Go. Go while the time is available.

I just returned from PLDC, the 15 day version here at Ft. Hood. GO! Get it done. Its not that bad. Let me tell you, I learned ALOT in PLDC. I never had the confidence to give pt before I went to PLDC. My first day back to the unit I had to give PT and I shocked myself at how easy it came to me and how well I did it. I made like ONE mistake lol. Before PLDC I made like 50 lol.

And Counselings, lord, I couldn't for the life of me give a good counseling before PLDC. I've been back for three days and have already given my squad of 5 their counselings and the sessions went very well.

Definetely go to PLDC. You may be short, and may want to get out but having PLDC under your belt and out of the way can really help you...ESPECIALLY if you change your mind OR better yet get Stop Lossed. If you get stop lossed and deployed, and they give you a squad, without PLDC you could go in there blindsided and not know how to handle things as well as you could with PLDC.

As an NCO it is your duty to care about your Soldiers. If you want the paycheck and not the responsibility, then you don't need to get promoted. Let someone else who is willing to take on that responsibility have it if you dont want it.

Where can I find it in writing where it says you don't have to go to PLDC until you get your E-6

In AR 600-8-19, Enlisted Promotions and Reductions but I could be wrong. :wink:

I've read the whole thing it seems. I have found it other places but in official writing. They all say PLDC is required for promotiom to E-6. I know that it is true because it has changed recently but where can I find the info in a military reg.

The only other place I think you can find it is in MILPER messages. Log on to AKO and go to the MILPER messages and check it out. Hope it helps.

I agree with those whom say PLDC helped. I didn't exactly enjoy the course while I was in it, but of course, I look back fondly. It helped me in innumerable ways. I was more confident, I felt like I knew what was going on. I was more intelligent, and I knew my job. Plus, I didn't have to worry about the naysayers bugging me for not going. To go out of your way to get out of it is foolish and will only hurt you in the long run.

To all that don't think that WLC (formerly PLDC) doesn't do you some justice in becoming a noncommissioned officer, I just wanted to let you know that I do work at the NCO Academy on Ft Lewis. I have seen several soldiers, want to be NCOs come through here and get released for punitive actions, such as showing up to work with alcohol on their breath. As a result, they were released on disciplinary reasons and had their promotable status taken from them. That goes for BNCOC as well.

I attended PLDC in 2004, before I deployed to Iraq. I learned what it meant to become a noncommissioned officer, what camadre was about, and to treat your soldiers as an nco, the way you wanted to be treated when you were a soldier. I learned some infantry tactics when we were in the field for the five days were were out there. I may not be an expert on infantry tactics, but at least I know some of the basic stuff that they were teaching out there - especially thanks to the fact I had 5 infantry men, and 4 scouts in my squad alone.

Also, I believe that if you just want the "sgt paycheck" but not the responsibilities and time in school that comes with that...then you don't deserve to be a sergeant. WLC is NOT that hard. It is a 30 day course where you learn to better yourself and learn how to treat soldiers with respect, as well as respect yourself and your senior NCOs.