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E-5 Noncommissioned Officer, U.S. Army
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Army Ranks » Sergeant RankSGT PaySGT Rank HistoryPromotion Information

How to get promoted to Sergeant Army Promotion to E-5 Sergeant

A Sergeant is a Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Army at DoD paygrade E-5. This page describes how the Army determines who is eligible for the promotion list to Sergeant.

Soldiers are promoted to the rank of Sergeant from either the rank of Specialist or Corporal, both ranks of the E-4 grade.

To be promoted to Sergeant, soldiers must serve thirty-six months of service and months of time in grade; although, commanders can waive the requirement for time in service in light of consistent good performance of soldiers while serving in lower ranks.

Additionally, soldiers seeking promotion to Sergeant must also complete the Basic Leader Course while holding the rank of Specialist.

Further, they must complete the Warrior Leader Course (WLC), formerly known as the Primary Leader Development Course (PLDC).

Further still, they must continue to meet the physical requirements for continued service.

The rank of Sergeant is the first in which soldiers compete against each other for the title by accumulating points. The completion of all the above led requirements allow for the accumulation of the points. The rate at which these requirements are met, as well as the level of performance achieved by individual soldiers in completing them, corresponds to the rate at which points are accumulated.

Upon accumulating enough points and then receiving command recommendation, soldiers are promoted to Sergeant officially by an act of the Secretary of the Army.

Want to learn more? Read about the Army's Sergeant rank on Military-Ranks.org.