Taking Charge of Your Career

Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with young NCOs across our armored force. A common theme in those conversations is young NCOs seeking to understand and shape their career path. These young leaders are trying to take charge and own their careers; however, many do not fully understand what tools are available, where to find those tools, or how to interpret them. Our young leaders seek to understand what they must do to continue being promoted and to serve in positions of higher responsibility within our Army. Often my advice is that there is no one path to success — there are many paths. What led me to success may not always be the same as someone else. My hope is that this article will reach as many of our young NCOs as possible and serve as a guide or template for leaders counseling their young NCOs on their careers and when conducting LPDs across their formations.

I think the most crucial thing a young NCO can do is perform well, above their peers, and demonstrate potential for the next level, regardless of what assignment they are in. To promote ahead of peers, you must clearly separate yourself. Separating yourself and showing dedication to continuous growth can be done in many ways, such as completing military or civilian education, obtaining the Experts Skills Badge, or being selected for the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club.

Key development (KD) time—serving in leadership positions and leading our Soldiers— remains one of the most crucial components for NCO development. It is my belief that the more successful, highly enumerated KD time an NCO has, the better. A NCO’s performance in these positions is critical and holds the most weight when assessing potential. This is reflected in promotion rates as seen in the evaluation board results and becomes evident when those young leaders take the next step in their careers and serve in positions of increased responsibility. NCOs should strive to remain in leadership positions—in front of and lead our Soldiers—as much as possible. In many cases, an NCO may only get the opportunity to serve in leadership positions for a minimum time due to YMAVs and the enlisted market cycle, and they will move to a broadening assignment. These broadening assignments are key to development while ensuring that NCOs relevant to the tactical fight bring that experience into those assignments. This does not hinder your career; however, you must also perform in these assignments. After completing a broadening assignment, NCOs must fight to get back to an operational assignment—once again leading Soldiers.

DA PAM 600-25 and the NCO Career Development Model for CMF 19 serve as the primary professional development guides for our NCOs as they progress through their career paths. It is important to understand that these documents do not serve as a checklist or step-by-step instructions but instead outline the full spectrum of opportunities an NCO can anticipate for a successful career. The Career Development Model shows a correlation between training, education, and experience over time that synchronizes to foster development. There are many ways to achieve success; there is no one-size-fits-all. All leaders in our formations should be familiar with these documents.

Another helpful tool—and one of the most important—is the board AAR published by the Office of the Chief of Armor (OCOA). OCOA analyzes the results of every evaluation board for CMF 19 and produces a summary AAR for the force. In this process, they analyze the data and provide a clear snapshot of what that board deemed important. This AAR provides data points such as: Time in Service (TIS), Time in Grade (TIG), * average KD time for NCOs selected as “Most Qualified” which broadening assignments were favored during that cycle. It also identifies trends in professional military education, including completion of specialized schools such as Master Gunner, Cavalry Leaders Course, Battle Staff, and other advanced or functional training that boards consistently view as indicators of technical expertise and leadership potential.

Two distinct positions that support NCO career progression are the OCOA Proponent Career Management NCOs at Fort Benning Georgia and the HRC Armor Branch Talent Managers at Fort Knox Kentucky. Their roles are often misunderstood across the force. Career Management NCOs update DA PAM 600-25, prepare the board AARs, and support leader development across the formation. Talent Managers handle routine personnel actions such as YMAV adjustments, stabilizations, and other assignment-related functions. Think of the relationship as “what” versus “how.” If you want to discuss “what” you should do next, then the Career Management NCOs are there to assist you. Once you understand what you should pursue, the Talent Managers assist you in executing the actions necessary to get there or the “how”. Both positions operate in coordination with each other and exist to assist.

Utilizing all the tools and resources along with mentorship from your leader you will be armed to take charge and own your career. Remember, no one is more concerned with your career than you are.

Forge the Thunderbolt!