Episode 68: Stripes on the Horizon: 9 Keys to Dominating Your Next Military Board

Facing a military promotion board can make even the most confident soldier anxious. The stakes are high—one wrong answer could derail your career advancement. But what if you could walk into that room knowing exactly what to expect and how to respond?

This episode delivers a comprehensive roadmap for conquering any military board, from Soldier of the Month to promotion boards. Drawing from nearly two decades of experience, we break down the nine critical elements that separate successful candidates from those who leave empty-handed. You'll discover how to master the fundamentals that every board expects you to know—from your chain of command to the Soldier's Creed—and how to study efficiently by focusing on consistently asked topics rather than trying to memorize entire regulations.

We dive deep into the psychology of board proceedings, revealing why your appearance and confidence matter just as much as your knowledge. Learn the proper reporting procedures, how to address board members correctly, and the best way to handle questions you don't know the answers to. You'll also gain insights into preparing an effective personal biography, practicing with mock boards, and crafting a compelling "Why me" statement that showcases your readiness for greater responsibility.

Beyond just surviving your board appearance, this guide teaches you how to thrive under pressure and present yourself as the leader the Army needs. Whether it's your first board or you're helping prepare your soldiers, these battle-tested strategies will help you walk in confident and walk out with stripes. Remember, as we say: you don't have to embrace the suck if you've got the right tools in your ruck.

Ready to transform your board preparation? Listen now, and don't forget to check our description for the bio template mentioned in the episode.

Chapters

• 0:00 Board Ready: Setting Expectations
• 3:38 Mastering the Basics First
• 4:52 Study Smart: Key Focus Areas
• 14:53 Looking the Part: Appearance Matters
• 17:10 Board Etiquette and Confidence
• 21:15 Know Your Records and Bio
• 22:54 Mock Boards and Preparation
• 24:36 Your "Why Me" Statement
• 26:38 Final Tips: Unit Awareness

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

So you think you're ready for the soldier of the month or promotion board.

Speaker 1: 0:04

One wrong answer could tank your shot at promotion, so let me show you exactly how to walk in confident and walk out with stripes. Roger Sarn, welcome to the Roger Sarn podcast, where we talk all things army and today I'm giving you in my opinion on what I think it takes to pass any board. I'm also going to give you a template for writing your own bio and, without further ado, let's get started. So you just found out that you're going to the promotion board or you're going to the soldier of the month board, and in reality, this shouldn't be a surprise per se, because, as a junior enlisted soldier, you know your best way of ranking up is going to a board, either if it's a soldier of the month board, soldier of the quarter, soldier of the year, whatever it is, you know that the board is your rite of passage to gaining your stripes. So it's not so much of a surprise in reality, because this day is coming. It's not if it's when. And as for promotion, once you've, if you're smart and you do it the right way, you go to a bunch of boards soldier of the month boards and you work your way through, your command sees you, so when it's time to go to the promotion board, they already have an idea of who you are, and then it makes it a lot easier for you because now you are more comfortable with those individuals. So you're not in there shaking like booty meat right. So you found out that you're going to the board.

Speaker 1: 1:59

There are some basic things that you have to master. The first thing I want you to do is just master the basics. So what is basics? You have to know your chain of command and or or and support channel. So I'm talking about from your squad leader all the way up to the SECF, all the way up to the president of the United States. Just know it. You's just general knowledge that you need to know at your level. You need to know if you have any pressing issues, who are you going to talk to next? Who's your squad leader? Who's your team leader? Who's your first sergeant? Who's your battalion sergeant major? Who's your brigade sergeant major? Know your way through. So, therefore, these basic questions can get answered easily. Now the next thing I want you to understand is, and know is going to be your created a non-commissioned officer and your soldiers creed, right, and I have videos on those or recordings on those that I'll put right here. You can listen to them while you're at the gym, while you're sitting around in the cough, whatever it is, and it just gets ingrained. You start listening to it and you continuously listen to it and then, when it's time to say it, you're going to say it with confidence and you're going to say it with command presence, because that's the biggest deal in the in the boards.

Speaker 1: 3:34

One time I was deployed at this time and his name was Corporal Jones. I'll never forget him. He used to always stop me. I was going to the promotion board, he always stopped me. I'm like, oh, soldiers Cree, soldiers Cree, soldiers, cree. And I'm like, why do I need to know the soldiers? I already know that, but I just need to know my, um, my, my NCO Creek, cause that's what I'm going for, right? And he's like all right, cool, whatever, but he was still stopping me, right. Guess what? They asked me when it was time to get for my promotion board. They asked me the soldiers Creek, get for my promotion board. They asked me the soldiers creed. They did not ask me the NCO creed at all, because I was expected to know it Right. So that was kind of like a thing. So know both of them.

Speaker 1: 4:14

Next, next basic thing that I want you to understand is I want you to be able to, and be ready to, recite the army values, warrior ethos and your general orders, and those have to be verbatim. Right. Three general orders is not that big of a deal, right? Know those verbatim, because those are basic soldier knowledge that they want you to know. They teach you this in basic training and so on and so forth. The second thing I want you to do is I want you to study smart, not just study hard. I'm talking about study smart. You're going to focus on the boards topics that always come up. I made a video and reference. We'll talk about it in a second.

Speaker 1: 5:05

So the first thing that you learn in the military is uniform and appearance AR670-1, right, that's the first thing that you learn how to put your uniform on. So this is a basic thing. Customs and courtesies, when to salute. Good morning Sergeant, good morning sir, good morning ma'am. Whatever it is, they teach you how to do this. It's basic Weapons, marksmanship, basic First aid is going to come up. Leadership and counseling it's going to come up. Military justice, ucmj it's going to come up Army program, sharp EO, boss All those things are going to be in this board and they're basic soldier things that you need to know.

Speaker 1: 5:57

You know how many times I've seen soldiers and I've also experienced this myself that something happens to them or their peer and they don't know where to address it. A lot of things happen sharp EO, whatever it is and soldiers just go about their day because they don't know what to do. Another thing is soldiers go about their day in reference to staying in their rooms all the time because they don't understand that balls has a bunch of opportunities and if you're a single NCO, sometimes they'll call you. I remember I was in Alaska, fort Wainwright, and there was a boss trip down to Anchorage and I was the NCO for said boss trip 18 soldiers, it was two of us and I got a free trip down to Anchorage with a whole bunch of troops and I'll never forget that. But yeah, you have to understand these and in order to study smart, you have to use a bunch of resources.

Speaker 1: 6:56

One resource that I'll talk about is let me switch over is going to be APD. Right, Right here you can find any regulation 670-1. I click that in there, I hit enter or search, whatever it is, and internet moving slow as I don't know what Yo stop playing. So I click on that and if I don't know why my internet is moving so slow, but it would pop up here if it would like to. But here you have, uh, counter intelligence awareness, all these regulations that are here, developmental counseling forms that are here, developmental counseling forms that are there. So if you look across, you got forms. I'm not sure why my internet's tripping. To be honest with you Now I'm kind of tight. There we go 670-1, where in appearance and you see that I'm on it a bunch of times because you can see it's already been clicked before you have your publications. Talks about it, got the forms that you use. Talks about it. Got the forms that you use. Talks about it. Additional resources um, there's also the center for uh army lessons learned, or call that. You may know about it as we teach this in bay in um.

Speaker 1: 8:18

Blc has publications, audiobooks, lesson learned for while training. Another thing that's pretty cool about this is it has a bunch of books that you can read, that you can download. This one right here First Hundred Days as a Platoon Sergeant or Platoon Leadership. It's the second edition. They have many things that you can use in order to study a little bit harder. And then you have the nco guide and this one right here I kind of I I kind of really like this one because if you, if you go I'm let's go down to page five it'll have all the um, I guess what is this? The index or whatever the context, the content that's in here, and it has all the chapters and I've picked out a couple of them. Page 11, you have your NCO creed. Right after that you have the charge of the non-commissioned officer.

Speaker 1: 9:17

Let's go to page 35. You have your competencies. You have to know your competencies if you're going to the promotion board, because this is what you're going to be like using in order to train right Readiness, leadership, training, management. All of these things are in there and they're there to help you. And this is just more knowledge. One of the most important things right here is understanding your role understanding your role as a sergeant and understanding your role as a corporal. Once you pass BLC, you get your corporal stripes and you start moving into that NCO world Right, and this is important because a lot of times we don't understand. What is it that we're supposed to do? And right here it gives you the framework on what you're supposed to do do. And right here it gives you the framework on what you're supposed to do. And they talk about the eight step training model. Because you use this anytime that you conduct a training. I even made a video particularly about the eight step training model and I show how to apply it. I'll put it up here as well.

Speaker 1: 10:18

Let's go over to page 57. What's on page 57? Attributes and competencies. Page 57. What's on page 57? Attributes and competencies. This is the basis of your NCOER. That's it. You understand this and you master this. Yes, you master these six realms and you start writing your own NCOER without even knowing it.

Speaker 1: 10:44

Let's go down to page 59. Talks about compliance and commitment. A lot of us we like to complain. I'm a complain, but I'm a comply and I've been in for almost 18 years, so I'm definitely committed. Right. But we have to understand there's a thin line between between complaining and complying and complying. So this talks about that. The capacity of an individual has the influence, has to influence the attitude, behavior of others. So if you're always complaining, your subordinates will do the same, and that's very, very bad. What is that called? The rotten apple gets one rotten apple to do the whole batch, or whatever it is Right.

Speaker 1: 11:31

Here we're talking about levels of leadership strategic, organizational, direct. Which one do you fall under? Do you, if you do know, put it in the comments. If you don't know, here it is. Now you know, let's do some more.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Let's go to page 75 and we're talking about here. It highlights the requirements of the dlc or that you need to do in order to get to the next ncoes, right, some of you guys don't know that. I didn't know it for a while. Just go to page 102, and we're talking about officer-NCO relations. And the reason why I bring this up is because I need you to understand that every individual will come across and work for, work with, alongside an NCO. Every soldier period I'm talking junior enlisted NCOs, officers they all get influenced by an NCO. This is why it's so pivotal to understand and do what you're supposed to do. Know what you're supposed to do, because it's all about your experience. And lastly, let's go to 137.

Speaker 1: 12:45

And here we're talking about tools, right, like I told you, army Training Network. It has a bunch of tools. Army Career Tracker is where you see your number and you do your OML number and you do your, your um, your, your career plan, call to like the car, like it's so many uh cancel. So just use this. It's a it's, it's a really good tool to use for moving forward. Right, and that's the NCO guide.

Speaker 1: 13:17

So the third thing I want you to understand, I want you to understand, I want you to know regulations that matter, don't get me wrong. All of them matter, but focus on these key manuals 670-1, uniform, um and grooming. Uh, uniform and appearance, sorry, uh. Ar 600-20, command policy, right, and this has sharpeneo in it. Fm 7-22, holistic health and fitness. Fm 3-22.9 that's rifle marksmanship. Uh. Tc 3-22.249, I believe it, and this is about the crew serve weapons, right. Abcp 600-9, which is the body composition. Atp 6-22.1, and that's going to be the Army counseling process.

Speaker 1: 14:12

I also did a video in reference to the five at bare minimum regulations that you need to know, that are your bread and butter as an NCO. I'll put those in. I'll put it somewhere over here. You can click on it and watch it later. But these are regulations that you need to understand because it's the it's, it's the next step and when you have soldiers, their careers are are in your in your hands, and you have to understand how to navigate through these uh obstacles that you're going to um be confronted with. To be honest with you, um, hold on one second. Next thing I want to talk about is the fourth thing. Is you have to look the part and you can sit here and say well, it is what it is, I'm going to be me. No, it's not going to cut it.

Speaker 1: 15:05

Your uniform, when you walk into the board, it has to be flawless. I'm talking about flawless. It has to be lint free. Your shoes have to be have a boot, um, boot, black on it, whatever the heck is calling called. It has to be shiny. Your jump boots have to look good. Your name placards have to be level. Your haircut got to be tight. Your uniform has to fit. You have to have your gig line and have your dog tags, have your ID card for whenever they ask you about these things, and it's just part of just your presentation. If you come in and you present yourself looking crazy, then they're going to treat you as if you're crazy. So if you want them to take you seriously, show them that you put in the work to be taken seriously.

Speaker 1: 15:53

Practice your marching right, your walking right. Practice it Because when you walk in there, there's the infamous robot and I know you've seen it. I know you've seen videos. I know you've seen soldiers If you're an NCO that's done these mock boards you've seen your soldiers walk in and do the robot with left arm, left leg move, right arm, right leg move. It just sets you up for a bad day. Understand reporting. When you walk in sitting with posture, have confidence in what you do right. Those are all points that everyone's looking at. Right. When you walk in, walk in like you're already the soldier, slash NCO that they want to promote, soldier that already won the board, just own it. It's hard, trust me. It's hard because we worry, as humans, about how people perceive us. So I know it can be hard but at the same time, confidence is key.

Speaker 1: 17:06

The fifth thing I want to talk about is practice board etiquette. So when you get there and it's your turn, you're on deck and you're waiting that soldier comes out and they look at you like and they do the whole crazy thing or they say it's not that bad, it's not that bad, whatever it is that they say it's your turn, you lock in, you take your deep breath and you knock three times boom, boom, boom. And then you march in smartly, you go directly, you take the shortest path, stand a few steps away from that table and you say and you come to the position of attention and you report Specialist Cruz reports to the president of the board, as directed, as ordered, whatever the word is, and you don't drop your salute until they do. And sometimes they'll message you. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes they'll message you and they'll just hold it up there and if you drop it, they're going to a bad day. It's going to be a bad day because now they're going to sit there and they're going to hone in on it, right?

Speaker 1: 18:15

So understand, confidence is key. Now, a lot of times people say confidence is key, as long as you say something, it works, blah, blah. They want you to say something, just not nothing. No, no, confidence is key, meaning that you own, even when you're wrong, meaning I'll give you an example in a second. But you have to understand that the confidence is key term or the mentality comes from. They want to know if you can make a split second decision. That's it and that's the confidence.

Speaker 1: 18:52

Are you confident enough to lead your soldiers down a certain path when shit hits the fan? To lead your soldiers down a certain path when shit hits the fan, next thing you want to do is you want to make eye contact and you want to address NCOs by their proper rank and always say yes, sergeant Major, no, first Sergeant, sergeant. The answer is, whatever it is, that it is right. And if there's a Master Sergeant in there, I don't know man, there's this unwritten rule that we call the master sergeant or mass sergeant, whatever, however way it comes out of your mouth right here. Um, just, I would just personally, I would just say master sergeant, whatever it is, because you mess around, you say yes, sergeant, and they hold you to that unwritten rule. You just may have lost their vote, and whether you're right, I'd rather be wrong and meet the objective than be right and not meet the objective. So just don't put yourself in a compromising situation. So if you don't know an answer, I would say me personally. If you don't know an answer, I would say me personally, sergeant. I don't know the answer at this time, but I'll find out, for if and when the situation may arise in the future, as a leader. That's what I would say.

Speaker 1: 20:11

I'm not going to say this silliness of I can find it in AR 670-1 and I'll get back to you later. Blah, blah, blah. Why. Why are you getting back when the results are already four hours ago? Why do I need to go back and waste that Sergeant Major's time, waste that First Sergeant's time, waste that Platoon Sergeant's time, whoever's on the board? Why do I need to waste their time?

Speaker 1: 20:36

So, in my personal opinion, I think it's a, it's a setup for, for, for silliness. I think it's irrelevant. I think the best answer to say in that point is I will find it. And if you want to say oh yeah, it's in 670-1, I know it's in there, but I'll look it up for any, I think it's for more for any future situations that I may encounter as a leader, that's it. I don't need to bring anything to no. Sorry, major, I don't want to talk to him. I only talk to you right now because you're on the board. Other than that, I don't want to talk to you. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 21:10

So, number six know your records and know your points right. Be ready to discuss your ACFT or AFT score, whichever one you have. Be ready to talk about your height and weight, especially if you're big and bulky, right? Because some of us you know what I'm saying we're big, like that, nah, but some people are just big and their weight is higher and whatever it is, and they're going to just talk to you about crazy stuff.

Speaker 1: 21:38

If you have a profile you awards, education, whatever it is be ready to talk about it. And, of course, your leader is going to have a, um, a clean copy of your SRB, uh, sglv, whichever one that they ask for, but just know your SRB, know it. And last part of that is know your bio. If you don't know you, how do I know you? And I'll put in the description I'll put a template for a bio and it's literally like I don't know 10 questions or so that when you answer those questions in complete sentences, how you would talk, it will write your bio for you. And if there are other ways to write it, I'm just giving you a way. That's it. I'm just providing you with a way on how to write a bio. That can be some may consider long, some may consider too short. However it may be, use it if you want to. If not, don't, don't make me know, nevermind, but it's out there for you.

Speaker 1: 22:47

Number seven you're going to have to do mock boards, and when you do mock boards, it creates more confidence, right? Ask your leaders to conduct mock boards. Too many leaders that I know they're going to say well, I didn't blah, blah, blah. Back in my time I studied by myself blah, blah. Well, make them, do their job, make them. Hey, sergeant Cruz, I want a mock board Friday at this time. Can we have it? Yeah, sure, and then that NCO me, I'll get me two other NCOs and we'll grill you for about an hour or two or 30 minutes, whatever it is, and we'll get you right and we'll continue to do those. But you have to apply the pressure. A lot of leaders are now way too relaxed and way too come get me for my expertise versus just volunteering it. Right, and that's going to create you practicing under pressure. You're going to get blunt feedback on your bearing, on your knowledge and on your appearance. This is what you want. This is what the mock boards are for.

Speaker 1: 23:50

And the next thing, number eight, I think we're at have a why me statement ready. Why should we promote you? That's the question, right. So be ready for the question. Why should we select you for soldier of the month? Or why should we select you for promotion? And make sure that you answer this question with confidence, not arrogance, right? Let me give you an example on how I would probably answer this. So why should we promote you, sergeant?

Speaker 1: 24:28

I take pride in setting the standards, holding myself and others accountable and representing my unit with discipline and professionalism. I am ready to take on greater responsibility. Short and simple. What is that? One run-on sentence, maybe two at best. That is it. You don't have to do too much. You don't have to do too little. Straight, sweet and to the point, because that's how army writing is right Clear, concise and to the point. And you give them that. Why should we promote you? Have your why statement ready. That's it. Because they're going to ask some crazy stuff.

Speaker 1: 25:06

And number nine, I would say, is kind of like a bonus Study your unit's recent events, have recent events that's going on in the world in your head, right. Know your unit's mission, know their recent training deployments and what their priorities are. And I think it kind of impresses them by knowing that you're plugged in and you're just not studying for points. You're not studying for this, right, and yeah, it's about showing that you are more than just what meets the eye, understand what's going on in the world and never give your opinion. They won't even put you in that position. I don't think I haven't been on a board. I haven't boarded or, as a board member, asked a question.

Speaker 1: 25:59

That's about a personal opinion on things that are maybe going on, unless it's sports, something light like oh yeah, the Eagles won the Super Bowl or whatever it is Right, and then. And then it'd be like so what's your team Giants? Duh, you know what I mean and it and it makes everything lighthearted. Just make sure that you just understand what's going on in your footprint and what's going on around you, because they're going to probably say take me around the world in 30 seconds, take me around the world in 60 seconds, and that's your opportunity to give them your feedback.

Speaker 1: 26:32

Now I want to hear from you how do you study? How do you help your soldiers pass their boards? Drop your thoughts in the comments. Do me a favor like, comment and subscribe all that cool stuff. And if you found this discussion insightful, check out my video right here somewhere on the five traits high-speed soldiers display. This is my personal opinion and remember you don't have to embrace the suck if you got the right tools in your ruck. I'm Sarn Cruz and I'll see you in the next one. Peace, roger Sarn.