Last week, the Nittany Lion Batallion conducted their first ever Cadet promotion board, which was nerve-wracking yet exhilarating for the cadets who got interviewed. An Army promotion board is simply an interview or examination of a soldier (cadet in this case) for a promotion, selection to a job or schools, the soldier/cadet of the month/quarter/year/installation, and even awards such as SGT Morales club and the Audie Murphy Club. The current leadership in the Nittany Lion Batallion wanted to give younger cadets the opportunity to seek out leadership positions if they so desired, which led to the promotion board.
Freshman and sophomore (MSL 1’s & 2’s) had the opportunity to sign up and turn in a packet to the some of the battalion leadership which would be on the board. Many cadets signed up for this board, including me. This was a new experience that has never been done in our battalion but cadets were eager to get their foot in the door for leadership positions. This NCO promotion board was to compete over squad and team leader positions in Bravo and Charlie company.

After signing up on the sheet in the cadet lounge, cadets had to create a packet/portfolio that would weigh into their interview among the board. In this packet, cadets typed up a biography, a baseball card (pictured above), a recommendation from their current squad leader, and DA Form 705 (most previous APFT). This packet had a deadline right after spring break which left many cadets scrambling, but a majority of cadets turned their packets in on time.

Going before a board takes lots of preparations, as the board members will ask several questions, from drill and ceremony to first aid to current events. I studied for several hours to attempt to memorize all the documents that the topics were on and to remember the Army song and Soldier’s creed as I had no idea what I would be asked.

Each board lasted about 15-20 mins as the board members had to examine the cadet’s portfolio and interview them afterward. The board started at 5:30 PM and the last cadet to go was there until almost midnight, thankfully, I was done at about 7:00 PM. As cadets were in the cadet lounge awaiting to go before the board, many were attempting to do last minute memorization and talking among each other.

After a few other cadets went, I was called down to go to the board which was nervewracking but exciting as this would be a new experience that not every cadet would have. I had to follow precise instructions as I simply walked into the room. First, I knocked three times sternly and came in when I was instructed to do so. Then, I walked with military bearing to go stand in front of the chair facing the board and stand at the position of attention, render a salute to the president of the board and said “CDT Hannah Conway reporting to the NCO Board.” I dropped my salute after the president returned one. I remained at the position of attention until I was instructed to do otherwise. The board members proceeded to ask me several questions in the respective topics. When the board concluded I  stood and moved to the position of attention. Then, I saluted the board, said the Penn State Army ROTC motto, did an about face and proceeded to exit the room.

Although, this all stressed me out immensely, I was fortunate enough to get a Squad Leader position for the rest of the semester, which many other of my fellow cadets also recieved their desired positions.