A Word Cloud and ChatGPT Summary of Changes in the FY24 O6 Staff Corps Promotion Board Convening Order
It is a useful exercise to compare the current year’s promotion board convening order to the prior year’s. It allows you to see the direction the Navy is moving and to create a plan to maximize your career and chances of promoting. With that said, here are the changes from FY23.
First, let’s get you the files. Here is FY24:
Here is FY23:
Promotion Opportunities
The first obvious change is in the promotion opportunities. Here is a comparison between last year and this year:
| Corps | FY23 Opportunity | FY24 Opportunity |
| Dental | 92% | 91% |
| Medical | 95% | 90% |
| Medical Service | 50% | 60% |
| Nurse | 50% | 60% |
Promotion board math is explained in this post. The percentages are derived every year using a spreadsheet called a “green sheet” and based on manning projections.
New Get Real, Get Better Language
The remainder of the changes are what I’ll call “Get Real, Get Better” language that was inserted or modified to represent the Chief of Naval Operations’ Get Real, Get Better initiative. If you look at the bottom of page 3, a large section is completely new. It reads:
(3) Officers fully qualified for promotion should show a readiness for leading and solving problems at larger and larger scales.
(a) Their performance must reflect Navy Core Values: Honor, accountability for behavior, mindful of the privilege to serve our fellow Americans; Courage, the moral and mental strength to do what is right, with confidence and resolution even in the face of temptation or adversity; and Commitment, joining together as a team to improve the quality of our work, our people, and ourselves.
(b) Upon this foundation of Navy Core Values, they must how a mindset of continuous self-improvement, a desire to “Get Real, Get Better” every day. This includes the ability to: self-assess, to be absolutely honest, humble, and transparent in determining the actual performance of themselves and their teams; self-correct, to apply problem solving frameworks to pursue root cause and solve the Navy’s hardest problems in a lasting way; and always learn, to pursue knowledge and apply learning from diverse sources in order to make themselves and their teams better.
(c) In modeling this behavior, they must demonstrate an ability to build teams and rapidly collaborate across diverse organizations to solve problems and achieve lasting outcomes. In doing so, they will model the belief that our people and culture are the Navy’s asymmetric advantage, showing dignity and respect for everyone, regardless of background or rank. In addition, they will measure themselves by creating opportunities to remove barriers to individual, team, and Navy warfighting excellence.
At the bottom of page 4, there is more:
(1) Command, whether at sea or ashore, is fundamentally about preparing for and leading in combat. You should select those officers who seize absolute ownership of their assigned mission and all that goes into its accomplishment. A command’s mission is absolutely essential to the Navy’s ability to fight and win. Look for those officers that imbue this belief in their team. Look for those that take fierce pride in this obligation. Select the officers that are the example their team reflects and those that embody humility, selflessness, and complete transparency.
(2) You must seek those officers that have been relentless in building a culture of the highest character and a tough, resilient team that wins. Our nation needs and expects their Navy to remain above reproach, as a force they admire and rely upon.
(3) Seek those officers that acknowledge the value of every Sailor and civilian. Consider those that take care of themselves and their teammates, embrace diversity of thought and background, and foster inclusion and connectedness. Seek those that always do the right thing, especially when it is hard. Consider those that keep close watch on their own mental, physical, and emotional health, and the health of those they lead.
On page 6, the text in “Continual Performance Improvement” was relaced with:
(b) Continual Performance Improvement. This attribute includes the ability to self-assess and self-correct, using a “Get Real, Get Better” mindset every day. It also includes the ability to develop a culture of learning in the teams they are called to lead, embracing meaningful feedback as an opportunity to get better.
On page 9, this is all new:
(b) Builds strong culture and teams while achieving measurable outcomes. You should give careful consideration to officers who demonstrate the following behaviors:
i. Relentlessly build a culture of the highest character – a tough, resilient team that wins.
ii. Acknowledges and honors the value of every Sailor and civilian.
iii. Takes care of themselves and their teammates.
iv. Embraces diversity of thought and background, and fosters inclusion and connectedness.
v. Always does the right thing, especially when it is hard.
vi. Keeps close watch on their own mental, physical, and emotional health, and the health of those they lead.
On page 10, the section under “Championing a Culture of Excellence” was dramatically shortened and now reads:
(3) Championing a Culture of Excellence. The boards may give favorable consideration to those officers who have well-implemented those programs foundational to the Navy’s Culture of Excellence campaign. In doing so, they will have created a sense of inclusiveness and connectedness in creating teams that generate superior outcomes.
On page 12, the EO and Diversity Guidance had the following sentence inserted:
Diversity is focused on maximizing the warfighting effectiveness of our Navy by drawing upon the entirety of our talents and backgrounds.
A Mention of the Defense Health Agency
On page 14, this sentence was added to the Medical Community Considerations:
They must also be able to balance readiness and operational requirements with Defense Health Agency needs.
What Does All This Mean?
Well, here’s a word cloud of all the changed language:
If that doesn’t help you hone in on repeated themes, here is a ChatGPT summary of the changes:
The text describes changes made to language in the context of the Chief of Naval Operations’ “Get Real, Get Better” initiative. The modifications include emphasizing the importance of Navy Core Values, such as honor, courage, and commitment, and promoting a mindset of continuous self-improvement. The text also encourages the selection of officers who demonstrate a strong commitment to their mission, building resilient teams, and fostering inclusion and diversity. Additionally, the text emphasizes the importance of championing a culture of excellence and balancing readiness and operational requirements with Defense Health Agency needs.
Ok…I have to say that my first use of ChatGPT was pretty freaking awesome! That’s a pretty good summary.
Guest Post – The 2023 Update for Military Physicians’ Disability Insurance
The Holidays and 2022 are over and we are entering the time of year to take care of financial matters. For military physicians that means protecting their most important asset, the ability to practice their chosen specialty. The military does not provide disability insurance for active-duty physicians, only disability ratings that determine benefits for conditions that will make the physician unfit for duty and fulfill their military responsibilities, not their specific ability to practice their chosen medical specialty. Government benefits are determined by base pay only and do not include allowances, special or bonus pay. Adding in any civilian/moonlighting income increases this income protection gap. Fortunately for the astute military physician, there is a viable solution on the marketplace, an individual disability insurance policy. However, this may not be as easy to obtain as it appears.
When to establish coverage:
To qualify for coverage most insurance companies exclude active-duty physicians, individuals who have call-up orders, physicians who have received overseas deployment orders, physicians currently deployed outside the USA, medical
residents and fellows within six months of graduation from a civilian program who have a military pay back obligation, medical residents in a military residency or hospital, and medical students who have been accepted into a military residency or hospital program. In addition to these restrictions an individual needs to qualify medically. Even if you have the foresight to establish coverage prior to any of the restrictions mentioned there is a strong possibility that your policy will be suspended while you are on active duty and will provide no benefits in the event of disability during that time.
Fortunately, there are two insurance companies that will provide personal disability insurance for active-duty physicians, MassMutual and Lloyd’s. The MassMutual policy is the same as offered to non-active-duty physicians and is non- cancellable and guaranteed renewable which means the policy can never be cancelled by the insurance company except for premium non-payment, policy contractual provisions cannot be altered, nor can exclusions be added after the policy is in effect. Premiums are also guaranteed level/fixed to age 65. The policy will pay benefits if you are either totally or partially disabled in your medical specialty for the entire benefit period. In addition, you may increase the policy benefit while on active duty at regular intervals, and the policy can be continued after your military obligation is over. Significant premium discounts are also available and remain on the policy even after you leave the military. To establish coverage, you must qualify medically and have not received notice of overseas deployment or be currently stationed outside the USA. In most instances, an exam is not required but you will have your medical history reviewed.
The Lloyd’s policy has many of the same provisions, but the maximum time you can receive benefits is five years, and you must requalify medically every three to five years. However, you can still establish coverage even if you have received notice of deployment which provides a stopgap option until you return to the USA. Medical underwriting tends to be more lenient so many times this may be the only option if there are pre-existing health issues.
Your time is valuable, and it is critical that you have a specialized insurance agent guide you through the process and make recommendations based on expertise and experience. Feel free to contact us, we are here to help.
As always, thank you for your service.
Andy Borgia & DK Unger
DI 4 MDS
858-523-7518 / info@di4mds.com
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RADM(s) Rick Freedman to be Deputy Surgeon General
Here is the Navy Medicine relevant portion of this larger article:
- Rear Adm. (lower half) Rick Freedman, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as deputy chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; deputy surgeon general of the Navy; and director, Medical Resources, Plans and Policy Division, N0931, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He is currently serving as deputy assistant director for operations, strategy, and education and training, Defense Health Agency, with additional duties as chief of the Dental Corps.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 