Beginning on July 1st, all soldiers who completed the Basic Leader Course with the rank of specialist and recommended by a promotion board for advancement will obtain a promotion to corporal. This comes as a result of the recent change in Army promotions.
Basic Leader Course, otherwise known as BLC, requires training to transition soldiers to noncommissioned officers from junior ranks.
Therefore, before a promotion to sergeant, the Army wants all junior ranks to serve time as corporal. The change will impact active-duty soldiers, National Guard, and Reserve troops.
This change in Army promotions has sparked controversy amongst service members. Despite being a junior NCO and having more responsibilities, corporals will remain at the same pay as specialists. Both corporals and specialists are under the E-4 pay grade.
Both the corporal and specialist ranks are relatively similar. However, the rank corporal was rare to obtain. With this change in Army promotions, specialists will have to carry the rank corporal before reaching the rank sergeant.
“This is a culture in change. This is not something we’re used to… It’s a visual reminder that the soldiers have transitioned from junior ranks to become a member of the NCO Corps.” – Sgt. Maj. Kenyatta Gaskins, Directorate of Military Personnel Management sergeant major.
With this transition, a promotion board must recommend troops before attending the BLC training. These promotion boards are an interview process for a soldier to achieve a new rank. It involves analyzing a soldier’s physical fitness, marksmanship, and knowledge on Army policy and job-related skills.
