Blue to Green Program Recruits 1,000th Member
I think it is great that more and more sailors are signing up to transfer over to the Army, but I have to wonder about this guy:
Guevara, who left the Navy in 2006 after eight years, said he received a $2,000 bonus to join the Army, but his major reason for switching services is the Navy made it much harder for him to advance from E-4 to E-5.
“I love my job, I love to help people,†he said. “I became a corpsman because I wanted to help injured Marines, or anybody, and the Army offered me the same job and I jumped right on it.â€
I admittedly don’t know a whole lot about the Navy, but I have to wonder about someone who can’t make the E-5 rank in 8 years. In the Army soldiers usually make the E-5 rank in 3-4 years of service sometimes even quicker. Does anyone know if it is that hard to make E-5 in the Navy?
I can not figure out why Navy Corpmen who treated wounded Marine in Iraqi Battle field would have problem getting promoted to E-5. Compared to other Navy Corpmen who usually hang out in the naval hospitals or hospital ships, this guy was dressed in full combat gear and looked just like any other Marines in combat in Iraq. He should get promoted ahead of other naval corpmen. Maybe some Navy corpmen can shed some light on this matter.
Also, these corpmen are critical to the Marine MTOE and I don't understand why Navy is giving up on them.
Resident Navy expert here. The Navy is notoriously slow at promoting compared to the other services for a number of reasons. While I don't know all of the particulars about this guy, I have the suspicion, as CPT Kim did, that there must be something wrong here. Navy Corpsmen, as a whole, have a very poor record of getting promoted.
The Navy, unlike the other services, in promotions up to and including E-7, requires that you take a test that grades you alongside everyone else in your particular job specialty. So this guy was getting compared to shore based Corpsmen who had nothing better to do sometimes than sit around and study for this test as well as guys like him who were out busting their humps in a warzone. The fact that he was in Iraq would have gotten him a few extra points on his final promotion score but wouldn't have amounted to a hill of beans if he didn't do well and make the cutoff score for that exam cycle. The Navy tends to look more at your job performance, your evaluations, awards, time in grade, time in service, etc, in determining promotion eligibility. Also, the exams are graded on a curve so if you get too many who score outstandingly on the test it screws up the curve for those schmo's down at the average to above average level and their chances of getting promoted are severely lessened by this fact.
So, I can understand this guy's frustration with the Navy as it pertains to his personal, as well as professional, satisfaction and why he would want to make the transition.
Hope this clears up your confusion, GIKorea. From a personal story standpoint, I remember many Army folks in my training days that got promoted really fast. In my particular case, our schooling took about 1.5 years total and by the time we got all the way through it some of the Army people that had started out at the same time as me were all E-5's and even a couple on the brink of becoming E-6 and they'd never been out of AIT (yes, I know your acronyms too) Hehehehe
So, I can sympathize with this guy. Hell, I even considered switching over to the Army once as a Warrant Officer but decided against it for a number of reasons. Like I said, I hope this clears up some things for you GIKorea.
Tim in Angeles sendzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Another aspect to consider is that the Navy is downsizing. Each rate (job or I think in the Army the term is MOS) has different rates of advancement.
I believe it is harder for HMs (corpsmen) to make rate now days.
Tim makes an excellent description of the advancement exams. Sometimes though the rate is so full that no matter how well one scores on the test, and how many extra points are received, only a few people out of hundreds will be advanced.
Tim summed it up pretty well. My Rate (or MOS for you grunts out there) advances pretty well until you get to E-6, then only 4% of Sailors in my MOS are advanced to E-6. That can take many years to make even for a sqaured away sailor. I have seen people get lucky (although it wasn't luck alone) and make it the first or second time up (Two opportunities per year) but thats rare. Additionally, in the Navy once you have find out you make your rank, you don't get paid for it right away (usually 6-months with no back-pay). Additionally if you get in trouble and get busted down before you get payed for the rank you just made, you don't go down to the rank you just came, Nor Sir-ee, you go down TWO ranks, and youve lost YEARS or hard wark to get that promotion. It happens all the time.
Corpsman, along with some other rates out there (Any Bosuns reading this?) have some rates out there that are almost impossible to get promoted in. Even for E5 is can be as little as 2% which amounts to only a few people per exam cycle (2 per year). It can be quite discouraging so I say let them go green. I've been considering it myself but I'm not particularly wanting to go to the sandbox for 1+ years at a time, going multiple times at that. There have definatly been better times to be a sailor.
Getting promoted in the Navy as a Corpsman is extremley hard even for the Greenside Docs like myself. Not only that but if you go to FMTB and a Marine Corps unit and don't earn the Fleet Marine Force Warfare pin (in addition to studying for advancement exams and ofcourse doing your job) you can get an adverse evaluation that even lessens your chances of getting promoted. Its a big goddamn headache even on the Marine side of the Hospital Corps. Just out of curiosity can anyone tell me how to initiate this Blue to Green program and go Army? I've ben to Iraq twice and wouldn't mind more combat deployments but the thought of getting put in some Naval Hospital blueside billet– it just doesn't sit well with me.
I agree, The Navy is downsizing and HYT is a frightening factor for sailors who want to make the military thier career. I'm considering the same thing. I've been in the US Navy for 12 years and still unable to advance to the next paygrade. I study all the time and I've always put in hard word and dedication in everythig I do. But it seems like I'm not getting anywhere. I would like my dreams for my future to stay alive as well as I'd like to receive a retirement pay.
You're right it is a headache to get promoted nowadays. I'll give you some advice, please listen to me very carefully!!! when you are up for orders, DON'T COME TO OKINAWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!especialy the naval hospital!!! this place sucks in ways unimaginable to those who haven't experienced this little shithole of an island….
It's easy to go Blue to Green. Just contact your friendly neighborhood Army Recuiter! 😉