Promotion!

This is coolbert:

White Men Without Disabilities??

I have seen this particular policy referenced to on several occasions by comments to the blog.

"DOD policy statements such as this reported in the WSJ 12-6-95:

'special permission will be required for the promotion of all white men without disabilities'"

WSJ=Wall Street Journal.

What is this? Incomprehensible to me!!

Is this with regard to CIVILIAN personnel employed by Department of Defense?

Or is it for the uniformed services too?

[a troop with a disability normally is precluded from military service, period!!!]

What is up with this? I cannot say. Is all unfamiliar to me! That policy is dated 1995. First time I have heard of it.

I do know that promotions at the HIGHER levels of the uniformed services do become very IMPERSONAL.

NOT SO at the lower levels of command. A person in line for promotion at the lower ranks, offices and enlisted both, is observed on a daily basis by his commander. This commander has, and is expected to have, an intimate knowledge of each and every subordinates abilities. Abilities that determine if promotion is warranted or not.

As one moves up the ranks, the promotion systems does become very IMPERSONAL. Having an impressive 201 file and a professionally taken photo of the troop in dress uniform within that file is of paramount importance.

[most military bases usually employ a professional photographer who sole task is to take those photographs to be placed in 201 files. A LOT of emphasis is placed on that photo. Your appearance IS IMPORTANT!!]

ELIGIBILITY for promotion is based upon a board of three officers reviewing that file and from the contents of that file ALONE, determining if a troop is merely ELIGIBLE for consideration of promotion. Eligibility does not necessarily mean promotion, but only having your name placed on a list. From such a list a number of soldiers ARE promoted when WARRANTED.

These officers look at, and again, look at, in a very impersonal manner:

* Number of years of service.

* Time in grade.

* Evaluation reports.

* Scores on the physical fitness test.

* Appearance in that photo.

* Schooling, military and civilian.

Having your name placed on a list of those eligible for promotion once again does not mean automatic promotion. The number of persons promoted at any given time is based upon NEEDS of the services.

A soldier, whether enlisted or commissioned, MUST have had a demonstrable and steady record of growth during their military career. YOU NO LONGER HAVE INSTANCES OF CAREER CORPORALS THAT ARE FORTY YEARS OLD, HAVING BEEN PROMOTED AND SUBSEQUENTLY REDUCED IN RANK A NUMBER OF TIMES BECAUSE OF UCMJ INFRACTIONS! Dregs no longer apply.

It has long been a sore point that minorities in particular were neglected when it came to promotions for flag rank positions [General and Admiral officers]. Ten years ago, the Air Force, Marines, and Navy each had ONLY ONE officer of flag rank that was a black man.

[the Army seems to fare well in this regard. Ten years ago, about 11 % of Army General officers were black men. This corresponds well to the overall black population in the U.S. of about 13 %!!]

The comments of Marine Commandant Mundy at the time did raise a lot of eyebrows. "They don't shoot a rifle as well, they don't swim as well, they don't follow a course on the ground from a map as well!!' THEY!!

Seeing the promotions of such persons as General Powell [Chairman of JCS] or General Shinseki [Army Chief of Staff] to the highest ranks and levels of command would only seem to suggest that bias is NOT THAT prevalent and overwhelming as one might think.

Women in the uniformed services of course are in a category all by themselves.

Women at this point and for the foreseeable future cannot participate in combat arms MOS's.

[this is not categorically true. Women can pilot aircraft in a combat zone and can have a MOS in an air defense unit. Aviation and air defense are normally categorized as combat arms.]

NOT being able to command combat arms units at a lower level most of the time precludes a troop from rising to the higher ranks. Ranks at the higher levels are normally reserved for officers of combat arms branches. YOU DO NOT see officers with a branch of Quartermaster commanding an infantry division. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN!!

[When Eisenhower was Army Chief of Staff [CoS], he had to choose his successor. Normally, great leeway is granted to the CoS when choosing his successor. In this particular case, Eisenhower had to choose between two more or less equally qualified officers. This I believe was General Collins and General Ridgeway. Eisenhower read and reread the two files on these two officers and could not decide. This indecision lasted for MONTHS!! Eisenhower finally decided NOT to promote Matt Ridgeway. This decision was based upon the fact that Ridgeway had a much younger wife [Penny] that did not GET ALONG with the wifes of the other senior Generals. Since entertaining is an IMPORTANT factor for the CoS, Eisenhower USED the age of the wife as the deciding criteria in the selection process!! Such is how promotions to the most lofty of levels is sometimes decided!!]

coolbert.