The Army National Guard can be a rewarding career, and promotion and advancement are important for any guardsmen who wants more responsibility and to earn more money.

Getting ready for promotion

To make the step from E4 with the rank of specialist to E5 with the rank of sergeant is an important step in any military career. But, it cannot be taken lightly. Specialists must meet the required number of points in order to be considered for promotion.

Physical standards

Soldiers must be able to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test before being considered for promotion.

Educational standards

Soldiers should have completed the Warrior Leadership Course in order to retain their promotion to sergeant. However, some units will promote the soldier and then require the course to be completed within a certain period of time.

Getting known as a soldier

Soldiers should receive positive counseling statements, similar to performance evaluations in the civilian world, at least monthly before being considered for promotion. This counselings will be done by their chain of command and stored in their military personnel file.

Other options

Some National Guard units, specifically those set for deployment, will promote soldiers to fill needed positions. These units may require soldiers in certain jobs to take a written test in order to be considered for promotion.

Promotions board

Some promotions are done within the soldier's unit. Others are done by the soldier being sent to the promotions board. In this case, the soldier must appear in her dress uniform before a board of higher ranking soldiers and present her knowledge as a soldier.