SDL
12-06-10, 08:52 PM
I am a drilling reservisit who has been a LCPL for almost 5 years and according to my current composite scores, there is no hope of picking up any time soon. Yes, I do know that the easiest answer I can get is to try to get meritoriously promoted. But that is not likely, as I am not exactly the s***hot Marine... but then again, am not a s***bag either. The reservists who I graduated with from MOS school have all picked up this past April... Two of them had comp scores lower than mine when I checked right before they moved it. So at this point, I'm trying to figure out exactly WHAT is keeping me from getting promoted. I was talking to a couple of CPLs at my unit this past weekend, and a few of them suggested that the problem MAY have been an admin error. I was wondering if anybody's ever experienced this kind of problem before. Could it really be their (or S-3) goof. My situation goes a little something like this...
I have never had a Page 11 before during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have never had any NJPs before during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have never gotten my rank reduced during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have never FAILED the PFT during the 5.5 years I've been in (always been a 2nd class... never even dipped into 3rd class, amazingly enough).
I have never FAILED the CFT since it's inception into the Marine Corps (got a 3rd class last year, but a 2nd class this year).
I never unq'ed on the rifle range (though I have always been a rifle & pistol Marksman).
I was never overweight by Marine Corps standards, nor have I ever been considered a fat-body.
I was never non-rec'ed for promotion during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have maxed out my MCIs that would count for promotion to CPL.
All my years as a drilling reservist are SAT years.
As for the fellow Marines I graduated with from MOS school... out of the 6 (myself included), one of them was active duty to start with and the last time I checked he's a SGT. The 2nd one just went onto become active duty starting as an RA. One of the reservist has a higher comp score than me. The remaining too's comp score just trailed behind what I had (I verfied that other than the RA Marine, all still hold the same MOS as me right now as their PMOS). Again, all three of them picked up CPL during April 2010.
I have ran out of possible reasons that is holding me back. During the years I've been with the unit, I have seen plenty of Marines who's gotten NJP'ed, busted down in rank, failed the PFT multiple times, considered overweight and taped out to be fat-bodies, never deployed (I've deployed once), but yet went on and picked up CPL without a hitch.
I am still a TAN BELT in MCMAP (since I was never given the opportunity to advance onto my GREY BELT). I am wondering if that's the reason. All I know is tha my chain of command never brought this up, nor sent me to get my GREY BELT when training opportunity arises.
What is most intriguing is this: Around August 2009, I went on MOL and used the RANK/MOS function that lists all Marines at a particular rank & MOS (on the RESERVE side, of course). I set the order based on the highest Comp Score to the lowest. My name was actually on the 1st page. But when I checked it agian using the same procedure as above in October 2009, my name mysteriously went from the 1st page, down to the 8th page. A few whiles back, I was on the 4th page. I checked yesterday and found out that I am now at the top of the 3rd page.
This is really leading me to believe that somewhere in S-1 or maybe even S-3 an error on my record has been made, resulting in me being "trapped" in the E-3 rank, unable to move up at the original prescribed time of April 2010.
Does any of you all think it's worth it to check with S-1, S-3, or whoever? I guess what I should ask first is... is this kind of situation unheard of, or is it not uncommon? Please keep in mind that I am a reservist... we only get two days a month to go resolve problems that are Marine Corps-related. And if it turned out to be an error (or errors) on their part, would I rate any back-pay from the time when I'm supposed to be in the E-4 paygrade? And would I get my date of rank set at the appropriate date rather than when they actually pin me?
Any help regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated! So thanks in advance!!
:usmc: Semper Fidelis
I have never had a Page 11 before during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have never had any NJPs before during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have never gotten my rank reduced during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have never FAILED the PFT during the 5.5 years I've been in (always been a 2nd class... never even dipped into 3rd class, amazingly enough).
I have never FAILED the CFT since it's inception into the Marine Corps (got a 3rd class last year, but a 2nd class this year).
I never unq'ed on the rifle range (though I have always been a rifle & pistol Marksman).
I was never overweight by Marine Corps standards, nor have I ever been considered a fat-body.
I was never non-rec'ed for promotion during the 5.5 years I've been in.
I have maxed out my MCIs that would count for promotion to CPL.
All my years as a drilling reservist are SAT years.
As for the fellow Marines I graduated with from MOS school... out of the 6 (myself included), one of them was active duty to start with and the last time I checked he's a SGT. The 2nd one just went onto become active duty starting as an RA. One of the reservist has a higher comp score than me. The remaining too's comp score just trailed behind what I had (I verfied that other than the RA Marine, all still hold the same MOS as me right now as their PMOS). Again, all three of them picked up CPL during April 2010.
I have ran out of possible reasons that is holding me back. During the years I've been with the unit, I have seen plenty of Marines who's gotten NJP'ed, busted down in rank, failed the PFT multiple times, considered overweight and taped out to be fat-bodies, never deployed (I've deployed once), but yet went on and picked up CPL without a hitch.
I am still a TAN BELT in MCMAP (since I was never given the opportunity to advance onto my GREY BELT). I am wondering if that's the reason. All I know is tha my chain of command never brought this up, nor sent me to get my GREY BELT when training opportunity arises.
What is most intriguing is this: Around August 2009, I went on MOL and used the RANK/MOS function that lists all Marines at a particular rank & MOS (on the RESERVE side, of course). I set the order based on the highest Comp Score to the lowest. My name was actually on the 1st page. But when I checked it agian using the same procedure as above in October 2009, my name mysteriously went from the 1st page, down to the 8th page. A few whiles back, I was on the 4th page. I checked yesterday and found out that I am now at the top of the 3rd page.
This is really leading me to believe that somewhere in S-1 or maybe even S-3 an error on my record has been made, resulting in me being "trapped" in the E-3 rank, unable to move up at the original prescribed time of April 2010.
Does any of you all think it's worth it to check with S-1, S-3, or whoever? I guess what I should ask first is... is this kind of situation unheard of, or is it not uncommon? Please keep in mind that I am a reservist... we only get two days a month to go resolve problems that are Marine Corps-related. And if it turned out to be an error (or errors) on their part, would I rate any back-pay from the time when I'm supposed to be in the E-4 paygrade? And would I get my date of rank set at the appropriate date rather than when they actually pin me?
Any help regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated! So thanks in advance!!
:usmc: Semper Fidelis