{"id":32537,"date":"2017-09-19T15:40:29","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T15:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/19\/smas-to-do-list-kill-sequence-numbers-make-every-soldier-deployable-bring-back-pinks-and-greens-amp-more\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:24:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:24:46","slug":"smas-to-do-list-kill-sequence-numbers-make-every-soldier-deployable-bring-back-pinks-and-greens-amp-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2017\/09\/19\/smas-to-do-list-kill-sequence-numbers-make-every-soldier-deployable-bring-back-pinks-and-greens-amp-more\/","title":{"rendered":"SMA\u2019s to-do list: Kill sequence numbers, make every soldier deployable, bring back \u2018pinks and greens\u2019 & more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s promotion time again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve just led soldiers on deployment, you\u2019ve been maxing your PT test, you\u2019re halfway into a stint as a drill sergeant, and you\u2019re working on a bachelor\u2019s degree. Your evals look great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you\u2019ve only got three years time in grade, and you\u2019re going up against guys who\u2019ve also checked all their boxes but have been around longer. So, you end up at the back of the promotion line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how it\u2019s been done for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the Army now wants that to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new enlisted promotions system will take sequence numbers \u2014 the places in line given to promotable NCOs based on time in grade and time in service \u2014 out of the equation for promotion boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to give top performers priority in the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA sequence number shouldn\u2019t be the reason that I\u2019m waiting to get promoted, because the number has no bearing on talent,\u201d Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey told Army Times in an interview this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This proposal is just one of several big initiatives the Army\u2019s top enlisted soldier is working on as he approaches the fourth \u2014 and final \u2014 year of his tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dailey gave Army Times an inside look at some of the items at the top of his to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ending sequence numbers<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army\u2019s current enlisted promotion system sends all promotion-eligible soldiers to a board, which ranks them by talent \u2014 in other words, the jobs they\u2019ve held, their evaluations, and the additional training or education they\u2019ve taken on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, that top tier is put through a system that reshuffles them again, this time assigning a number to each based on their time in the Army and their time in that rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That way, only those at the top of that heap make the cut, based on the number of spots available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I asked the question, I said, \u2018Why do we do that?\u2019 \u201d Dailey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of taking the most qualified soldiers and ranking them for promotion by years served, the Army is now looking to have boards select top-ranked soldiers based purely on their accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s because you met all the standards, and you were the best selected,\u201d Dailey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sequence numbers will still exist for records purposes, he added, but they will not be used in promotion boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative is the latest in the Army\u2019s overall effort to find new ways to manage talent and reward soldiers for going above and beyond, both in the officer and enlisted ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officer promotions, including sequence numbers and competing with others from their same year group for promotion, are written into law, but for enlisted soldiers, Dailey said, the change is as simple as a sign-off from the secretary of the Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative is still working its way through approval channels, according to G-1 spokesman Lt. Col. Randy Taylor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMA is also hoping to streamline the number of boards the Army does every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I mean by that is we do too many promotion boards and [other] boards annually right now,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m going to cut them down to like four boards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, there would be one board that covers promotions, one that\u2019s responsible for school selection, and a board that screens for the Qualitative Management Program and the Qualitative Service Program, if those become necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would ensure that the eligible pool of soldiers is looked at by one body and is looked at equally, versus doing a separate QMP or a separate QSP board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, let\u2019s do a multi-use board and promote from the top,\u201d Dailey said. \u201cAnd if need be, and if talent requires it, then you\u2019re moved from the bottom. And you don\u2019t reshuffle based on time in service, time in grade. Because if you do that, maybe the most talented person is getting promoted last.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Daily promotes a junior enlisted soldier during a visit to U.S. Army Africa last fall. Dailey wants to eliminate sequence numbers for NCO promotions in a bid to make sure the best soldiers are promoted the quickest. (Staff Sgt. Lance Pounds\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Senior NCOs: Up or out<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big issue in the NCO corps is upward mobility. As it is now, once a soldier makes sergeant first class, he or she has unlimited chances to be screened for promotion, and they can serve out their days until they hit high-year tenure without ever getting promoted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That clogs up the pipeline for younger, possibly more motivated and talented NCOs, Dailey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About a year ago, the Army reduced retention control points \u2014 the amount of time career soldiers can stay in uniform without getting promoted \u2014 to free up some space in its senior NCO ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, about 3,000 senior NCOs were to be forced to leave the Army in the next several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with that, the service also was projecting accompanying increases in promotion rates for sergeants first class, master sergeants and sergeants major.<\/p>\n\n\n\t