You're tired of getting told what to do, working in the motorpool, want more money, want to make a difference, or all of the above. It's time to work towards promotion and here you will find out where to start and what you need to do to get promoted in the Army.
Here in part 2 we are going to discuss 1. military schools and 2. military education. At this point in your career, it is a good time to start thinking about attending schools and completing courses that will benefit you for the rest of your career and in the civilian sector.
1. This is the best place to start as it usually doesn't take too much time and military courses are easy to access. The most common place to look is on the Army Learning Management System (ALMS). Here you can find a large number of courses ranging from mandatory annual training to Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) specific classes that will further develop understanding of your job. If you dedicate the time and effort, you can usually max out this section of your points for correspondence courses within a few months.
2. Early on military schools are much harder to come by as you are competing with the largest number of personnel to attend a course. You have to be very competitive. If you aren't sure what makes you competitive, check out your promotion point worksheet (PPW) and see what the Army places emphasis on. The more points you have, the more competitive you are. This really means that you should focus a lot of time and energy on physical fitness, weapons qualification, and civilian education as early as possible.
Many people will jump right into the first available school that comes up. This is something that will get you points and another line on your Soldier Record Brief (SRB) but as you continue to promote, you want to be aware of the courses you have taken. Driving a bus as a Sergeant First Class when you have a platoon or section to run may be break or just a giant pain in the ass that keeps you from getting home on time. Check the PDF for the full list of resident courses worth promotion points.
Also think about the schools that are good for promotion later and decide if you want to be doing this additional duty as well as that at every unit you go to for the rest of your career. Be strategic if you have the chance when choosing which resident military courses you will attend.
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Continue reading with SGT promotion preparation Part 1 Education
Continue reading with SGT promotion preparation Part 2 Schools and Courses
Continue reading with SGT promotion preparation Part 3 SRB
Continue reading with SGT promotion preparation Part 4 Board