MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER, TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Headquarters Marine Corps is hosting a Promotion/Performance Road Show at the Combat Center June 10.
The road show is scheduled to be held at the Protestant Chapel at 8 a.m. The annual event offers in-depth information on how to prepare for promotion boards, the responsibilities of each Marine, what board members look for in packages and fitness reports and how to read and understand Official Military Personnel Files. For new sergeants just venturing into the world of fitness reports, there will be information on what they need to do to set themselves up for success in the future, said Master Sgt. Patrick Whitaker, the Combat Center’s career planner.
Although every unit across the Corps have career planners to help answer questions relating to promotions and boards, the ultimate responsibility lies with each individual Marine to have a firm grasp on his or her own career and how they are represented in their OMPFs, said Staff Sgt. Xavisus Gayden, the Headquarters Battalion career planner.
“I get sergeants in here all the time who have been in their present rank for two or three years and have never pulled [their OMPF],” said Gayden, from Houston. “Most Marines don’t know how to.”
The spectrum of information available has a little something for everyone, whether it is a sergeant who has never been in zone or a senior field grade officer with more than 20 years in the Corps, added Whitaker, who has been a career retention specialist for 14 years.
Other than knowing what to do for their own promotions, officers also need to be aware of what to look for in their enlisted Marines’ fitness reports, said Whitaker, a San Diego native.
This information is coming straight from the “horse’s mouth,” so to speak, Whitaker added.
“These are the experts up there [who oversee promotions],” he said. “Just get there. This is something for your career.”
For more information on the road show, contact Whitaker at 830-6171.