Study guide
1.1 AR 600-8-19 Board Eligibility, TIS/TIG Zones, and PME Requirements
Army Promotion Board SGT/SSG
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1 The Promotion Board Process, Eligibility, and Preparation
1.1 AR 600-8-19 Board Eligibility, TIS/TIG Zones, and PME Requirements 1.2 Board Proceedings, Protocol, Uniform Inspection, and Boardroom Bearing 1.3 Promotion Points, the AFT Conversion, IPPS-A, and Monthly Cutoff Scores 1.4 Board Preparation: Study Plan, Current Events, and World Affairs 1.5 Situational Questions, ICTL Proficiency, and Board Scenario Technique
2 Uniform Standards, Grooming, and Awards (AR 670-1, AD 2025-18, AR 600-8-22)
2.1 ASU and AGSU Configuration, Insignia, Badges, and Awards Placement 2.2 Hair, Cosmetics, Fingernails, and Jewelry Standards (AD 2025-18) 2.3 Wear of Combat Uniforms, Duty Accessories, and Body Modification & Tattoo Policies 2.4 Facial Hair, Medical Exceptions to Policy, and Religious Accommodation 2.5 The Army Awards and Decorations System (AR 600-8-22)
3 Army Leadership & Doctrine (ADP 6-22 & FM 6-22)
3.1 The Army Leadership Requirements Model: Attributes and Competencies 3.2 Leadership Levels, Dynamics, Command Climate, and the Warrior Ethos 3.3 The Counseling Process (ATP 6-22.1 & DA Form 4856) 3.4 The Evaluation Reporting System & NCOER (AR 623-3 & DA Form 2166-9 Series)
4 Customs, Courtesies, and Military Traditions (AR 600-25 & TC 3-21.5)
4.1 Saluting Protocols, Courtesies to Officers, and Hand Salute Standards 4.2 National Flag Etiquette, Colors, Reveille, Retreat, and Honors to the Nation 4.3 Drill and Ceremonies Fundamentals (TC 3-21.5) and Formations 4.4 Rank Structure, Chain of Command, the NCO Support Channel, and Unit Organization
5 Army History, Heritage, and Creeds
5.1 Army Birthday, Continental Army Foundations, and Historical Milestones 5.2 Evolution of the NCO Corps and the Sergeant Major of the Army 5.3 Major American Campaigns and Military Battle History 5.4 The Army Values, The Soldier's Creed, and The NCO Creed
6 Army Programs, Command Policy, and Soldier Readiness
6.1 SHARP Under AR 600-52: Reporting Options, Complaint Processing, and the OSTC 6.2 The Military Equal Opportunity and Harassment Prevention Program (AR 600-20, Chapter 6) 6.3 Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) and SUDCC (AR 600-85) 6.4 Soldier and Family Support Programs: AER, Red Cross, ACS, EFMP, and BOSS 6.5 Suicide Prevention, Behavioral Health, and Resilience 6.6 Prohibited Activities: Extremism, Retaliation, Prohibited Relationships, and Political Activity 6.7 Retention, Reenlistment, and the Career Counseling of Subordinates
7 Tactical Combat Casualty Care & First Aid (TC 4-02.1 & ATP 4-02.83)
7.1 TCCC Phases of Care: Care Under Fire, Tactical Field Care, and TACEVAC 7.2 MARCH PAWS Assessment: Massive Hemorrhage and Airway Management 7.3 Respiration, Circulation, Shock, Burns, and Environmental Injuries 7.4 9-Line MEDEVAC Request Protocol and Tactical Evacuation Procedures
8 CBRN Defense & Force Protection (ATP 3-11.32 & AR 525-13)
8.1 CBRN Hazards, Chemical Agent Classifications, and Physiological Effects 8.2 MOPP Gear Levels, Protective Mask PMCS, and Decontamination 8.3 Antiterrorism, Physical Security, and Force Protection Conditions (AR 525-13)
9 Weapons, Land Navigation, and Physical Readiness
9.1 M4/M16 Rifle Characteristics, Clearing, Malfunctions, and Weapons Safety (TC 3-22.9) 9.2 Map Reading, Grid Coordinates, and Marginal Information (TC 3-25.26) 9.3 Land Navigation: Terrain Features, Azimuths, Intersection, and Resection 9.4 Holistic Health and Fitness, the Army Fitness Test, and the Combat Field Test 9.5 The Army Body Composition Program and the Waist-to-Height Standard (AD 2026-13) 9.6 Crew-Served Weapons, Sidearms, and Munitions
10 Military Justice, the Law of War, and Duty
10.1 The UCMJ, Article 15 Non-Judicial Punishment, and Courts-Martial 10.2 The Code of Conduct, the Law of War, and Rules of Engagement 10.3 Guard Duty, the Three General Orders, and Operations Security
11 Training Management and Unit Sustainment
11.1 Training Management: ICTL, the Digital Job Book, and Sergeant's Time Training 11.2 Maintenance, Supply Discipline, and Property Accountability
1.1 AR 600-8-19 Board Eligibility, TIS/TIG Zones, and PME Requirements
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
AR 600-8-19 is titled Enlisted Promotions and Demotions; the current edition is dated 6 March 2026 and effective 6 April 2026, and it governs semi-centralized promotion to SGT (E-5) and SSG (E-6).
Table 3-1 board-recommendation criteria are 34 months TIS / 10 months TIG (SGT primary zone), 16/4 (SGT secondary zone), 70/16 (SSG primary zone), 46/6 (SSG secondary zone), and 82 months TIS / 22 months TIG for SSG mandatory list integration.
Pin-on criteria sit two months beyond the board criteria: 36 TIS / 12 TIG and 18/6 for SGT, and 72/18 and 48/8 for SSG, with 84/24 for SSG mandatory list integration.
Under AR 600-8-19, paragraph 1-34a, graduation of the Basic Leader Course is a pin-on requirement for STAFF SERGEANT, not for sergeant; there is no PME requirement to be boarded for or promoted to SGT, and ALC is the pin-on requirement for SFC.
An active flag under AR 600-8-2, a command referral to ASAP, ineligibility to reenlist, or a failed record fitness test removes a Soldier from promotion consideration and from the promotion recommended roster.
Last updated: September 2026
AR 600-8-19 Board Eligibility, TIS/TIG Zones, and PME Requirements
Core Principle: Enlisted advancement to Sergeant (E-5) and Staff Sergeant (E-6) is governed by Army Regulation 600-8-19 , whose current title is Enlisted Promotions and Demotions . The edition in force is dated 6 March 2026 and became effective 6 April 2026 . Board candidates who quote the old title ( Enlisted Promotions and Reductions ) or the pre-2026 education rules are quoting a superseded regulation.
1. The Three Tiers of Enlisted Promotion
The Army separates enlisted promotions into three levels of authority:
Decentralized promotions (PV2 through SPC): executed entirely by the company commander against fixed time gates, with a variable waiver ceiling announced by the Army G-1. (The June 2026 cutoff-score memorandum announced a 25 percent SPC waiver ceiling.)
Semi-centralized promotions (SGT and SSG): shared between the field and Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA). The promotion authority convenes the board and decides integration onto the promotion recommended roster (PRR); HQDA/Human Resources Command (HRC) controls actual pin-on by publishing monthly cutoff scores by MOS.
Centralized promotions (SFC through SGM): HQDA selection boards review the file. There is no local board appearance.
The 6 March 2026 revision also eliminated the requirement to laterally appoint a specialist to corporal upon integration onto the PRR or on graduation from the Leaders Course, and instead established a standalone lateral-appointment policy (paras 1-42a and 3-2a). It further eliminated the HQDA bar to continued service that used to be imposed on Soldiers who failed to complete a mandatory Distributed Leader Course.
2. Table 3-1: Recommendation Criteria vs. Pin-On Criteria
The single most common board error is collapsing two different sets of numbers into one. Table 3-1 of AR 600-8-19 governs promotion recommendation (being boarded). Pin-on eligibility is a separate, later gate published every month by HRC in the cutoff-score memorandum, and it sits exactly two months further out in both TIS and TIG.
- Target grade Zone Recommendation (board) TIS/TIG Pin-on TIS/TIG
- Sergeant (E-5) Secondary zone 16 months / 4 months 18 months / 6 months
- Sergeant (E-5) Primary zone 34 months / 10 months 36 months / 12 months
- Staff Sergeant (E-6) Secondary zone 46 months / 6 months 48 months / 8 months
- Staff Sergeant (E-6) Primary zone 70 months / 16 months 72 months / 18 months
- Staff Sergeant (E-6) Mandatory list integration (MLI) 82 months / 22 months 84 months / 24 months
Time in service (TIS) runs from the pay entry base date; time in grade (TIG) runs from the grade effective date (date of rank).
Mandatory list integration is the mechanism that automatically places long-serving sergeants onto the SSG recommended roster. It has no SGT equivalent.
The 6 March 2026 revision removed the promotion authority's power to waive secondary-zone eligibility requirements (formerly para 3-6b). Secondary-zone numbers are now hard floors.
3. Professional Military Education: What the Regulation Actually Requires
Soldiers preparing for a board almost always repeat the legacy "Select-Train-Educate-Promote" slogan and then misstate the courses. STEP is a framework name for tying schooling to rank; the binding requirements live in AR 600-8-19, paragraph 1-34a , which the 6 March 2026 revision specifically modified:
- Course What it is a pin-on requirement for
- Basic Leader Course (BLC) Staff Sergeant (E-6)
- Advanced Leaders Course (ALC) Sergeant First Class (E-7) (except RA Soldiers holding PMOS 42S)
- Senior Leaders Course (SLC) Master Sergeant (E-8) (except RA PMOS 42S)
- Master Leader Course (MLC) A prerequisite for Sergeants Major Academy selection , not a pin-on gate
- Sergeants Major Academy (SGM-A) Sergeant Major (E-9) (except RA PMOS 42S)
Two consequences a board member will test:
There is no PME requirement to appear before the SGT board, and none to pin on SGT. The HRC cutoff-score memorandum states this in both the board-requirements and pin-on-requirements paragraphs.
BLC must be graduated before the SSG board appearance and again before SSG pin-on. Graduation must be a matter of record no later than the 26th calendar day of the board month to count.
The Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 may announce an Army-wide suspension of these PME requirements when the operational environment, funding, or training capacity warrants, and may authorize temporary promotions (para 1-35). A temporary promotion terminates on a specified date unless the condition — normally graduation from the named course — is met; if it expires, the Soldier reverts to the former grade with no recoupment of pay and the original grade effective date restored.
4. Additional Eligibility Criteria and the IPPS-A Workflow
Beyond TIS and TIG, paragraph 3-6 requires that the Soldier:
be eligible to reenlist (ineligibility caused solely by Disability Evaluation System processing does not disqualify);
hold a passing record fitness test in accordance with current Army training regulations;
not be command-referred to the Army Substance Abuse Program (a self-referral leaves the Soldier otherwise eligible);
not be flagged under AR 600-8-2.
The Integrated Personnel and Pay System - Army (IPPS-A) is the human-resources system of record. Promotion points are computed automatically from the data in the Soldier's record, so the Soldier — not the S-1 — owns the accuracy of that record. AR 600-8-19, paragraph 3-14, is explicit: because scores are auto-calculated against a monthly cycle, no consideration is given to correcting a score outside the promotion cycle because information was missing or incomplete. A correction made in February affects the 1 April promotion month.
5. Flags and Bars
An active suspension of favorable personnel actions (flag) under AR 600-8-2 freezes PME attendance, board appearance, integration onto the PRR, and pin-on. Under Army Directive 2026-13 , the Army Body Composition Program flag ( code K ) is now non-transferable , and AR 600-8-2 was amended to rescind all ABCP transfer provisions.
A bar to continued service (AR 601-280) likewise prevents promotion. Note the 2026 change: the Army removed the mandatory HQDA bar for Soldiers who failed to complete a mandatory Structured Self-Development / Distributed Leader Course, so an incomplete DLC is no longer an automatic bar trigger — though it still blocks the schooling a Soldier needs downstream.
Board answer discipline: If asked "what does STEP stand for," answer Select, Train, Educate, Promote — then immediately anchor the requirement: "Sergeant Major, under AR 600-8-19 paragraph 1-34, BLC is the pin-on requirement for Staff Sergeant and ALC is the pin-on requirement for Sergeant First Class." Naming the paragraph converts a slogan into a regulatory answer.