Navy officials have reconvened the fiscal year 2018 E-9 selection board in Millington, Tennessee, with the same slate of eligible sailors and quotas, but the rules have changed.
The board originally convened on April 3, but was suddenly halted and adjourned on April 12 after Navy officials learned the board’s proceedings had been compromised.
Two master chief petty officers pleaded guilty in June for causing the compromise and were reduced in rate one paygrade and reprimanded.
And it’s not over, yet. More discipline is expected for three other individuals implicated in the case.
As a result of the misconduct, the decision was made to reconvene with fewer E-9s sitting the board, supplemented instead by more officers and led by a flag officer instead of an O-6, a stark change from the past.
In the past, there has been an average of about 14 officers on each board. That number is now expected to at least double. The total number won’t be known until the board adjourns.
That’s because officials will now only release the names of those sitting the board at the end of the process. Previously, names were released — along with the quotas — once the board was in session.
The good news in all this is the chance to put on E-9 is up for the third consecutive year, coming in at just under 15 percent. It’s the highest it’s been in the past four years.
This year’s increase of nearly two percentage points is the result of rising quota numbers and a dip in the number of eligible senior chiefs. Being considered this year are just over 3,400 eligible E-8s competing for 508 openings at the top level of the enlisted force.
Last year, there were almost 3,600 eligibles competing for just 474 openings.
There’s bad news for 46 senior chiefs in six ratings with no E-9 quotas this year. Last year there were over 100 senior chiefs spread over five ratings with no quotas.
This marks the first year that command senior chiefs will compete in their rating for master chief and a spot in the command master chief rating.
Also new this year is the breakout of the the naval aircrewman ratings, which are now competing for E-9 within five sub-specialties after the elimination of the AW compression rating last year.
Check the E-9 lists below for more details.
