talk to the right people (like me).
If any of these things happened to you, they are likely a main reason you didn’t promote:
- Any PFA/BCA failures.
- Legal issues, such as a DUI or any other legal trouble.
- Failure to become board certified.
There are other things that could happen to you that make it difficult but not impossible to promote. They include:
- You have not been operational or deployed at all, or you have done so much less than your peers. The FY21 O6 convening order emphasized that everyone needs to be operational.
- Coming into zone while in you were in GME.
- Having non-observed (NOB) fitreps before the board, such as those in full-time outservice training.
- Spending too much time in the fleet as a GMO, Flight Surgeon, or UMO. This is mostly because it causes you to come into zone for O5 while you are still in GME, and is more of a problem if your residency is long.
- Never getting a competitive early promote (EP) fitrep. Many officers who fail to select have never had a competitive EP fitrep in their current rank. This can be because they were stationed places without competitive groups and they get 1/1 fitreps, or it can be because they were in a competitive group and did not break out and get an EP. To me this is the #1 ingredient to promote…competitive EP fitreps. If you don’t have them, you are really up against it.
- Receiving potentially adverse fitreps. This most commonly happens when you are at an operational command and your reporting senior is not someone who is used to ranking Medical Corps officers, although it could happen for other reasons (like your reporting senior felt you deserved this type of fitrep). The most common situation would be if there is a competitive group of 2 officers but both are given must promote (MP) fitreps instead of 1 getting an EP and the other the MP. When both get an MP, it reflects poorly on both officers unless the reason for this is CLEARLY explained in the fitrep narrative, which it often is not. The other thing that happens is that a reporting senior gives you a 1/1 MP instead of a 1/1 EP. If you are ever getting a 1/1 fitrep, make sure you get an EP. You should consider getting a 1/1 MP an adverse fitrep. If there is no way around this, often because the reporting senior has a policy that they don’t give newly promoted officers an EP, make sure that this policy is clear in the fitrep narrative.
- Having a declining fitrep. Mostly this happens when you go from getting an EP to an MP on your fitrep under the same reporting senior. If it is because you changed competitive groups, like you went from being a resident to a staff physician, that is understandable and not a negative. If you didn’t change competitive groups, though, make sure the reason you declined is explained.
- Making it obvious to the promotion board that you didn’t update your record. The most obvious ways a promotion board will know you didn’t update your record is if your Officer Summary Record (OSR) is missing degrees that you obviously have (like your MD or DO) or if many of the sections of your OSR are either completely blank or required updating by the board recorders. Remember that although promotion board recorders will correct your record for you, anything they do and any corrections they make are annotated to the board. While a few corrections are OK, you don’t want a blank record that the recorders had to fill in. It demonstrates that you didn’t update your record.
Who Actually Promotes?
So who actually promotes to O5 and O6? In general, the officer who promotes has:
- Achieved board certification.
- Spent time in both a military treatment facility and in the operational setting.
- A demonstrated history of excellence as an officer. In other words, whenever they are in a competitive group, they successfully break out and get an EP fitrep. Being average is just not good enough anymore.
- No PFA failures, legal problems, declining fitreps, or potentially adverse fitreps.
- Updated their record, and if they previously failed to select they reviewed their record with their Detailer and actively worked to improve it.
What Do You Do If You Failed to Promote?
Realize that it is not the end of the world. Based on the recent promotion board statistics (which you can get in the Promo Prep), most officers were passed over for O5 or O6, but a large number of the officers selected were from the above zone group.
If you do nothing, you will continue to get looked at by promotion boards until you retire, resign, or are forced out of the Navy. There is no limit to the number of chances you get to promote and your record will be evaluated for promotion every year. That said…
You need to try to promote. Consider sending a letter to the promotion board. What do you say in this letter? First, briefly state that you want to be promoted and to continue your career in the Navy. Second, explain what a promotion would allow you to do that you can’t do at your current rank. Answer the question, “Why should they promote you?”
For example, if you want to be a Department Head at a large military treatment facility (MTF), a senior operational leader, or a Residency Director (or whatever you want to do), tell them that you need to be promoted to be competitive for these jobs. The Navy wants to promote leaders. Make it clear to them that you are a motivated future leader.
Try and get letters of support to attach to your letter. These letters should be from the most senior officers who can personally attest to your value to the Navy. In other words, it is probably better to get a letter from an O6 who knows you well than a 3 star who doesn’t. If you are not sure who to ask for letters, ask those more senior to you or your Detailer for advice. Your Specialty Leader is always someone to consider if he/she knows you well and can speak to your contributions to the specialty and Navy.
Have your record reviewed by your Detailer, Specialty Leader, other trusted senior advisor, or by me. Because of promotion board confidentiality, you will never know the reason(s) you did not promote, but most of the time experienced reviewers can come up with an educated guess. They’ll often find things that you were not even aware of, like potentially adverse fitreps, or information missing from your record. My promo prep document will help you as well.
Do everything you can to get “early promote” or “EP” fitreps. This is largely accomplished by continually striving for positions of increased leadership. You need to get a job that has historically led to a promotion while keeping in mind that the new MC career path emphasizes that all need to be operational.
As a LCDR who got passed over for CDR, try to get one of these jobs and excel at it (this list is not exhaustive and these positions are not the only path to CDR, but they are a good start):
- Assistant Program Director
- Division/Department Head
- Fleet Surgical Team (FST) Specialty Staff
- Global Health Engagement (GHE) Staff Officer
- Group/Senior Flight Surgeon (FS)
- Medical Battalion Specialty Staff
- Medical Executive Committee (MEC) Member
- Regimental Surgeon
- Senior Undersea Medical Officer (UMO)
- Ship or Group Senior Medical Officer (SMO)
- SMO/Medical Director
If you are a CDR who got passed over for CAPT, try to get one of these jobs and excel at it:
- Assistant Specialty Leader or Specialty Leader
- Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
- Director/Large Department Head at a NMRTC/MTF
- Division/Group/Wing Surgeon
- FST Officer-in-Charge (OIC) / CATF Surgeon
- GHE, Headquarters, or Navy Personnel Command (PERS) Staff
- Group UMO
- LHA/LHD/CVN SMO
- MEC Chair
- Program Director
- Senior GHE Billet
Meet with your chain-of-command. After you’ve been passed over is not the time to be passive. You need to sit down with your leadership and get an honest assessment from them of how you’re doing and what they would recommend continuing to advance your career. You may not like what you hear, but it is better to find out early if they don’t think you’re doing a good job or that you are unlikely to break out on your fitreps. That way you can try and put yourself in a better situation by changing commands.
Things You Should Not Do
In addition to the above list of things you should do, there are a few things you should not do:
- Do not lie in your letter to the board. In other words, don’t tell them you want to do Executive Medicine if you don’t really want to. Your record reads like a book, and if it tells a story that is contrary to what your letter says, this is unlikely to help you and may hurt you.
- Do not send long correspondence. Promotion boards have to read everything sent to them, and a long letter may not be appreciated. Keep it brief and to the point.
- Do not ask your current CO to write you a letter to the board if they’ve done an observed fitrep on you. His or her opinion about you should be reflected on that fitrep, so they don’t need to write you a letter. If they’ve never given you an observed fitrep or there is some new information not reflected on prior fitreps, they could either write you a letter or give you a special fitrep. Ultimately it is up to them whether they do either of these or none.
- Do not discuss anything adverse unless you want the board to notice and discuss it. This issue comes up frequently and people will ask me for advice, but ultimately it is up to the individual officer. The one thing I can guarantee is that if you send a letter to the board and discuss something adverse, they will notice it because they will read your letter! If you think there is a chance the adverse matter will get overlooked, it is probably better not to mention it and keep your fingers crossed.
Never Stop Trying
Those are my tips for those who find themselves above zone. Most importantly, if you want to promote, NEVER STOP TRYING. You can usually stay in as a LCDR for 20 years, and I personally know of people who got promoted their 9th look!
Promotion Boards Restarting – O4/O5 Combined Board on 6 JUL
A combined Staff Corps O4/O5 board will begin 6 JUL 2020. The original deadlines for letters to the board remain the same, so you can’t send updated letters. In addition, the records used at the board will be as of the date the board was originally scheduled.
UNCLASSIFIED//
ROUTINE
R 152131Z MAY 20 MID110000692205U
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 144/20
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/MAY//
SUBJ/RECOMMENCEMENT OF SELECTION BOARDS AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF REVISED
SCHEDULE//
REF/A/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/182232ZMAR20//
REF/B/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/271705ZAPR20//
REF/C/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/301629ZOCT19//
REF/D/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/021320ZDEC19//
REF/E/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/041542ZFEB20//
REF/F/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/101613ZDEC19//
REF/G/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/101855ZDEC19//
REF/H/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/231939ZDEC19//
REF/I/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/111355ZMAR20//
NARR/REF A IS NAVADMIN 072/20, POSTPONEMENT OF SELECTION BOARD SCHEDULE.
REF B IS NAVADMIN 121/20, SUPPLEMENTAL NUMBER TWO FOR E4 THROUGH E7 FEBRUARY
2020 (CYCLE 106) SELECTIVE RESERVE AND MARCH
2020 (CYCLE 247) E4 THROUGH E6 ACTIVE-DUTY, FULL-TIME SUPPORT AND CANVASSER
RECRUITER NAVY-WIDE ADVANCEMENT EXAMINATIONS.
REF C IS NAVADMIN 245/19, FY-21 NAVY ACTIVE-DUTY AND RESERVE E9, E8 AND E7
SELECTION BOARD MEMBERSHIP NOMINATIONS (CORRECTED COPY).
REF D IS NAVADMIN 271/19, FY-21 ACTIVE DUTY AND RESERVE ENLISTED ADVANCEMENT
SELECTION BOARDS FOR MASTER CHIEF AND SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER.
REF E IS NAVADMIN 031/20, FY-21 NAVY ACTIVE-DUTY AND RESERVE ENLISTED
ADVANCEMENT SELECTION BOARDS FOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER.
REF F IS NAVADMIN 286 /19, NOTICE OF CONVENING FY-21 ACTIVE-DUTY NAVY
PROMOTION SELECTION BOARDS (CORRECTED COPY).
REF G IS NAVADMIN 287/19, NOTICE OF CONVENING FY-21 ACTIVE-DUTY NAVY OFFICER
CONTINUATION SELECTION BOARDS AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONTINUATION POLICY.
REF H IS NAVADMIN 305/19, NOTICE OF CONVENING FY-21 NAVY RESERVE PROMOTION
SELECTION BOARDS.
REF I IS NAVADMIN 061/20, MODIFICATION TO NOTICE OF CONVENING FY-21 ACTIVE-
DUTY OFFICER CONTINUATION SELECTION BOARDS AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONTINUATION
POLICY.//
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces the recommencement of promotion,
advancement, continuation, milestone and other administrative selection
boards that were postponed in line with reference (a) and will be convened at
Navy Personnel Command (NPC). After pausing administrative and statutory
promotion boards to assess conditions and properly incorporate risk
mitigation measures, we plan to recommence convening of selection boards at
NPC in Millington, TN on 1 July with out-of-area participants. In the
interim, we have completed some smaller administrative boards via virtual
means and in some cases using local area membership, and will continue to do
so where appropriate. The revised schedule for officer promotion and
associated continuation selection boards and enlisted advancement selection
boards is provided below. The schedule for community milestone and other
administrative selection boards to be convened at NPC is available at
https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-
npc/boards/selectionboardsupport/Pages/FY21-Board-Schedule.aspx.
Some communities will execute their milestone and other administrative
selection boards by virtual means or at locations other than NPC. Refer to
community announcements on your applicable community section of the NPC
website at https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/Pages/default.aspx or
contact your detailer for specific information concerning these boards.
2. In line with reference (a), eligibility will be as of the original board
convening date. Official Military Personnel Files for use during the boards
are captured as of the original board convening date. Deadlines for
correspondence to a board remain the same as originally set with the
exception of the Reserve E-7 Board, which now has a deadline of 18 May 2020
per reference (b). The Reserve E-7 Board correspondence deadline was
extended to compensate for delays in the Reserve E-7 eligibility. In order
to maintain a fair and impartial balance across the fleet, the remaining
correspondence deadlines remain the same. Should Service Member eligibility
remain unclear, submit correspondence regardless.
3. The health, safety and well-being of those supporting the selection board
mission is paramount in a COVID-19 informed environment and precautions to
protect all participants will be taken. While all the planned COVID-19 risk
mitigation measures are too numerous to detail in this NAVADMIN, collectively
these prudent precautions are critical to the accomplishment of the selection
board mission and apply in lieu of restriction of movement (ROM) protocols
that would otherwise apply for essential travel prior to and following
membership on a selection board. Precautions include, but are not limited
to, the following risk mitigation measures:
a. Minimizing risk to force by combining boards and recycling board
membership across multiple boards to reduce travel requirements.
b. Phased convening of our largest boards to minimize number of board
members within board spaces at any one time.
c. Modifying the boardroom and tank layout to maximize social
distancing.
d. Self-assessment of individual health prior to travel, precautions
during travel such as Service Members sourcing from locations that maximize
the use of direct flights or individual ground transportation (POV or rental)
where practicable, use of face coverings during travel and additional shuttle
service runs with occupancy limits to/from the Memphis International Airport.
e. Revised protocols for entrance into board spaces that include COVID-
19 questionnaires, daily touchless body temperature readings and wristbands
for rapid identification of cleared membership within board spaces.
f. Alternative meal plans, to include furnished breakfast, lunch and
dinner to maximize social distancing and eliminate the need to depart Naval
Support Activity Millington.
g. Additional cleaning services to maintain the highest standards of
cleanliness within the dining facility, conference room (additional dining
area) and all board spaces.
h. Additional personal protective equipment available to board
membership as necessary.
i. Prominently displayed and adequately supplied hand-sanitizer
throughout each board.
4. FY-21 Active-Duty Officer Promotion Selection Boards (PSBs):
The postponed FY-21 PSBs to recommend officers in the Line and Staff Corps
and chief warrant officers on the Active-Duty List (ADL) for permanent
promotion to the grades of commander, lieutenant commander and chief warrant
officer will convene as follows:
a. 6 July 2020 - Staff Corps Commander and Lieutenant Commander
b. 13 July 2020 - Unrestricted/Restricted Line Lieutenant Commander
c. 1 September 2020 - Chief Warrant Officer 5/4/3
5. FY-21 Active-Duty Officer Continuation Selection Boards will convene as
follows:
a. Active-Duty Lieutenant Commander Staff Corps Continuation Selection
Board will follow the Active-Duty Commander Staff Corps Promotion Selection
Board.
b. Active-Duty Lieutenant Staff Corps Continuation Selection Board for
eligible competitive categories will follow the Active- Duty Lieutenant
Commander Staff Corps Promotion Selection Board.
c. Active-Duty Lieutenant Line Continuation Selection Board for eligible
competitive categories with applicable additional qualification designators
will follow the Active-Duty Lieutenant Commander Promotion Selection Board.
d. The Active-Duty CWO4/CWO3/CWO2 Continuation Selection Boards will
follow the Active-Duty CWO5/CWO4/CWO3 Promotion Selection Boards.
e. Due to the delay in promotion boards, for those officers whose
statutory retirement date falls prior to the expected announcement of officer
promotion results, guidance will be provided in separate correspondence.
6. FY-21 Reserve/Full Time Support (FTS) PSBs: The postponed FY-21 PSBs to
recommend reserve officers in the Line and Staff Corps and chief warrant
officers on the Reserve Active-Status List (RASL) for permanent or temporary
promotion to the grades of lieutenant commander and chief warrant officer
will convene as follows:
a. 1 July 2020 - Chief Warrant Officer 5/4/3
b. 20 July 2020 - Unrestricted/Restricted Line Lieutenant Commander
c. 31 August 2020 - Staff Corps Lieutenant Commander
7. FY-21 Enlisted Advancement Selection Boards: The postponed FY-
21 advancement selection boards will convene as follows:
a. Active-Duty E-9 and E-8 - Conducted in phases as follows:
(1) Phase 1: 27 July 4 August 2020 (Members travel on 26 July
2020).
Ratings considered: EM, MM, HT, DC, EN, GS, MR, ET, FC, FCA, GM,
IC, STG, YN, YNS, MC, LN, CMDCM, PS, NCC, NCR and MU.
(2) Phase 2: 4 August 14 August 2020 (Service Members travel on 3
August 2020).
Ratings considered: CTI, CTM, CTR, CTT, AG, IS, IT, SO, SB, ND,
EOD, MA, CE, CU, CM, EQ, UT, EMN, ETN, MMN, ETR, ETV, FT, MMA, TM, MT, STS
and ITS.
(3) Phase 3: 14 August 29 August 2020 (Service Members travel on 13
August 2020).
Ratings considered: HM, RP, CS, CSS, LS, LSS, RS, ABE, ABF, ABH,
AC, AO, AS, AZ, AD, AM, PR, BM, MN, OS, QM, AE, AT, AWR, AWS, AWO, AWV and
AWF.
b. Reserve and Full-Time Support (FTS) E-7 8 September 2020 (single
phase).
c. Active-Duty E-7 - Conducted in three phases as follows:
(1) Phase 1: 5 October 13 October 2020 (Service Members travel on 4
October 2020).
Ratings considered: EM, MM, HT, DC, EN, GSE, GSM, MR, BU, CE,
CM, EA, EO, SW, UT, MU, MC, RP, BM, MN, OS, QM, AE, AT, ET, IC and STG.
(2) Phase 2: 13 October 24 October 2020 (Service Members travel on
12 October 2020).
Ratings considered: ETR, ETV, FT, ITS, MT, MMA, STS, TM, CTI,
CTM, CTN, CTR, CTT, NC, PS, YN, YNS, FC, FCA, GM, AC, AS, AWF, AWO, AWR, AWS,
AWV, AZ, ABE, ABF, ABH and AO.
(3) Phase 3: 24 October 7 November 2020 (Service Members travel on
23 October 2020).
Ratings considered: EMN, ETN, MMN, AG, IS, IT, HM, AD, AM, AME,
PR, CS, CSS, LS, LSS, RS, EOD, LN, MA, ND, SB and SO.
8. Reference (c) announced the solicitation of enlisted selection board
participants (Service Members and recorders) and provided eligibility
criteria for serving. The criteria of reference (c) continue to apply, but
as the board dates have changed, the previously promulgated due dates for
receipt of Service Member and recorder applications are no longer applicable.
Sailors meeting the eligibility criteria and availability to serve as members
or recorders for a board are strongly encouraged to submit applications as
soon as practicable. Board Presidents, Senior Enlisted Advisors, recorders
and other specified board members will comprise a core group whose services
will span the entire duration of a board. The service of other board members
will be required only for particular phase(s) of a board based on rating
expertise and availability.
Refer to paragraph 7 above for the dates of the phases in which the various
ratings will be considered. Applicants must clearly state their availability
in the application. Details for application submission are provided in
reference (c).
9. Point of contact information for submitting enlisted advancement
selection board nominations is as follows:
a. Mr. Bryan Gillentine at (901) 874-3223 / DSN 882.
b. Dr. Ruby Snowden at (901) 874-2209 / DSN 882.
c. Email: PERS-805.fct(at)navy.mil.
d. General Board inquiries: MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) at
(833) 330-6622 / askmncc(at)navy.mil.
10. Navy leadership is committed to ensuring no Sailor is disadvantaged by
the delay in any selection board convening or during the consideration of the
record of any eligible Sailor by a board. Although review, approval and
Senate confirmation (where applicable) of board results cannot occur this
year with traditional timing, selectees for promotion or advancement can
expect to be assigned the original date of rank and receive any associated
back pay and allowances warranted. Enlisted advancement board results are
expected to be approved and announced within 30 days after a board adjourns.
Due to the additional reviews required following officer promotion boards,
results are expected to be approved and announced by ALNAV approximately 100
days after a board adjourns. Efforts will be made to accelerate these
processes. Subsequent to officer promotion board approval and ALNAV release,
Senate confirmation is required prior to promotion of active-duty commanders
and lieutenant commanders. Promotion authorizations and associated dates of
rank will be announced via the existing monthly promotion NAVADMIN process.
11. Released by Vice Admiral John B. Nowell, Jr, N1.//
BT
#0001
NNNN
UNCLASSIFIED//
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Did You Really Fail to Select for Promotion?
If your name was not on the promotion list, you probably weren’t selected for promotion. There is, however, a chance that you actually were selected for promotion but your name was removed after the promotion board. Why would this happen?
After promotion boards there are some systems that are “scrubbed” to ensure that no adverse or reportable information exists for the officers selected by a promotion board or by an administrative board (the CO/XO/CMO/OIC board, for example). Here is a chart that shows you the systems that are checked:
As you can see, if you have problems with your security clearance, the Inspector General, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, or any legal issues, your name could be removed and your promotion put on hold. How do you tell if this happened to you?
First, go to BUPERS On-Line and click on the link for “Advancements/Selection Boards” as pointed out with the large arrow:
Now you should see a screen similar to this one:
As you can see, I was a “SELECT” for O6. If you actually were a non-select for promotion you’d see a “N” where my “S” is. If you were “scrubbed” from the promotion list, you’ll see an “H” for HOLD.
If you don’t see anything, then you didn’t fail to select. You probably weren’t looked at by the board. This most often happens to people who trained in the NADDS program in civilian training programs and weren’t on active duty for a whole year.
If you are on hold, I’d contact your Detailer to try and find out why.
