FTS Transition and O-4 Promotion Board

[careerO-3]

I have applied for the Spring FTS board and I am still awaiting the results. In order to apply, I submitted my letter of resignation from active duty back in the fall (I'm a P-3 guy). To complicate matters, I have my in zone promotion board for LCDR on 6 April. My question is...if I get picked up for FTS will my active promotion be denied because I am transitioning to FTS? I expected this to happen if I don't get picked up for FTS (SELRES backup). Also, does anyone have any advice on letters, phone calls, etc. I should make to millington to have the best shot at promotion? Thanks in advance.

 

[helolumpy]

Once you resignation is approved, you are removed from consideration for the Active O-4 board.
If you resignation was submitted to Millington prior to the board, that letter should be in your record, therefore it will be a fact reviewed during the board process, therefore do not expect to make O-4.

If you letter was not part of your package, then you may in fact pick up O-4.

I don't know what would happen if you select for O-4 on this board and then pick up FTS prior to pinning on.
I'm sure it's happened plenty of times, but the FTS folks can probably answer with more certainty than I can.

Good luck

 

[careerO-3]

Thanks for the info. Yes my letter is in my record...but if I get picked up for FTS there will be some other sort of documentation stating I am no longer resigning. But the FTS guys in Millington said I have a good chance of not getting promoted because they will know I am leaving the P-3 community and I am no longer of any use to the unrestricted line community. I have two buddies who went FTS last year and one picked up O-4 and the other did not.

 

[Jim123]

I don't know what would happen if you select for O-4 on this board and then pick up FTS prior to pinning on.
I'm sure it's happened plenty of times, but the FTS folks can probably answer with more certainty than I can.

I applied for and selected FTS (fall board) right after selecting O-4 on the active duty URL promotion board (spring/summer). I had to wait several months as active duty for my turn to be promoted before I could redesignate from active duty to FTS (something about end strength... <shrug>). If I hadn't selected for promotion before selecting FTS, my redesignation might have been much sooner... uncommon but not unheard of.

@OP, sounds like you already figured out the catch-22 for this year's promotion boards. I wish I knew the answer but I don't know what will happen if your letter of resignation is "pulled" upon successfully selecting FTS this cycle. Did the FTS guys in Millington differentiate between you being ineligible for promotion vice hurting your chances for being promoted because you are laterally transferring out of your community?

 

[careerO-3]

@OP, sounds like you already figured out the catch-22 for this year's promotion boards. I wish I knew the answer but I don't know what will happen if your letter of resignation is "pulled" upon successfully selecting FTS this cycle. Did the FTS guys in Millington differentiate between you being ineligible for promotion vice hurting your chances for being promoted because you are laterally transferring out of your community?

Yeah, the guy I was talking to said something to the effect of: "If the people on the promotion board see that you have some sort of FTS stink on you, they could decide to vote against you being promoted because they figure it is the FTS communities job to promote you now, not theirs." He then went on to say I shouldn't have to do anything just sit back and accept my fate. He's probably right but if there was anything I could do to help myself out I wanted to try.

 

[FlyBoyd]

Yeah, the guy I was talking to said something to the effect of: "If the people on the promotion board see that you have some sort of FTS stink on you, they could decide to vote against you being promoted because they figure it is the FTS communities job to promote you now, not theirs." He then went on to say I shouldn't have to do anything just sit back and accept my fate. He's probably right but if there was anything I could do to help myself out I wanted to try.

1. If the results come out in time you "may" get it removed but prob not.

2. Expect to be passed over and if you get picked up for FTS you most likely will get it next year. I say most likely because you are now competing against all FTS for O-4 and the group as a whole has way stronger records than the AD group. The shitbags/DUI dudes etc are not really there to eat up the non-promotion percentage. Not everyone can be promoted due to percentage limitations so I am just saying I have seen it happen. I personally know a guy who got passed over twice for O-4 on the FTS boards and is now in the USCG. He had a strong enough record to compete for and get an FTS slot but fell through the cracks twice after that...who knows. On the other hand a peer of mine got passed over for O-4 the first time (I didn't) so he screened for O-5 a year after me. He got picked up I didn't.

Not much you can do. Ride it out and tackle it once it plays out.

OBTW, FTS "stink?" Check my profile and see what I have done/am doing. It stinks to them because they are jealous.

 

[careerO-3]

Thanks for the responses everyone. If nothing else this can serve as some useful info for other guys considering going the FTS route.

 

[helolumpy]

I say most likely because you are now competing against all FTS for O-4 and the group as a whole has way stronger records than the AD group. The shitbags/DUI dudes etc are not really there to eat up the non-promotion percentage. Not everyone can be promoted due to percentage limitations so I am just saying I have seen it happen.

Opinions may vary...

 

[happyhourchris]

Sorry in advance for the thread resurrection...

I recently picked up TAR VR off the spring redes board. To secure my release, I submitted my letter of resignation prior to the board, which convened two weeks before the active duty O-4 promotion board. Has anything changed from 15 years ago, or was I removed from consideration by the O4 board with an approved resignation? Either way, I'll know for sure in a month or so, but I was curious if any of y'all have had a more recent experience.

Thanks!

 

[MGoBrew11]

Sorry in advance for the thread resurrection...

I recently picked up TAR VR off the spring redes board. To secure my release, I submitted my letter of resignation prior to the board, which convened two weeks before the active duty O-4 promotion board. Has anything changed from 15 years ago, or was I removed from consideration by the O4 board with an approved resignation? Either way, I'll know for sure in a month or so, but I was curious if any of y'all have had a more recent experience.

Thanks!

You submitted the resignation in NSIPS two weeks prior to the board? Probably close enough that you’re good and will still pick up O4. I had an approved resignation months before the O4 board and I was not selected. Picked up easily on my first TAR O4 board. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things and gave me a lot of runway timing wise in TAR. Cost me about $10k though in terms of when I should have promoted vs when I did.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Sorry in advance for the thread resurrection...

I recently picked up TAR VR off the spring redes board. To secure my release, I submitted my letter of resignation prior to the board, which convened two weeks before the active duty O-4 promotion board. Has anything changed from 15 years ago, or was I removed from consideration by the O4 board with an approved resignation? Either way, I'll know for sure in a month or so, but I was curious if any of y'all have had a more recent experience.

Thanks!

You will still be considered. I have seen officers on terminal leave (ie retire) get selected for O-6.

As long as you don’t have a DPM letter.

 

[MGoBrew11]

You will still be considered. I have seen officers on terminal leave (ie retire) get selected for O-6.

As long as you don’t have a DPM letter.

DPM has really nothing to do with it in this case. It’s all about when resignation was submitted and/or approved.

Concur in this specific case he should be fine. Two weeks isn’t enough time usually to get removed from the board.

But I can assure you having an approved resignation a month or more before the board convenes will probably result in a non-select. I learned the hard way and it was the only feasible explanation for not getting selected (all EPs, production tour etc).

 

[MGoBrew11]

Even if you don’t get selected, it’s worth it. It stung for a few months but TAR is so much better than AD in the long run it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Yardstick]

my experience is from 2020, so it may not be applicable now. I submitted my letter of resignation prior to the active O4 board and the fts redes board. I got selected for fts and was stressed about picking up O4 with an approved resignation letter. I ended up getting selected for O4 in short order, so my approved resignation letter didn’t seem to have an effect. I talked with an acquaintance at PERS during this process and they said that a letter of resignation wouldn’t prevent selection; the tripwire is having written separation orders apparently. So if you haven’t received your separation orders yet you should still be in the pool to be considered. YMMV. Good luck!

 

[MGoBrew11]

There is also a box to check in the NSIPS resignation along the lines of “Do you intend to affiliate with the Reserve?”

I clicked “No”, which was true as I had no intent to go SELRES. I wonder though if I had clicked “Yes” if I would have screened the first time, as one or two people I know did click “yes” to that screened in similar circumstances to me.

Something to think about for those going through this process now.