TIG for Promotion to PFC
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| This was presented to the command staff July 22, 2006, by Manary. This concept was accepted and implemented.. |
Contents |
[edit] Origin
During July 2006, the at the time Corporal Manary brought a proposal to 1st Sgt. Townsend regarding doing away with the automatic promotion of BCT recruits to Private First Class upon graduation of their training class.
[edit] Proposal for PFC as a Promotable Rank
Dated July 22, 2006 The idea was that recruits of the 3rd ID (who were originally Privates throughout Basic Combat Training, and then promoted to PFC as full-fledged members of the unit and as a "reward" for completing their training) would not be promoted to PFC immediately upon graduation. Instead, a mandatory time in grade of 3 months would need to be completed, along with a few prerequisites.
[edit] Prerequisites
- Soldier demonstrates basic knowledge of the workings (ins and outs) of the 3rd ID.
- Soldier is mature, follows orders and does not question authority.
- Soldier has distinguished himself with exceptional activity and contribution over at least a 90 day period and has maintained a drill attendance record over 70% during this time period. His presence must be noticable, on TeamSpeak, on the forums, in combat, in drills and, to an extent, even during matches/scrimmages.
- Soldier demonstrates rudimentary understanding of the facets of basic leadership.
[edit] Further Support for the Proposal
Further support for the concept was included in the document.
The promotion to PFC was essentially the 3rd ID's way of throwing new members of the unit into the fray. The thing was that the next step up, Corporal, was a significant leap from being merely a PFC. The maturity level expected from a Corporal was quite a bit higher, and many other facets of the job of being a Junior NCO were too complicated. Even though the PFCs in question might not have a full grasp on exactly what is expected of them if they want to be in line for a Corporal position. PFCs in question had no grasp on exactly what was expected of them if they wanted to put themselves in line for a promotion to Corporal.
Making a PFC a non-automatic promotion would give Privates something too strive for as well. Having an active rank as as a Private before attaining a chevron would put the Privates in a situation where it was quite easy to achieve PFC, but if one was having problems getting it, then there was obviously an issue that needed to be resolved or weeded out.
And so an age old 3rd ID tradition was turned around for the betterment of the unit's members and future. It was agreed that a 3 month TIG was fair.
[edit] Honor Graduate Concept
The suggestion of an "honor grad" from each BCT class was also discussed in the written proposal. This would be a soldier who had outperformed all others in his training class and deserved the one availabe automatic promotion to PFC upon graduation. The idea was scrapped after discussion about its fairness and how the promotion would blur the the significance of having a TIG for PFC.
[edit] Beyond
This proposal eventually led to the development of the Recruit Tag Program to further objectify and reward active enlistees working toward becoming recruits of the 3rd Infantry Division. Talks about the idea renewed in the same discussion thread and the concept was implemented soon after with a proposal made by Cpl. Chu.
Article last updated: 14:24, 16 March 2007 (PDT)
