One of the areas our promotion process stands out above others is that of the meritocracy basis it stands upon. While many careers promote based on time in service, with some requiring checkpoint exams along the way, we find that such a system is not only archaic but also detrimental.

Why is this?

Simply put, we don't lock a legionnaire's ambition behind time gates. The only thing impeding their progress is their own efforts and skill, which once proven and vetted for by their commander and others are all that's required for advancement. How this prowess is shown is entirely dependent on the legion, as each one has numerous promotion board processes dependent on the legionnaire's LOS.

The vetting and evaluation process an E-4 in the Medical Legion goes through is night and day compared to that of an E-4 in the Mechanical Legion.

A Combat Surgeon in the Medical Legion looking to reach Shield Sergeant (E-5) already possesses an MD, and therefore must demonstrate significant skills in trauma medicine, surgery, organic chemistry, physiology and anesthesiology to name a few. How that is all determined or demonstrated is up to their commander and that commander’s superiors.

A tank mechanic in the Mechanical Legion looking to reach the same rank must, as I am told by their legion's commander, perform the following tasks on a Hard Iron in under ten hours; Rebuild the coolant system, rebuild both ammo feed mechanisms, troubleshoot electrical issues introduced by their commander, troubleshoot the driver’s broken control system, and re-seat the tracks all while sufficiently inebriated.

I am certainly in the process of looking into the validity of that last part.

A rather famously repeated example of this promotion system is that of the theoretical "One-Day Guardian". As the example goes, within the promotion system of GDS it's entirely possible for a legionnaire who graduated conditioning training as an E-3 to immediately request evaluation. If they display both the skills and knowledge relevant to both their MOS and their legion, even before attending tech school, that legionnaire may achieve E-4 the same day.

I can attest to the fact that such an example is both possible and within regulations, however it has never actually occurred.
From what I have been told, the usual response given to a request for evaluation the day of conditioning training graduation is usually (and I quote), "Shut the fuck up Guardian."

Some, however, would consider this method of promotion far harder.
This would be an entirely correct assumption.

A merit-based system of promotion requires the actual demonstration of skills not only during the evaluation for promotion, but on a continual, consistent basis going forward. Any NCO, SNCO, officer or senior officer who fails to continually meet the criteria for their rank in both actions and words will have that rank summarily stripped from them. These standards apply for all ranks above E-4, and all officer ranks.

Their actions extend into job duties, as we both expect and demand that legionnaires of a high rank consistently perform at the bleeding edge of what is possible within their LOS. Legionnaires who fail in this or begin to coast through their role by spending their time in “meetings” all day rather than performing any actual work with their subordinates, will lose their rank in short order.

We expect E-4 and below legionnaires to make mistakes as they learn, and so they are not subject to the same continual evaluation as their leaders are. The standards to which commissioned officers are held are neither hidden nor obscure and can be plainly read in another section. For now, we'll focus on the promotion process and what you can expect as you progress through the ranks.

To get a basic feel for how the promotion process is undertaken, we'll look at how we go about it within the Administrative Legion. Our hypothetical legionnaire has the LOS of [AD-DOS7-DD-00], shortened to DOS7, or a Documentation Scribe.

One would think that such a job would be merely copying information down from one form to another, but it's far more than it seems to be. A massive failing in corporations is that their internal processes, methods, and fixes are often completely undocumented and instead rely on tribal knowledge, that which is only known to few individuals. To combat this, Documentation Scribes are sent out across all of GDS to investigate, gather information, and then put it to paper as it were. Even further to that end, the documentation needs to be both understandable and efficient, with numerous provided examples and even illustrations. These scribes are the ones who maintain what you will come to known as Tome, the GDS internal library system.

In this role, how is promotion handled?

We could evaluate their prowess based on the number of transcriptions and documents they’ve completed, though we both know that’s simply a number. A scribe could very well author 4800+ documents, yet that’s a detriment to GDS as a whole if they’re filling Tome with complete garbage. Another source of merit could be the creation of a single document for an incredibly complex piece of technology, hardware, or process. Again though, if that documentation is an indecipherable fog of jargon it’ll be worse than non-existent since now it’s taking up space. Rather, accomplishments such as the number of documents, and quality of those documents, would be considered supporting arguments rather than the core justification.

The core justification, and the source of their merit, is the tangible impact their actions and work have had on their current assignment.

For the documentation they’ve made, has this improved or solved previously recorded issues? Are the departments they worked within seeing less delays in their work due to no longer needing to hunt for info, processes, or contact information? Do the legionnaires who handle the majority of the work in that area feel less stressed or frustrated throughout their workday?
The point of a Documentation Scribe is to solve those issues among many others, therefore has this individual shown merit in those areas? Can their commander and that commander’s superior attest to this?

We restrict the majority of a promotion’s approval to that legionnaire’s legion and no others, often consisting only of that legionnaire’s direct commander, that commander’s superior, and any number of miscellaneous evaluators as the legion sees fit. This is because we trust them to be the best sources of judgement regarding a legionnaire’s merit in that field, rather than some third-party evaluator who hasn’t been present nor involved in that legionnaire’s career. That is to say, if you are outside the Administrative Legion, your name will not cross our desks throughout the process of promoting, nor will we interfere in another legion’s operations. There is however, a final approval in the process that falls upon that legion’s commander, though in all cases they will simply review the promotion request and then defer to the decision of their SNCOs and officers.

Returning to the promotion of a Documentation Scribe, if we look at a legionnaire moving from E-3 to E-4, the evaluation of their merit would be:

• Examination of impact this legionnaire’s efforts have made at their assignment.

• Examination of the legionnaire’s work that has been submitted for evaluation.

• Evaluation by the legionnaire’s direct commander.

• Evaluation by the SNCO or officer the legionnaire’s commander reports to.

• Decision by both commanders, submitted as a promotion request.

• Final approval is sent to my desk, where I review all of the previous points in the promotion request before giving the final approval to promote the legionnaire. This mostly consists of ensuring both commanders have properly filled out the paperwork and submitted sufficient evidence to ensure the legionnaire doesn’t run into issues later on.

In the event that a legionnaire cannot meet the new requirements of their rank despite passing their legion’s evaluation, the blame falls on those who approved their promotion. That being the legionnaire’s direct commander, that commander’s superior, and myself. How we correct course after this is highly variable, and outside the scope of this section, but at no point do we penalize the legionnaire. We placed them in a position they were not ready for, and thus it up to us to resolve the issue, not punish the legionnaire for our failure to carry out our roles as mentors and leaders.

To summarize, attaining a promotion is entirely on the legionnaire.
It is entirely on you.

This system of promotion is far harder than others, and goes beyond simple written exams and board interviews that may as well be a churched up trivia night. You will struggle to promote, but it that struggle will be entirely confined to your abilities and skills in the role that you have chosen.
It is the kind of struggle that will benefit you far more than fighting against unit politics and obscure policies. Your promotion will not be denied because “We can’t have more E-4s than Major Darrell, he said it’ll make him look incompetent in front of General Hansley and we need him to approve this funding next fiscal year.”.

Put in the effort, put in the time, show us what you’re capable of, demonstrate your skill, and then demand what is rightfully yours.
In this, we will never limit you.

-FrW Hansuke Ito