FORT KNOX, Ky. (Army News Service, March 24, 2011) -- Under a new system taking effect later this year, commanders and command sergeants major will begin and end their assignments at the same time.
Senior NCOs chosen last fall by the Army's first Centralized Selection List, or CSL boards, for command sergeants major and sergeants major, will begin filling positions in October, according to Human Resources Command officials.
The new system, outlined at the Sergeant Major of the Army's Nominative Conference in January, synchronizes command teams so that a unit's commander and senior NCO adviser will attend the Pre-Command Course together and change in and out the same fiscal year.
"It's about meeting the needs of the Army while at the same time offering Soldiers more predictability and more say in their next assignment," said Kurt Fedors, command management branch chief, Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate, U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
"We've implemented a process very similar to what officers are familiar with when competing for brigade and battalion command, so it's a tried and tested process," Fedors said. "We will have some misses, but will make every effort to synchronize these changes of command and changes of responsibility."
The command sergeant major board helps with selections because the board identifies those Soldiers best-qualified to serve at brigade and battalion level, he said. The order of merit list system for principal and alternate selects ensures that no command sergeant major position will go unfilled, Fedors said.
In fiscal year 2012, active-component positions will be filled using the new system. In FY 2013, Active Guard-Reserve, or AGR, positions will begin being filled, HRC officials said.
"It's going to take two years to implement this plan," he said. "Fifty percent are selected for the first year or phase one. You can't do 100 percent at once as there would be no opportunities for Soldiers to compete next year."
Additional information from the Sergeant Major of the Army's Nominative Conference includes the following:
- Eligible command sergeants major and sergeants major will compete for and be selected under four categories that apply across the 26 career management fields - operations, strategic support, recruiting and training, and installation.
- This centralized selection board process is part of an overall change to senior NCO management outlined by the Army's G-1 personnel staff at the Pentagon in June 2009.
- It mirrors the officer central selection process.
- It's based upon providing better predictability assignment choices and increasing opportunities.
Send inquiries to: askhrc.army@us.army.mil or call 1-888-ARMY-HRC (276-9472).
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