Promotion board faff

[Stitchbitch]

Not realy an aviation topic, but during a recent ground trade 'promotion board' the board sat despite the fact that some 10% of eligable candidates (all on exceptional recs) weren't read (U grade?) as their last assesments were sent away by the pre-boarding cell to have 3ROs comments removed and were not recieved back in time. Do boards normally sit when there are so many reports missing? Is it usual for people who might possibly been 'promotable now' to have been overlooked? Do board re-sit when these reports arrive back, and if so, do promotable candidates get added to the 'ranks of the chosen' or do they get quitely ignored and offered an appology?
I would just like some clarification from people in the know as to how the system works as I haven't been able to make much headway through normal channels. Thanks.:ok:

[muttywhitedog]

I also noted that three FS to WO promotion boards have been put back because there were no Wg Cdrs or Gp Capts available to be presidents!

Now this I find amazing - not a single Wg Cdr or Gp Capt in the RAF available for a few days to Invest in People...

Anyone know exactly how many of these ranks are kicking around the air force at the moment?

[[email protected]]

Frankly the whole promotion set-up seems flawed - too few desk officers with too many 'customers' and some who can't tell the difference in primary roles between different people and so only make promotion decisions based on the peripheral stuff (secondary duties, being in RAF teams etc).

The end result is that we creep ever closer to pointless reporting systems like the Americans have where everyone is 10 out of 10 since scoring any less is a career foul.

[Redcarpet]

Thanks Stitchbitch, I knew there must have been a reason...;)

[mckelvey]

Stitchbitch,

The following is a quote from the Air Secretary's Personnel Staff Instructions:

RETROSPECTIVE PROMOTION BOARDS
5. Strenuous efforts are made by Manning 22c staffs to hasten units to complete appraisal reports (ARs) in sufficient time to be pre-boarded prior to the commencement of the PSB. However, where an individual’s most recent AR is not available at the time the PSB is sitting, the airman/woman may be retrospectively pre-boarded once the AR is received. In such cases, in the event that the individual is subsequently deemed to be sufficiently competitive to warrant consideration by the PSB i.e. an A grade candidate, he/she will be presented to the original Board President. This process is carried out to reduce any disadvantage to candidates deserving of consideration by the PSB. The original Board President is required to read and score the candidate, taking full account of the candidate’s performance in competition with all other candidates presented to the PSB. In addition, the Board President is required to take into account how the Specialist and Permanent Board Members would have scored the candidate. Having done so, the Board President is required to allocate the candidate’s position on the PSB.
6. In cases where the original Board President is not readily available , the incumbent of the post of Manning 22c is required to act as President. Manning 22c is best placed to fulfil this role as he/she has responsibility for recommending the ratification of all Ground Trades PSBs. The methodology employed by Manning 22c in fulfilling this function is to read and score the retrospectively presented candidate. Having done so, Manning 22c should then identify the candidate’s potential position on the merit order list, reading and scoring individuals above and below that position to ensure that the candidate has been correctly placed in competition with his/her contemporaries. This process continues until the candidate is correctly placed on the merit order list.

Hope this helps!

[green granite]

That sounds like a direct quote from "Yes Minister". :)

[hello1]

Tis up to the President. His/her job is to put the candidates into order, not promote anybody. Very easy - OK so it takes some balls - for the President to refuse to conduct a Board that is clearly not going to be able to complete its task fairly because a large number of potentially suitable candidates were not presented. Alternatively, he directs the members of the Board not to read the 3RO comments. Point is, the President is usually some chap from the wider Air Force, not Manning, and has the authority and the responsibility to ensure that it is done right and not done for the convenience of staff officers.

[Stitchbitch]

Thanks for the gen chaps, very frustrating time at present. I belive that the '10%' information only hit the streets because one of the guys went for a careers brief to find out why he'd been placed so low in the pecking order...Turns out he wasn't read...Good career management mind.:*

[vecvechookattack]

Frankly the whole promotion set-up seems flawed - too few desk officers

That seems to suggest that only desk officers can sit on a promotion board. Is that correct or is the RAF promotion board open to any serving Officer? Do the boards have WO's sit on them or is it just Officers? If a pilot / Nav wanted to sit on a board....could they?

[Climebear]

Is that correct or is the RAF promotion board open to any serving Officer? Do the boards have WO's sit on them or is it just Officers? If a pilot / Nav wanted to sit on a board....could they?

In the case of Ground Trades' promotion boards: Yes, Yes, and Yes.

[drustsonoferp]

The new rules from JSP 757 on requirement for a 3rd RO have certainly caught people out, but I don't understand why 3rd RO comments would need to be removed.

They are not be required unless a 2UP potential is judged as high or exceptional, but that ought not mean that when someone has worked from old rules of exceptional (spec rec) = 3RO that the 3RO comments need to be removed prior to the board sitting - by having a 3RO the reporting requirement has been exceeded, not somehow failed.

Exceeding the requirement shouldn't lead to a delay in reading such a high number of reports. With the best will in the world it is difficult to acheive parity of treatment with delayed boarding.