Army's Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course
Selection and Attendance Policy
The current policies and procedures for soldiers selected to attend the Army's Advanced
Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC) began taking shape in 1989, when the Army Chief of Staff approved an initiative
that made graduation from Primary Leadership Development Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course (BNCOC),
ANCOC and USA Sergeants Major Course a prerequisite for promotion.
Effective with the release of the calendar year 1997 sergeant first class (SFC) promotion
list, the Army, in keeping with this "Select-Train-Promote" concept will send NCOs to ANCOC only after
they have been selected for promotion to SFC.
Linking the noncommissioned officer education system (NCOES) to promotions ensures
NCOs have the appropriate skills and knowledge required before assuming the duties and responsibilities of the
next higher grade and aligns with the Army's philosophy of "Select-Train-Promote."
Another relevant issue is: When can the soldier expect to attend ANCOC after selection.
Currently, there is no deadline in determining when the soldier must attend ANCOC. The general guidelines are:
• Soldiers attend ANCOC within a year after the release of the appropriate SFC selection list.
• Soldiers may be deferred only once for operational reasons.
• Other than an operational deferment, the only deferment requests considered are for medical or compassionate
reasons.
• Soldiers who fail to attend their scheduled ANCOC class for any reason other than those stated above, and are
subsequently declared a "no-show" by either the NCO Academy or The U.S. Total Army Personnel Command
(PERSCOM), are removed from the centralized promotion list.
Leaders at all levels must understand the consequences of administratively "holding"
a soldier in the unit and creating a "no-show" situation. Sometimes the chain of command (having good
intentions) feels the soldier would have a difficult time passing the enrollment requirements (Army Physical Fitness
Test and Height/Weight). Unfortunately, soldiers who do not report to ANCOC because the chain of command refuses
to allow them to do so will have their promotion status revoked.
Leaders and soldiers also must understand the conditional promotion policy: Soldiers
who have not yet attended ANCOC prior to their effective date of promotion to SFC, will be promoted "conditionally."
Those who accept a conditional promotion do so under the stipulation that they must successfully complete ANCOC
to retain that promotion. Soldiers who are "no-shows" at ANCOC who have already been conditionally promoted
to SFC will be administratively reduced to staff sergeant (SSG), and their date of rank will revert to the date
they were originally promoted to SSG.
Soldiers who report to ANCOC and fail to meet the enrollment requirement or who fail
to meet the course's academic requirements also will forfeit their promotion list status and their conditional
promotion to SFC. Soldiers who fail to complete ANCOC will have to re-compete for promotion during a subsequent
SFC promotion board to regain ANCOC eligibility and/or SFC.
Soldiers denied enrollment, academically dismissed or declared a no-show who feel
there was either an error, injustice or some other type of wrongdoing that contributed to their dismissal may reclama
through PERSCOM's NCO Education Systems (NCOES) reinstatement panel. If the voting panel finds irregularities that
either caused or contributed to the soldier's dismissal, the panel can reinstate the soldier on the SFC/ANCOC promotion
list.
