90th Missile Wing command chief gives tips, facts for promotion success

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Marty Anderson
  • 90th Missile Wing command chief
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  During the senior master sergeant promotion announcement party, I was asked, "What does it take to get promoted to senior master sergeant?" My mind quickly scrambled to organize my thoughts to a very difficult question. Some say you have to fill the squares.
Not quite.

It is important to understand there is no set path or specific answer, because the Air Force looks at a variety of factors to select the most deserving individuals for promotion. I hope this article will help Airmen to be more competitive when they are eligible for senior or chief master sergeant promotions.

The promotion system is very simple, fair and straight forward. An individual's score is comprised of the same factors as the weighted Airmen promotion system, which is 360 points, and a board score, 450 points. The board score is the least understood. Basically, a colonel and two chiefs review a person's records, enlisted performance reports, decorations and education for the past 10 years, and develop a score from the past five years. It is important to note that they are comparing your records with everyone in your specific Air Force specialty code. Every applicant is racked, stacked and assigned a score. What you need to know that just filling squares gets you in the game, but does not make you competitive. If you caught the clue of past 10 years, you need to start developing your records when you are a staff sergeant, not when you sew on master sergeant. If you wait, you are lagging behind.

So what do you need to do to even be considered for promotion?

To even be considered for promotion you must meet three requirements: senior NCO officer academy correspondence course, Community College of the Air Force degree and a senior rater, wing commander, endorsement. These must be completed by the promotion eligibility cutoff date. I highly recommend completing the senior NCO academy correspondence course and CCAF before you sew on master sergeant. If you don't have those two requirements, you are not even eligible for a senior rater endorsement. These three items, along with enlisted performance reports stating you are doing a good job, will give you about a 315 to 330 board score out of a possible 450 points.

So what are the board members really looking for to distinguish you from others?
To be competitive, the board members are looking for you to demonstrate the whole-person concept, such as job accomplishment and impact, breadth of experience, education and leadership. Simple, right? Well not quite. To simplify a difficult discussion, you want to think about the following items in this order: opportunity, quality of result and heart.

Opportunity -- Seeking out greater responsibilities and professional development. This may come in the form of positional moves, temporary duty assignments, special duty assignments and being involved in professional organizations. You need to take the lead, stand out front and lead others to follow your direction. You can't just always be a participant. It takes courage for you to place yourself in that type of situation.

Results -- How well did you do? The scope of responsibility with wing-wide impact weighs more than flight-level impact. There will be times that you will not achieve the results you were after. This situation will define your character; do you give up and quit, or do you try it again?

Heart -- Why are you doing what you are doing? The board members will know from reading the EPR if you are taking on responsibility to fill squares, or because you genuinely have an interest in the mission and the people who accomplish it. When I write an EPR, if I believe a person cares more for the good of the organization than themselves, I write in manner conveying the person's devotion to our Air Force, and so does your supervisor.

Putting it all together -- The Air Force needs you to step up and seek out challenging situations and achieve solid results. If you establish a vision or goal, develop and implement a plan, work with others to achieve the desired end result, while doing it merely for the benefit of the Air Force and others, then you are clearly the person the Air Force wants promoted to senior or chief master sergeant. You must accept opportunities to showcase your leadership and management skills to prove you can handle the increased responsibility that comes with those grades and positional requirements. The choice is yours. Make excuses or get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself.
Promotions are about character.