BY KARLA GABEL, Office of Supply Corps Personnel, Naval Supply Systems Command
The best way to prepare for advancement is to always do your best work and give the Navy the continued superior performance expected of all Sailors. If you are a junior officer (JO) up for promotion, take time to review your Officer Summary Record (OSR) and Performance Summary Record (PSR) to be certain the information is up-to-date and correct. Your PSR should be accurate and free of any continuity gaps. Corrections to your record could take several months to be reflected, so check it often. You also need a current officer photo. NAVADMIN 265/18 reinstated the requirement to display your official photograph for all officer selection boards. To qualify for the O4 board, you must meet the criteria outlined in the community values. You must have one warfare qualification and two operational tours. Department head tours are not required, but are strongly encouraged. Community values are contained in the Community Brief found on the eSUPPO app and on the Career Counselor page on the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) website (see link at end of article). The mission of any board is to select those “best and fully qualified” based on performance. As stated in the “It’s Your Board” playbook, “For statutory boards, the official status is set forth in the precept from the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The precept specifies the number of officers the board must select and defines the board’s legal duties. The SECNAV also specifies the maximum number of officers that may be selected from below the promotion zone. No limit is placed on the number of above zone selections. A precept is a document, signed by the convening authority and directed to the president of the board, giving guidance to the board regarding the criteria upon which their selections should be based. The precept is the only guidance for selection provided to a board along with the community’s convening order.”
A precept document is general in nature and governs all boards in a specific fiscal year. A convening order is a board-specific document that orders a board to convene on a particular date at a certain time, with selected and approved board members. It provides detailed guidelines, career accomplishments and qualifications to define the parameters by which the board members will make their selections.
Board members participating on Supply Corps boards are recommended by the Chief of Supply Corps and approved by the Chief of Naval Personnel. No other individuals within the Supply Corps are privy to board membership and this information is not released before the boards.
How can you increase your chance of being selected at the O4 promotion board? Follow the advice outlined above and don’t wait until the last minute!
For more information on preparing for boards, contact the Supply Corps Career Counselor at supply_corps_cc@navy.mil or visit the Career Counselor page on the Navy Personnel Command (NPC) website at: https://www.public.navy.mil/BUPERSNPC/OFFICER/DETAILING/RLSTAFFCORPS/SUPPLY/Pages/CareerCounselor.aspx
Read the “It’s Your Career” playbook on the eSUPPO app or on the NPC website at this link: https://www.public.navy.mil/bupersnpc/officer/Detailing/rlstaffcorps/supply/Pages/It%27sYourCareerPlaybooks.aspx
Review the boards schedule on the Boards page on the NPC website at: https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/boards/Pages/default.aspx