Maintenance window scheduled to begin at February 14th 2200 est. until 0400 est. February 15th

(e.g. yourname@email.com)

Forgot Password?

    Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Logo

    Success of battlefield promotions impacts thousands

    KABUL, Afghanistan - More than 1,500 soldiers have been promoted under the Battlefield Promotions Program since the program was revived by U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, then senior enlisted adviser of the Multinational Force-Iraq, in April 2008.

    Battlefield promotions recognize extraordinary performance of duties while serving in combat or under combat situations. Normal promotion requirements are waived, including the need for sergeants to meet before a board.

    The success of the program was proven yet again Feb. 16, when U.S. Army Sgt. Mary Crawford was surprised with an on-the-spot promotion to staff sergeant by U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder, senior enlisted leader, 101st Airborne Division and Regional Command-East.

    Schroeder was touring Forward Operating Base Fenty with U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Mellinger, senior enlisted leader, Army Materiel Command, and other senior enlisted leaders during the Command Sergeant Major Sustainment and Equipping Conference Feb. 14-18.

    Crawford, a Bellingham, Wash., native and armament noncommissioned officer-in-charge assigned to Company B, 426th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, had impressed Schroeder with her leadership skills during his visit.

    “She inspires and supports her whole organization,” Schroeder said. When her leaders told him that she was serving in a staff sergeant position and they had her battlefield promotion package all ready, he decided to promote her right then, he said.

    Hill was delighted when he heard of Crawford’s promotion as immediate promotions are what the Battlefield Promotions Program is all about.

    “The most important thing was immediate impact. It was taking far too long for soldiers to get promoted,” said Hill, speaking of how various commands had implemented the program.

    Units are sending up packages to the regional command headquarters. This can turn into a writing contest where one unit has cracked the code to spark the attention of the reviewing panel, said Hill. “That really goes against the intent, because one of its tenants is not to board the soldiers.”

    “When I first got here, it was set up for peacetime, but it was meant for wartime,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. William Hammonds, sergeant major, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Human Resources. “You had to provide several documents and a letter of recommendation where none was required in the regulations.”

    Peace-time promotion requirements vary by rank, but generally are a system of points that require the soldier to serve in the Army at a specific rank for a set amount of time, complete formal education courses in the States, and for NCO ranks the Soldier must appear before a reviewing board.

    “Promotions typically require formal education such as the Warrior Leader Course. For those soldiers serving in combat, they don’t have that opportunity,” said Hill.

    “Typically we use past performance to indicate when someone is ready for promotion,” said Hill. “What better indicator than to have already performed extraordinary work in that position?”

    The Battlefield Promotions Program underwent a one-year testing phase starting in April 2008. During that year alone, the program recognized 912 outstanding soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, who were serving in positions of increased responsibility than what they were being paid. In Afghanistan, another 675 soldiers have been promoted since the program was formally adopted by the Army in April 2009.

    “All of these soldiers were serving at the next-higher grade,” said Hammonds. “They were promoted based on extraordinary performance of duty in combat.”

    Battlefield promotions have been around in one form or another for centuries. Hill first started working on the Army’s current program in 2007 when enlisted military leaders in Iraq told him soldiers under their command deserved promotions, but because of the combat environment were unable to complete the peace-time promotion requirements.

    “In the field, soldiers who were serving well in those positions [at a grade higher] couldn’t make the promotion points while deployed. Their leaders wanted to recognize their troops,” said Hill.

    In keeping with the immediate impact, Hill would like to see the program decentralized down as far as it can go where each unit is allotted a specific number of promotions, and they know that those they select will be promoted.

    “I am happy we have enlisted battlefield promotions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but if we decentralize it down to these guys, they are adult enough to pick the right guy. They have some awesome responsibilities out there – they can determine and recognize the potential in one of their troops,” said Hill.

    For more information on the Battlefield Promotions Program, consult Army Regulation 600-8-19, Chapter 11, and the U.S. Forces-Afghanistan BFP Standard Operating Procedure.

    LEAVE A COMMENT

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 02.24.2011
    Date Posted: 02.24.2011 00:53
    Story ID: 65967
    Location: KABUL, AF

    Web Views: 276
    Downloads: 1

    PUBLIC DOMAIN