Army Officer promotions are an important aspect of any Officer's career. And please realize that it's your job to manage your own career. That includes your promotions. Don't expect anyone else to do that for you. If you do, you will be disappointed and you won't have the military career that you could.

Getting promoted in the Army National Guard is not rocket science. There are countless regulations identifying the requirements of Army Officer Promotions.

I’ve yet to meet a squared away Army National Guard Officer who was actively managing her own career, who didn’t get promoted. The true secret to success is to know what you need to do to get promoted and then be proactive.

Listed below are a few steps to success.

Army Officer Promotion Tip 1 - Take tough jobs: Don't be the Army Officer who always takes the easiest jobs. Look for positions that will challenge you and help you grow as a leader. If possible, stay at the "troop" level as long as possible. Don’t get stagnant and stay in one job for a long period of time either. Move around. Take new jobs and diversify your experience. Most importantly, whatever job you get, strive for excellence.

Army Officer Pomotion Tip 2 - Maintain Your Height/Weight and Physical Fitness: Stay in shape. Exercise on your own. Always pass the Army Physical Fitness Test requirements. This sounds like common sense, but many National Guard Officers don't meet the minimum physical fitness requirements. If you struggle in this area, hire a personal trainer. Do whatever it takes to maintain your fitness. You don't want to get passed over for promotion because you couldn't pass the physical fitness test. Also, you want to lead by example.

Army Officer Promotion Tip 3 - Finish You Civilian and Military Education Requirements: If you haven't already finished your Bachelor's degree, get it done. You can't make Captain without it. Also, consider pursuing a Master's degree as a way to separate yourself from your peers. In terms of military education, complete your military education requirements for the next higher grade right now. Don't procrastinate. Identify the military education requirements for the next higher rank and get those requirements done immediately.

Army Officer Promotion Tip 4 - Keep track of OERs: Review your Officer Evaluation Reports. If you are missing any, get the problem fixed. When you are due an OER, communicate with your Rater and Senior Rater to get it done. Also, make sure your OERs are profiled and filed into your IPERMS folder.

Army Officer Promotion Tip 5 - Position Yourself for Success: Always position yourself so you can get promoted as early as possible. For instance, if you will be eligible for promotion to Major in six months from now, you should start looking for a Major slot immediately. Don't wait for the DA Promotion Board. Strive to get vacancy promotions. Why spend an extra two or three years at your current rank when you don’t need to.

Army Officer Promotion Tip 6 - Get an Additional Branch: The ARNG is different than Active Duty. On Active Duty, you can have one branch your entire career. Your promotion boards and dates are fairly predictable. In the Army National Guard, promotions work differently. Even if you are selected for promotion by a DA board, you still need to find a vacant slot before you can get promoted.

That’s why ARNG officers should consider having two or more branches. For instance, if you are a Chemical Officer Captain, but there aren’t any Chemical Corps Major Slot positions in your state, you won’t get promoted unless you get an additional branch or find a branch immaterial position.

If you want to position yourself for a successful career, you should look at the state manning document to see how many positions there are for each branch. That way, you can advance your career as quickly as possible.

In summary, getting promoted in the National Guard is fairly easy, if you have a plan and know what you need to do. The secret to success is to be proactive and actively manage your own career. Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.

You can learn more about Army Officer Promotions in our ARNG Career Guide.