promotion boards
What’s New in the FY22 O6 Promotion Board Materials?
This article is a more detailed breakdown of all the FY22 O6 board material I posted a few days ago.
This looks fairly standard to me, except they inserted this page to emphasize the new policy that you can’t discuss opting out of promotion boards or taking a break for the Career Intermission Program:
Merit Reorder Slides
Here is what I would note from the merit reorder slides:
- To quote, “strict adherence to the career progressions depicted in the slides is not a prerequisite for promotion.” In other words, if your career has not followed these paths, please don’t get too stressed about it.
- Depending on your rank and career stage, I’d use this slide to guide your future decisions. This is what the promotion boards are looking for…
Community Brief
- To quote, “strict adherence to the career progressions depicted in the slides is not a prerequisite for promotion.” In other words, if your career has not followed these paths, please don’t get too stressed about it.
- I’ve done a detailed breakdown of the new career path in this post already, so I’d read that if you want more interpretation of the slides below, which are completely new this year due to the updated career path:
Here is what is new in the FY22 O6 convening order:
- The new maximum promotion opportunity for all boards is 95%. This came from the 2021 NDAA.
- The percent to select went from 91% down to 90%.
- The text on page 2 under “Fully Qualified” and page 4 under “Additional Considerations” has been completely updated. In brief, it now emphasizes knowledge of Great Power Competition (GPC) and the INDOPACOM AOR, professional education (JPME, et.), continual performance improvement, operational employment, character, and diversity. I think this is consistent with the recent push emphasis on JPME and being operationally relevant.
- Page 9 has a paragraph about not disadvantaging anyone whose fitrep was adversely impacted by COVID.
FY22 O6 Promotion Opportunities and the Documents Provided to the Boards
The FY22 convening order is out:
The O6 promotion opportunities are:
- DC – 90%
- MC – 90%
- MSC – 50%
- NC – 50%
You can see the historical MC stats here:
In addition, here are all the documents provided to the promotion boards. When I have time, I’ll break them all down and analyze them, but I wanted to post them here for your reading pleasure:
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – 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:
1. Per reference (a), please remove my record from consideration by the FY-XX Active Duty (Grade) (Competitive Category) 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. And remember, they are now due 10 days before a board convenes (not 24 hours like before).
How to Get the FY22 Medical Corps Promotion Lineal List (Even Though You Don’t Really Need It)
The spreadsheet with the FY22 O5/O6 promotion board zones can’t be posted publicly, but you can find it here as long as you have your CAC card:
https://esportal.med.navy.mil/bumed/m00/m00c/M00C1/SitePages/Home.aspx
It is posted under down the right side under “Career Management.” The O4 lineal list is delayed due to COVID.
P.S. If you are Medical Corps, you actually don’t need the lineal list to find out when you are in zone. Because the Medical Corps is DOPMA exempt, you can just use chapter 2 of the Promo Prep to figure out when you are in zone for promotion.
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – How to Be Considered for Promotion if You’ve Been on Active Duty for Less Than 1 Year
The first FY22 promotion board NAVADMIN was released in December. 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 #8 from the NAVADMIN, which says:
8. In-zone and above-zone eligible officers in the grades of 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 line officers in the grade of commander, the request must be received by PERS-80 not later than 2359 CST 15 days prior to the convening date of the respective board. For in-zone and above-zone eligible staff corps officers in the grade of commander and in-zone and above-zone eligible line and staff corps officers in the grade of lieutenant commander, the request must be received by PERS-80 not later than 2359 CST 30 days prior to the convening date of the respective board. Specifically:
Selection To Convening Date Due Date / Time
URL/RL Captain 13 JAN 21 28 DEC 20 / 2359 CST
URL/RL Commander 16 FEB 21 16 JAN 21 / 2359 CST
Staff Corps Captain 1 MAR 21 29 JAN 21 / 2359 CST
Staff Corps Commander 3 MAY 21 2 APR 21 / 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 a PhD.
I recognize that due to COVID the above referenced NAVADMIN doesn’t deal with the O4 board and only is talking about the O5 and O6 boards, but you can expect that the same language will be in the NAVADMIN that talks about the O4 board when it is released, so consider this your early warning to think about this.
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 is to read Chapter 2 of the Promo Prep.
- 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.
- Finally, contact PERS-802: Selection Board Eligibility Branch because I know people who did only #2 (sent a letter) and were not considered. Here’s what their website says:
If you have questions concerning promotion boards, eligibility for promotion boards, please contact the MyNavy Career Center at (833) 330-MNCC or askmncc@navy.mil.
PERS-802, Branch Head: (901) 874-4537
Officer Active and Reserve Eligibility Section, Lead: (901) 874-3324
Enlisted Active and Reserve Eligibility Section (E7-E9), Lead: (901) 874-3217
- Also, here is a great article on this topic from the August 2018 Medical Corps Newsletter:
NAVADMIN Announcing FY22 O5 and O6 Board Dates and Zones
Here’s a link to the NAVADMIN:
https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2020/NAV20319.txt
As you can read, the info on the O4 board will be forthcoming. The Excel spreadsheet that shows the O5/O6 promotion zones was circulated my my office a few days ago via e-mail as I can’t post it here. If you don’t have it, your Specialty Leader should be sending it out.
FY22 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready?
Here are the Powerpoint slides:
Here is the screencast:
2021 Promotion Board Prep Available
The updated 2021 version of Joel Schofer’s Promotion Board Prep can be found here. I was planning on putting it on Amazon as a free e-book, so I put it into the Amazon book template, but apparently you can’t list a book on Amazon for free. Oh well!
Download it on this page as much as you like (for free).
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Electronic Submission of Letters to the Board Now Available
From Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) — The Navy has announced a new online capability that allows board-eligible Sailors to submit letters to the board (LTBs) electronically, Sept. 27.
Announced in NAVADMIN 220/19, the Electronic Submission of Selection Board Documents (ESSBD), is a MyNavy HR transformation and Sailor 2025 initiative designed to improve personnel programs and give Sailors more control and ownership over their careers. ESSBD improves the speed, transparency and confidence of receipt over current submission methods.
The application allows board candidates the ability to submit pre-formatted LTBs, with or without attachments. Additionally, board candidates are able to view the exact product that will be delivered to the board. Previous submission methods (U.S. Postal Service, e-mail, etc.) will remain, but ESSBD will become the preferred LTB submission method.
ESSBD will be available for limited use by administrative boards through the remainder of calendar year 2019. For a list of eligible boards (none of which appear to be medical to me – JMS) and their convening dates, consult NAVADMIN 220/19. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, ESSBD will be available for all promotion, advancement and selection boards.
ESSBD is currently available for submissions of LTBs only. Submissions to application-driven boards and programs, such as Limited Duty Officer/Chief Warrant Officer (LDO/CWO), Lateral Transfer, educational programs, etc. will not be submitted via ESSBD. Sailors should continue to use the submission guidance contained in the specific NAVADMINs for these programs.
To use ESSBD, candidates must access document services through MNP at https://www.mnp.navy.mil/group/my-record. Submitters should have all information, with attachments (if applicable), prior to beginning this process, as there is currently no “save-and-return” function between BOL sessions. Submitters will receive an email confirmation of receipt. Submission and subsequent receipt acknowledgement for letters submitted via ESSBD, or other means, does not constitute confirmation of board eligibility.
For more information or questions related to ESSBD and ESSBD submissions, consult NAVADMIN 220/19 or contact the MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) by calling (833)-330-6622, or via DSN at 882-6622.
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