What is a “Don’t Pick Me” Promotion Board Letter? Why Would You Send One?
If you go to the Navy Active Duty Officer Promotions Page, you’ll find this at the bottom:
Sample “Don’t Pick Me” Letter to the Board
Removing the introductory portion, here is what the meat of this letter says:
- Per reference (a), please do not select me for promotion by the FY-[XX] [ActiveDuty Navy/Navy Reserve] [Grade] [Line/Staff Corps] [Competitive Category] Promotion Selection Board.
That’s it. All it says to the promotion board is, “Don’t pick me.”
Why would or should a physician send a letter requesting NOT to be considered by a promotion board? Here are a few reasons:
- You know that you are resigning and will not be joining the Reserves – If you are just paying your time back and getting out, do your fellow officers a favor and remove yourself from consideration. It is hard enough to promote nowadays. Having one less person to compete with helps out those who are willing to stick around. Yes, if you are picked and get promoted soon enough you could get some extra pay for a little while before you resign, but I’d say the general karma of letting someone else get the promotion outweighs that small financial benefit.
- You are an O4 or O5 who is retiring but you know that if selected for promotion you won’t accept it – Why would someone not accept a promotion? Because a promotion to O5 or O6 obligates you for 3 more years if you intend to retire. And the Navy still isn’t letting anyone get out early. If you want to get out as fast as possible with a 20 year retirement, taking a promotion to O6 in year 18 means you must stick around until year 21 at least.
So…if #1 or #2 above are applicable, consider sending a “Don’t Pick Me” letter. Make sure, though, that you are 100% POSITIVE that nothing in your situation will change. Lots of people who think they are going to get out, not join the Reserves, or want to retire right at 20 years later change their mind.
And remember, they are now due 10 days before a board convenes (not 24 hours like before).
NAVFIT98A Issues on NMCI Computers
Here is the issue and work around from Navy Personnel Command:
URGENT NAVFIT98A ISSUE WITH MICROSOFT ACCESS!!
It appears as though NMCI has implemented new network access restrictions that have negatively impacted NAVFIT98A functionality. From what NWIC/SPAWAR has determined, NAVFIT98A is unable to open the ACCESS database residing on a network server location. This is not a NAVFIT98A issue, it is an NMCI-driven privilege and/or permissions issue.
However, we have identified a workaround. For your NAVFIT98A to function properly, you must:
- Copy the NAVFIT98A ACCESS database file from the network and put it on the local machine’s hard drive.
- Launch NAVFIT98A and open the database file that was copied to the local machine’s hard drive and perform your NAVFIT98A-related work.
- Once you have completed your NAVFIT98A-related work, the ACCESS database file can be copied back to the original network server location for storage thereby enabling the next NAVFIT98A user to gain access to that data by repeating the steps outlined above.
Until NMCI changes this new network privilege/permissions restriction, NAVFIT98A will only be able to open database files that reside on the local machine hard drive.
State of the Blog at the Beginning of 2022
Here is the annual blog post detailing the state of the blog as of the beginning of 2022.
Financial Report
Blog Profit = $135 loss!
As you probably realize, I pay for this and make no money from it, which is undoubtedly what has allowed me to keep doing this.
Blog Traffic
As of 12/30/21, we have just over 1,051,000 page views. Here is the blog traffic as measured by page views since I started it in 2015. See a pattern? In 2021, we topped out at over 311,000 views.
I get most referred traffic from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the StudentDoctor.net forum, in that order. The distant 5th is a link to my bog from Reddit, and I haven’t really figured out where the blog is mentioned or linked to on that platform.
Top Posts of 2021
Here are the top 5 posts/pages of 2021, excluding promotion board results or anything which is clearly old news:
- New Operational Medical Officer (OMO) Instruction is Out – You Now Apply for Flight, Dive, FMF, and Surface
- How to Easily Figure Out the Dollar Value of Staying In vs Getting Out of the Military
- Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2021 Update
- How to Get the FY22 Medical Corps Promotion Lineal List (Even Though You Don’t Really Need It)
- What’s New in the FY22 O5 Promotion Board Convening Order?
Top 5 Videos Watched in 2021
- FY23 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready?
- Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2021 Update
- Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Basic Anatomy of a FITREP
- Fitreps in 18 Minutes
- Throwback Thursday Classic Post – How to Read Your Performance Summary Report (PSR)
Top 10 Posts/Pages of All Time
Finance Friday Articles
My article about my $121,500 guest room made this list of Jonathan Clements’ top articles of all time on Humble Dollar at #26. Here are the rest of this week’s articles:
- 3 Easy Ways to Simplify Your Portfolio in 2022
- Career Seasons: Choosing a Role Based on the Lifestyle You Want
- Has Vanguard Lost Its Way?
- How Donating to Charity Is a Tax Advantage
- How to Use Leverage and the Differences Between Good and Bad Debt
- 2022 Tax Brackets — How They Actually Work
- The Stock Market is a Clown Car
- Tips to Fly the Unfriendly Skies
NMFDC Newsletter – December 2021
On behalf of the Naval Medical Force Development Center (NMFDC), please see the attached December 2021 NMFDC Newsletter:
This month’s newsletter features a look into emerging military-civilian strategic partnerships, NMFDC’s milestones to date, Surgeon General’s renewed commitment to the four (4) P’s (people, platforms, performance, power) framework, and an update on Reserve Component Naval Medical Readiness Criteria.
Please feel free to share this newsletter with other relevant Navy Medicine stakeholders and those interested in the NMFDC’s efforts.
We hope you and your families have a safe and happy holiday season!
Very Respectfully,
The Naval Medical Force Development Center
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 