The Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony McAdoo held a second in a series of Q&A sessions via the command’s Facebook page. The sessions are held to give Soldiers an opportunity to get any of their human resources questions answered directly by a senior leader within the command.
Q. If a Soldier wants to get promoted to Staff Sergeant, I understand all they need is to the on the PPRL, be promotable and have to have a seat for school?
A. In order to be promoted to SSG you have to be on the promotion list, and in accordance with STEP, Soldier must have graduated PME and surpassed the posted promotion points cutoff score for that month. Currently, there is a temporary promotion policy that provides an ETP to promote NCOs to the next rank who have not completed PME but have surpassed the promotion points. Of note, this policy is set to expire 1 January of 2023.
Q. If a Soldier is at the 18 year mark and has medical issue come up that require surgery, while he be medically discharged and able to collect most benefits? By the time he would get discharged, he would be at the 19 year mark so can he just finish at a full retirement? SO much is up in the air regarding surgeries so we need answers on what to prepare for and what to expect?
A. The Soldier has a couple of options: Obtain medical treatment for injuries and complete the necessary recovery and recuperation time. Once complete, the Soldier continues to serve.
The alternate option is that a medical provider can refer the Soldier to a local Medical Evaluation Board. The results of the Med Eval Board will determine whether the Soldier is Fit for Duty (and continued service) or Medically Unfit for Duty and thus ineligible for continued service.
Separation benefits and entitlements are determined based on the results of the Medical Evaluation Board. For more information, contact your local Transition Assistance Program office.
Q. Why is the 17 series not in the marketplace?
A. Due to the MOS being so new, the population is still evolving. As the career field matures, HRC can revisit including this MOS in the marketplace.
Q. If a Soldier is only 3 months out from fulfilling their required commitment in a certain position, why can a branch manager deny that Soldier orders with the excuse that they have to wait until the Soldier reenlists? Retention has already agreed to reenlistment if orders come first. The branch manager won’t budge or respond to any further communications. To be clear, the reenlistment window opens at the end of the year as well.
A. Thanks for the question. Soldiers can be placed on assignment who do not currently meet the service remaining requirement (SRR) for that assignment. Those Soldiers would need to extend their current contract or reenlist to meet the SRR. Without knowing your Soldier specifics – MOS, rank, etc - we recommend recontacting your talent manager or your branch sergeant major. Soldiers should receive a response from talent managers within 72 hours of contact.
HRC can place Soldiers on assignment instructions informing the Soldier that they must extend or reenlist. However, the orders production process is handled by your local military personnel division (MPD). You must have extended or reenlisted to meet SRR for your orders to be cut by the MPD.
Q. In the future can HRC change the way we do the marketplace for EFMP? Can we run the EFMP before the market opens and only have approved locations to pick from? Every time I have been placed on assignment since 2006 my assignment has been changed due to EFMP. And now with my first opportunity to use ASK-EM coming up, I am not looking forward to ranking my options only to be informed to use none of those locations will accept my family.
A. As of the ASK-EM 23-03 market EPMD had implemented changes for Soldiers with family members in EFMP. Now, Soldiers with EFMP considerations should initially preference within the first two weeks of the market opening. They will receive a response from their talent managers no later than the end of week four of the EMC on which locations are cleared for them. Then they will be able to do a final preference based off of known locations that can meet their EFMP needs. This ensures improved transparency with exceptional family members through increased communication between Soldiers and their talent managers.
Q. Why can’t we see the duty stations that will accommodate a Soldier’s EFMP in the marketplace if the Army has an algorithm in place that puts Soldiers on assignment?
A. The important thing to understand is that HRC cannot see an individual’s medical records or medical needs due to HIPPA considerations- medical care is controlled by MEDCOM/OTSG. Therefore, with each manning cycle, HRC provides names to the medical community and they identify if care is available for that Soldier’s EFMP needs. This process ensures we don’t send a Soldier to a location where their family’s medical needs cannot be supported.
HRC did identify the need for improvement when assigning EFMP Soldiers. To better shape options and improve transparency for EFMP Soldiers, HRC has adjusted the ASK-EM marketplace to allow for you to preference again once we receive the response from the medical community.
Keep in mind, there are different positions/locations aligned to each enlisted manning cycle (4 per year). This means not each manning cycle will have the same locations/positions. This changes with every cycle.
Q. Where are the May OCS results? How does he feel about the fact that some Soldiers are coming up on the one year mark of starting this process? Some have passed up opportunities that would help them with promotion while waiting; have passed up PCS opportunities because they are stuck with a code on their ERB and can’t make any moves until this decision is released? Why are service members treated like this while civilians who apply are notified in days? If the reason is employee turnover, why has this not be addressed formally?
A. Officer Candidate School applicants can expect results to be posted in a MilPer in the coming days.
Soldiers will always encounter career-enhancing opportunities throughout their time in uniform and need to make informed decisions when those opportunities arise. My advice is to ask a mentor, talk to a career counselor and seek the advice of your chain of command before you make a decision to apply or retract an application. All boards are aligned to a schedule as it is resource and time intensive. Also keep in mind these boards are competed Army wide, which possibly involves a much larger population than the comparison with your civilian counterparts. Good things come to those who wait. I would encourage you to be patient and continue to do your current job to the best of your ability. Great to hear we have Soldiers in our Army who are continually trying to improve themselves. Keep moving forward!