i did the blue to green almost a year ago. as a ssg i found out i have to attend wlc and bncoc prior to being looked at for sfc. none of my prior nco schools transfer over. then i heard if i don't make it through i will lose my paygrade. anyone else having this problem?

yup,that is the way the ball bounces. sorry, you should have no problem with any of the schools.

I'll agree with ninja... I don't see you having any problems in WLC, or BNCOC. Their basic courses you might find interesting, and good information for your future success.

ninjadrill/RakkasanDragon...I understand that if you are Cpl or higher you go through WLC. I am prior service Navy and was an E-4. I enlisted in the National Guard. My contract just says E-4, so I assumed I was going to go in as a Spc. However, I went to go get my ID and it said Cpl. Everywhere I look it says I am a Cpl except my AKO. Do I need to say something to my recruiter? I just figure that if it is incorrect it will be corrected at WTC. I would like to go through the WLC, but I do not want to compromise my integrity either, if it is a mistake. Where would I find out for sure if I am Spc. or Cpl? Which is correct..Deers or AKO?

quote:

Originally posted by 11125037:
ninjadrill/RakkasanDragon...I understand that if you are Cpl or higher you go through WLC. I am prior service Navy and was an E-4. I enlisted in the National Guard. My contract just says E-4, so I assumed I was going to go in as a Spc. However, I went to go get my ID and it said Cpl. Everywhere I look it says I am a Cpl except my AKO. Do I need to say something to my recruiter? I just figure that if it is incorrect it will be corrected at WTC. I would like to go through the WLC, but I do not want to compromise my integrity either, if it is a mistake. Where would I find out for sure if I am Spc. or Cpl? Which is correct..Deers or AKO?

AKO is correct.

Corporal is not an earned advancement, it's a lateral appointment made by whomever is your current Commander.

You say, "everywhere you look"...what exactly does that mean? Your orders? Your enlistment contract? If your contract just says "E-4", it's to be assumed "Specialist". Your orders should definitely be correct, if it has anything written at all as far as pay grade and rank. DEERS has no authority to make a rank or pay grade determination, so your safest bet is that DEERS is incorrect.

The reason why your ID card says CPL and not SPC is because the DOD civilians at DEERS doing the ID cards get lazy, don't care, or don't pay attention (or all three) when selecting the proper rank from the drop down menu on their computer screen. Since "CPL" comes before "SPC" in the alphabet, it naturally shows up first in the drop down menu. So they just pick the first "E-4" selection they see.

You should go back to DEERS/ID Cards and have them correct it, since your orders and enlistment contract clearly state that you are an E-4/Specialist, and not an E-4/Corporal. This could technically get you in trouble for having an ID card that doesn't properly reflect your rank, but Commanders at all levels know that this is a common problem and don't really pay much mind to it.

Just a little more info than you need, but I find it an interesting and little-known fact: There's only one "Corporal" appointment that technically cannot be merely taken away because you PCS, and those are the people who are DOD appointed to Corporal for being in the "Corporal Recruiter Program".

Sorry for the delay... our site is being updated off and on lately.

Corporal/Specialist... You're likely a Specialist/E-4.

Unless you hold a DA4187 from your Command because that is aligning you with an actual Corporal position on the unit's TDA/MTOE Roster.

ID Cards can have any rank on them. It all depends on the DA4187 from the unit to count.

Thank you Nangasaur and Dragon. I noticed it when I got my ID made and so I asked the person that did my ID if she needed to redo it and she said no. My contract did not specify anything other than E-4. So I did not want to just assume something and be wrong. I am working pretty much everyday until I leave and do not know if I will be able to get time off to go get it changed, as the armory I have to go to is quite a drive from my house. Will I get in trouble for having this ID when I get to WTC or can I just get another one issued to me there? I am going to try to get an appointment to get my ID changed, but just in case I don't make it down there what will happen?

Thank you both again for the info.

just let the cadre know of your situation when you arrive.

Thank you! We had one person at my job who decided to just not show up anymore or call in and so I told my work that I would help out as much as I could till I left. So I will be working like crazy this last week plus trying to find time to spend with the fam.