Can I get promoted before Basic?

Question

I'm in the Army Reserves but i don't ship to basic till next June. Is there anyway i can get promoted before that?

Answer 1

No.  Your status now is Inactive Reserves and you are in the Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP).  You get no pay nor receive any benefits.  This time DOES count for Time in Service calculations for longevity pay increases (fogeys to us GIs) but that's all of the benefit you receive for your time now.  Therefore since you'll have a year in DEP once you "go active," you will go "over 2" for pay purposes a year after you start your active duty stint, "over 3" after 2 years and "over 4" after 3 years, etc.  After 4 years, fogeys come every 4 years up to 26 years of service.  This will put your PAY a bit higher than your peers who didn't serve any inactive time but won't count towards actual promotions.

Answer 2

If you have been assigned to a Army Reserve Unit, check with the unit recruitment officer or 1SG.

Answer 3

If you are an e-1 there are a couple things you can do to get promoted.

Have a degree---->E-4

Recruit Someone---->E-2/E-3

Pass PT Test/Basic Soldier Taskings------>E-2/E-3

You got to do this before heading out. Have your recruiter or an NCO in your reserve unit help you out.

Answer 4

No, I don't believe so because you are not doing anything to get promoted. Unless you get a degree of some kind under your belt before then. Check with a recruiter they should know

Answer 5

If you have JROTC already you can usually get a promotion to E-2 or E-3, depending on how long you was in the program.  Also, you can go up to E-4 depending on how many college credits you have.  I think the army has a program going on that allows you to get promoted depending on you doing certain tasks but you need to talk to your recruiter about that.