Can a soldier deny a board? Besides a promotion board is it a soldiers right to deny going to a board. Can an NCO demand that a lower enlisted soldier go to a board such as soldier of the month? Does anyone know any specific regulations governing this?

I dont know the regs but I dont think they can make you. I dont know why you dont want to go though

That's like saying "Can a Soldier deny to take orders from his NCO".
If you are told that you are going to a board, you are going to the board. Simple. You are assigned a place of duty, just like any other time an NCO tells you that you have to be somewhere. This is not any different.
Now if you want to look like a fool, don't study for the board and get kicked out. Have the guts to say that you don't want to be in the board. If you have a 1SG or CSM, they will take care of you and help you reduce some of that stress from your chest by making it a little lighter. Not wanting to do something in the Army is not always your choice. You volunteered to join the Army, so you volunteered to do everything the Army does, that includes boards. Suck it up and study and make yourself look good. If you do well enough you can get plenty of rewards out of it, including promotions.
However, the right thing to do, besides going to the board like you were told to do, is talk to your NCO and request not to go. It is chickening out in my opinion, but he might say that you don't have to go. Just do the right thing. Study, do your best, look good and aim to win it. Stop with the excuses.

SGT Maliepaard

quote:

Originally posted by Milpopo552:
I dont know the regs but I dont think they can make you. I dont know why you dont want to go though

They sure can make you. Being told to appear before a board is like receiving a lawful order. It is the same as being told to be at PT formation in the morning, except for this you have to study and go through a board. For this sole reason there is no need to have this discussed in a regulation.

SGT Maliepaard

Sure, it's AR ID-10T, "You're Crazy-Stupid to Deny Yourself Professional Development".

I'm just joshing you, but this isn't the first time I (and probably many others here) have heard of people not wanting to go to SOM, SOQ, or SOY boards. What's the soldier's reason for not wanting to go, or the NCO's reason for "forcing" the soldier to go? It can only help! Promotion points, awards, coins, recognition, and just general Army knowledge are a few perks. If you ask me, denying a board isn't a smart idea.

I'm going to mention this while I have the chance. No good can come of planning your Army career as if you're going to get out. Plan it as if you're going to be a lifer. What's the worse that can happem? You bust your ass for 7 years and then decide to get out? Nothing wrong with that. A little more knowledge up your sleeve, a little more experience that a civilian employer may or may not care about. Doesn't hurt to try.
OR
What if you check the block for 5 years, and then right when you think you are on your way out- you realize it just isn't practical. And now you just spent 5 years maybe doing enough, but you could have done more and be in a better position for a better career.

Food for thought...

I have a Soldier who at is profis to my unit (86th CSH)and he was SOQ at his duty station. It isn't a lack of motivation that he does not want to go to another competition board. It is the fact that we work 12-16 hours every day and he is also taking classes online, on top of deployment. He wants to be promotable, but does not want to go through another competition board. Now, is it mandatory he goes or not? What reg covers it? Thanks.

Why would any NCO want to force a Soldier to attend a non mandatory board? How does this help the Soldier? How does this help the Unit? To me an NCO should be able to find out why the troop doesn't want to go and work with them to get them to the point where they will recognize the value of these competitions...

If I were in the same situation I would rather spend my time preparing a Soldier that wants to attend and maybe isn't the highest speed troop than try and fight a non willing Soldier.

I am not saying we have to coddle slackers and sham artists but why should dedicate extra time to them? Just curious.

Its always the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. I think it comes down to a herd mentality on the NCO's part sometimes too though... Some people just can't or won't get it through their heads that not everyone wants to be all Army, all the time. And in some units, the ones that don't put on a super HOOAH face every morning are looked at as a shammer, slacker or loser, whether or not they are performing above standard in everything else. (this really reminds me of the Office Space "Flair" scene....)
Of course, if it was me, I'd just go. The hardest part about boards is the anticipation of them...plus, once you start doing SOQ BDE level and higher, you start getting pretty sweet rewards for doing well.

So in other words, he wants the "P" status, but doesn't want to do what the army asks of him to get it? If he doesn't want to go to the board, don't make him. Let him sit at SPC for 8 some odd years or whatever it is until he gets on the automatic promotion list. While he is doing that the soldier that was a PVT when he was a SPC is now that E-4's boss because "he works 12-16 hour days, takes classes online, and deploys". Been there, done that, went to the board, got my T-shirt and coffee cup. Nobody said this was an easy job but, welcome to the life of being a leader. When the troops are gone, we still have to work, and take care of them as well as ourselves. Nobody can take care of you quite like yourself. He needs to stop pulling out the "over worked" card and go knock out the 15 minute board and be done with it.

If my soldier said they didn't want to go to the board, so be it. I won't make them, but all that shows is a lack of initiative, they are content with staying an E-4 the whole time they are in, no desire to train and lead soldiers, pretty much someone that just wants to collect a paycheck.

Below is an extract from AR 601-280-some reasons to consider attending these types of boards. The Army would really like to see its Soldiers having forward momentum and increasing their tactical and technical proficiency while becoming a more professional and capable asset as opposed to being a liability that just "gets by" and gets an LES each month. It's called dedication; it's called motivation(just my thoughts, but what do I know!?!)

d. Soldiers against whom a Bar to Reenlistment may be initiated. Soldiers may be barred from reenlistment for one
or a combination of the below listed infractions or reasons. This listing provides examples of the rationale for the
imposition of a bar and is not intended to be all-inclusive. Examples are—
(11) Cannot follow orders; shirks responsibilities; takes too much time; is recalcitrant.
(12) Cannot train for a job; apathetic; disinterested.
(13) Cannot adapt to military life; uncooperative; involved in frequent difficulties with fellow soldiers.
(21) Noncompetitive for promotion.
(a) Slow rank progression resulting from a pattern of marginal conduct or performance.
(b) No demonstrated potential for future service (repeated counseling statements or other indicators).
(c) No demonstrated ability to keep pace with others of the same Career Management Field.
(d) Declines attendance in professional development courses such as PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC, and so on.
(e) Not recommended for promotion by unit commander.
(f) Lack of potential to become a supervisor or senior technician.

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