Situational Questions Army Promotion Board
You have Sergeant with over 6 years of service in your squad/platoon that comes up hot on a urinalysis. What are your actions?
- Counsel the Soldier on the incident and the fact that separation action will be initiated- If the Soldier is in a leadership position, he temporarily removed from the position pending the investigation (if applicable)- Soldier is enrolled in ASAP- FLAG the Soldier- Start processing the Soldier for separation / depending on service and/or other factors, Soldier may be entitled to a separation board- Recommend the Soldier punishment under UCMJ
A soldier approaches you and states that he is having marital problems with his wife. What do you do?
Find a quiet and relaxing environment to discuss the problem. If there is spouse abuse notify the chain of command.(command should notify family advocacy) If it's a sensitive problem of a personal nature refer him to the chaplain. If it's a money problem refer him to AER or ACS.
What would you do if one of your soldiers started giving away their possessions?
Follow A.C.E (ask, care, escort) but also talk to them person to person on their level and check in see what you can do to help.
You enter a soldiers room during a routine inspection and discover evidence of drugs. What do you do?
Have everyone exit the room. Have someone guard the SM. Notify chain of command and MPs
You have a female soldier on your team. How would you assist them on placing their awards and nameplate on their ASUs?
I will be respectful and ask for permission no matter the gender of the soldier.
You have a new to the Army transgender soldier joining your unit. Male intact transitioning to female. Soldier does not want to live with a male room mate. No female wants to room with the soldier. It makes the transgender soldier feel uncomfortable. Several soldiers disapprove of the new soldiers life style and feel they get special treatment. How do you resolve conflict without isolating the transgender soldier or show preferential treatment?
You can speak with the barracks manager and see if that soldier can get their own room if any are available, If a room is not available you can look into the regulation about if they can share a room with the gender they identify with and find a soldier who is responsible and trustworthy who is okay with rooming with the new soldier.
What do you do if you have a soldier missing hit times, has poor attitude and is performing below the standards? When counseling the soldier he refuses to sign it.
You just write that the SM refuses to sign and push up the issues to your leadership (You aren't passing him on you're just notifying higher ups of the situation. Another event oriented counseling may be required for demonstrating poor attitude and lack of good order and discipline)
What have you done to motivate or help develop your soldiers as a leader?
ex: I helped train and mentor the new soldier who inprocessed our shop i
PV2 Smith is appears to be in great shape. He fails anyway. You suspect he's hoping for a chapter and has no intention of passing. How many hours of your time after work do you spend helping him with fitness?
fitness isn't the issue - motivation and desire are. Running the guy ragged isn't going to fix anything. Take some time to get to know him, understand his issues, and be a force for change. "I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own"
You receive a phone call at 0200 on Saturday morning/Friday night. It is one of your Soldiers who says that he has been out drinking and needs a ride home. How do you respond?
Ask the Soldier if he is okay. If the Soldier is okay and functioning, see if anyone else is with him. Soldiers should always be out as battle buddies and he may have friends that need assistance as well. Find out the Soldier's location and ensure that he understands he must not drive in any circumstances if he drove there. Is the Soldier capable of calling an uber or taxi ride? This is the time for you to make a judgment call, if the Soldier can do this and you are confident in it, you may ask him to call himself an uber and inform you when it arrives and when he is safely home. If the Soldier does not seem capable of doing this, you may need to drive yourself to his location and get him safely home or call someone capable of doing so. After the Soldier is safe and secure, the following day you should prepare a counseling documenting what happened. The counseling should be an event-oriented counseling which summarizes the decisions made by that Soldier. Areas of emphasis should be on the Soldier developing a better plan when drinking, identifying if the Soldier has a drinking problem and referring him to the appropriate resources, if the Soldier is under 21 taking appropriate action, emphasizing the Soldier did the right thing by notifying you before he got into trouble, and serving as documentation that this Soldier had an incident should a pattern develop or a future incident occur.
Did you check your Soldiers' rooms today? Why is it important to check your Soldiers' rooms?
Be honest, either yes you did or no you did not. They will track down your Soldiers and verify your answer. Do NOT lie. The PRIMARY reason you check Soldiers' rooms every day is first and foremost to inspect your Soldier. Accountability! How are they doing? Is he functioning? Does he look okay? The secondary purpose is to ensure that they are maintaining their room in accordance with the unit standard or barracks SOP.
Only commanders can issue punishment but what can NCOs use?
Corrective Training
What was the last book you read professionally?
Do not lie on this one some good examples are muddy boots leadership or anything on the SMA read list
A soldier is demonstrating signs of mental stress. They call you off duty and and say they can't do this anymore, they apologize and hang up. How do you react?
Do what's necessary to regain control of the convo, move to SM if necessary, notify leadership, have CQ go to soldiers room and check on soldier. If they live off post go to their house. Call MPs if necessary.(especially if there is a possibility of suicide) Communicate with the the SM and show concern for their well being and ask if they're having suicidal thoughts and if anything leans towards yes have them go to behavior health, the chaplain or even the hospital.
Describe and define counterproductive/toxic leadership.
Field Manual 6-22: Developing Leaders defines counterproductive leadership as "the demonstration of leader behaviors that violate one or more of the Army's core leader competencies or Army Values, preventing a climate conducive to mission accomplishment.
A Soldier makes Suicidal Threats. What are your actions?
- Immediately place the Soldier under watch- Notify the Chain of Command Recommend that the Soldier be seen by the appropriate medical authority (medical to ensure no immediate physical harm and a preliminary mental health exam for mental state of mind and/or mental health professionals)- At the same point in time the Soldier should be counseled concerning adverse effects of attempted suicide on their future and the military. The second, third and fourth order effects...It is more important to seek help first- Show concern for the Soldier- Should a soldier actually attempt suicide the command can recommend separation from the military based upon the incident and the findings of the appropriate medical authority? again, consider all factors to include: maturity, age, experience, duty performance, and past episodes (Chapters 5-17)- If a mental evaluation is determined to be appropriate the commander must initiate a written counseling for the non-emergency situation
You have a Soldier who you've overheard asking his buddies to loan him money to pay for basic things, like haircuts and toiletries. The command has received calls from bill collectors trying to get ahold of him. His uniform is starting to look worn and bordering on unserviceable; when you tell him he needs to get a new one, he says he's waiting for his annual clothing allowance to come in so he can afford one. What do you do
I would counsel the soldier and in this counselling I would speak about personal issues going on, go over a budget with a financial counsellor with the soldier, and ensure they have adequate facilities in their living quarters to upkeep their clothes and uniforms. I would also recommend they speak with Behavorial health as well in the event that there is more than just a financial problem which there usually is.
You notice that one of your Soldiers has not been acting themselves recently and open a conversation. In the course of the conversation, the Soldier mentions that they are thinking about harming yourself. Describe your next steps.
I would utilize the Army's framework of A.C.E. which stands for Ask Care Escort. In this instance, the Soldier is thinking about harming themselves so I would ask if they have a plan of how they would do that. I would mentally note their answer and adjust my response based on it. For example, if he says in my pocket is a loaded gun and I am thinking about shooting myself, then I will attempt to calm them down and encourage them to hand over the firearm. If they were to say, not really, then I would continue the dialogue. I care. If one of my Soldiers is thinking of harming themselves, I care. Whatever is going on, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. They have value as a human being, regardless of how good or bad a Soldier they are. By sympathizing and empathizing with them, I will hopefully continue to build on the trust we already have to resolve the situation. Lastly, I will escort the Soldier to the appropriate resources. When able, I will inform my higher leadership of the situation. If it is during duty hours, I would encourage the Soldier to go to BH. If it is not during duty hours, I would escort this Soldier to our nearest 24/7 BH facilities, which are located at XXXXX (you need to make this location specific). In my initial counseling for my Soldiers, I ensure they put the phone numbers to the DoD SAFE Helpline, Chaplain's on duty phone, and Veterans Crisis Line so they have resources at their fingertips if needed. A lot of Soldiers feel more comfortable texting than talking and both have chat options that dont require a phone call.
In front of formation, a soldier is disrespectful to you and/or disobeys an order. What do you do?
Immediately take charge. Ensure the soldier understands the severity of their actions. Formally counsel the soldier on disrespecting a NCO. Ensure UCMJ action bullet is present in your counselling.
After a platoon event, you go out for drinks with your squad. At the end of the night, one of your friends is leaving in the company of a local female that has clearly had too much to drink. Your friend says he is going to take her back to his place and have some fun tonight. What do you do?
Intervene
What does it mean to you to be promoted to a SGT/SSG?
It means I will have a greater sphere of influence and can better help and develop other soldiers. It's a way to continue to help shape the next generation of soldiers.
You discover your PL is having an in appropriate relationship with your soldier, but your NCOER is due in 30 days. What do you do
NCOERs can be amended. You have to do what it right. It make take time, but you will eventually be vindicated. Ignoring a problem for convivence does not make you a leader. "I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, noncommissioned officers, leaders!"
How many steps does each rank take when a platoon is given the command "Open Ranks"?
On the command "March", The first rank takes two steps forward, the second rank takes one step forward, the third rank stands fast and the fourth rank take two 15 inch steps to the rear
You have a Soldier that arrives to PT 5 minutes late. When you ask him why he was late he says that him and his wife are having issues. His breath also smells like alcohol. What do you do?
Pull him aside and counsel him check on his mental health and well being, enroll in SUDDC, have command counsel the SM
Your soldier tells you they're pregnant and don't know what they can and can't do what do you cover in their counselling
Retention or separation, maternity care, family planning services, leave, maternity clothing and uniform, bas, bah, pregnancy and postpartum PT, additional duties , army weight control program, profiles, training, etc.
What was the last book you read professionally?
Self explanatory if you haven't read anything I have a muddy boots leadership book you can borrow or reference the professional development page on the portal
A group of Soldiers in your platoon are talking and one of them is foreign. They are all speaking in his accent to him and appear to be mocking him. What do you do?
Take action and talk to the group as a whole remind them of EO. After they disperse pull aside each soldier starting with the one they mocked with the EO rep and talk about what happened and what they can do. I would also schedule my platoon for an EO refresher
One of your Soldiers just failed an APFT. Describe the steps you would take beginning after the failure.
The first thing that needs to be done is the Soldier needs to be counseled (Sample APFT Failure Counseling). During that counseling it is important to explain to the Soldier the consequences they are facing in terms of their flag, possible separation, and career limitations. The Army assigns physical fitness as an individual responsibility, and it is. My responsibility as a leader is not to put so much effort into a Soldier that they can only pass a PT test with me riding them and doing remedial PT, but to transform them into a self-sufficient Soldier. I need to find out why this Soldier failed (out of shape, poor diet, illness, home issue, or just THS) and develop a plan of action to fix it. For some Soldiers yelling at them to be better will be effective, for some just extra PT will fix their issue, but for others a different plan of action is needed and that will depend on the Soldier. Not everyone is Army material, and as the SMA has made clear, physical fitness is essential to what we do. As I said earlier, PT is an individual responsibility, and my role is to figure out how to motivate this Soldier to achieve the standard, give them the proper tools and information to succeed, and then ensure that they are following the plan of action. If they do not want to be better, then I will personally initiate separation. I do not want a Soldier, with an identified lack of motivation, to serve in this Army. This is your Army, this is my Army, but most importantly this is America's Army. I want to do everything in my power to preserve this Army and this nation for the next generation-whether that means staying late to do remedial PT, showing my Soldier to the library to check out a nutrition book, ensuring they have a proper rest plan, or separating them from the military.
One of your Soldiers just failed an APFT. Describe the steps you would take beginning after the failure.
The first thing that needs to be done is the Soldier needs to be counseled. During that counseling it is important to explain to the Soldier the consequences they are facing in terms of their flag, possible separation, and career limitations. The Army assigns physical fitness as an individual responsibility, and it is. My responsibility as a leader is not to put so much effort into a Soldier that they can only pass a PT test with me riding them and doing remedial PT, but to transform them into a self-sufficient Soldier. I need to find out why this Soldier failed (out of shape, poor diet, illness, home issue, or just THS) and develop a plan of action to fix it.
Your soldier has been sexually assaulted and wants to file a report who can you refer them to?
Their chain of command Medical Treatment Facility Military Police/Criminal Investigation Chaplains Social Work Services Family Advocacy Legal Services
How would you respond to a Soldier wanting to go to college, what programs are available and how do you go using them.
Think TA, COOL, or programs that allow them to get credits based off their MOS and army schools ( JST)
A soldier tell you that they are struggling financially, what steps as an NCO do you take?
Think finance counsellor, AER if applicable, creating a budget/ finance plan, LES reviews on payday activities
Can you explain how to read a map and what is on it to help you read it in your own words
Think legend, compass, etc.
You have a Soldier who is intent on getting out of the Army that has a newborn child and wife. He does not appear to have a plan once he gets out at the moment. How would you approach this Soldier?
Think retention NCO meeting, talk about options for the SM when they get out such as CSP to help set them up, make a plan of action
You're standing in line in uniform at a restaurant for lunch when someone approaches you and asks, "Aren't you glad that Trump is out of office?" How would you respond?
Well it's important to remember that we always represent the Army and something larger than ourselves. Any answer I give here is going to be construed to be the "opinion" of Soldiers. I would simply say that, "We take an oath to protect the Constitution and defend the people of the United States. Regardless of who is President, that is what we're doing and will continue to do." If pressed further, I would politely respond that I don't feel comfortable discussing my personal political views while I'm representing the United States government because it would be unprofessional and inappropriate.
Suppose you have a Soldier who refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine. How would you handle this situation?
While the COVID-19 vaccine is completely voluntary due to it being authorized under and emergency use by the FDA, all credible data suggests it is effective and safe. First, I would listen. Why does my Soldier not want to receive the vaccine? It is possible my Soldier has a medical history that makes him more unsure. Maybe he has read that it causes autism or some other serious side-effect? If the Soldier is unsure about its safety (most common concern), I would first direct him to the plethora of educational resources available online showing the vaccines are safe and effective. However, I know that sometimes reading journal articles just is not that exciting or convincing. I would say that I received the vaccine and why would I knowingly put something harmful in my body? Also, I would arrange an appointment for him to speak with the PA to discuss any concerns he may have. Now, if my Soldier says something like "it is a government tracking device" or something outlandish, I would ask him if he carries a cellphone? That is literally a tracking device. Does he have social media? You are literally volunteering personal information for EVERYONE. So, if you are that concerned about being tracked, lets get rid of your cellphone and social media. I, personally, would encourage my Soldier to think about the safety of himself and the team. By getting vaccinated he is preventing himself from getting sick and most importantly stopping himself from infecting others. Were all part of a team and we cant afford to lose Soldiers due to preventable things. If my Soldier flat out refuses to get the vaccine, that is his right at the moment, BUT I want it to be because he made an informed decision based on the facts. At the end of the day, Americans have the right to decide what is best for themselves, as long as doing so doesnt infringe upon the rights of others.
a soldier in your squad asks to speak to you in private, they then reveal they're being sexually harassed by another NCO, however they wish to remain anonymous and doesn't want to make an official report, this soldier has claimed Sexual assault and Harassment before with investigations that led to proving them wrong, what do you do?
You can refer them to the unit SHARP as well as give them the official SHARP hotline number (410) 322-7154 after talking with the soldier you can take them to the company commander who is in charge of all unit programs including sharp or take them to the SHARP representative.
