BUCKLEY SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. -- From late nights to weather delays, the Promotion Board Operations team at Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center is committed to ensuring officer promotions are conducted fairly, accurately and on time—no matter the challenges.
Comprised of enlisted and officer Airmen, civilians and contractors, the team supports the full lifecycle of officer promotion boards across the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. This life cycle of pre- and post-board promotion operations extends across a significant time frame as promotion board rosters of candidates and board members are built months before a board convenes.
“This is a no-fail mission,” said Maj. Haley Murray, PBO division chief. “Our team is very committed to ensuring we have quality and accurate results that we deliver to the total force.”
Maj. Murray continued that officer promotions go through many layers of approval to ensure accuracy. While some delays in promotion announcements can occur, the ARPC team follows a rigorous and standardized process to deliver eligible names for final approval. Once board results are forwarded by PB for certification by the Secretary of the Air Force and forwarded for Secretary of Defense approval, the process extends beyond ARPC’s control, but PB constantly monitors the progress of packages to release the approved results as quickly as possible.
The promotion board process first begins roughly six months before a board convenes. A dedicated eligibility technician reviews thousands of officer records to verify separation dates, date of rank, reserve active status list time and overall eligibility. Simultaneously, military personnel flights verify their local master eligibility list, identify any changes in assigned personnel and help submit promotion recommendation forms for the boards that require them.
ARPC maintains a strict review process for PRFs. While only ten percent are required to be checked, the team reviews 100 percent for every board. In one year, this helped catch more than 350 errors that could have otherwise resulted in costly special selection boards. Each special board can cost the ARPC nearly $30,000 per panel, said Murray, and between 200 to 280 hours of senior leader time depending on if the panel has five or seven members.
When technical challenges arise, the team adapts. During one board cycle, MyVector—the platform used for PRF review—was operating so slowly during the day that it became unusable. Rather than delay operations, the team shifted to overnight work.
“We gave them a two-day warning that we were moving to nighttime ops, and they did just that,” Murray said. “We actually had one period where we worked 24 hours straight—not because we had to, but because the team cared about the mission.”
In another case, the primary scoring platform, eBOSS, crashed mid-board. Panel members could no longer access some electronically signed records. The team quickly printed records and coordinated a manual review—while ensuring each board member reviewed the correct file at the correct time.
“If the base closes for snow, we identify promotion board staff who will stay in lodging on base so they can walk board members over the next day,” Murray said. “The board continues.”
Staff Sgt. Ishimine Johnson, PBO eligibility technician, emphasized the importance of documentation, communication and continuity to maintain consistency and compliance.
“We have a standardized checklist and process map,” Johnson said. “It helps anyone new to the team follow steps smoothly and get things accomplished without questions. It’s part of what helps us uphold standards for every officer.”
The ARPC Promotion Board team is dedicated to constant improvement. As part ARPC’s EVOLVE initiative the team’s has successfully met bronze certification and is rapidly progressing towards the significant improvement milestones that are part of the silver certification process. EVOLVE is a core part of ARPC’s continuous improvement process; designed to optimize operations, enhance workforce capabilities and improve service delivery for the Total Force. These certifications include detailed continuity binders with screenshots and written instructions, helping onboard new team members and ensure consistent, standardized performance across all aspects of the promotion board mission. According to Johnson, maintaining consistency is about fairness.
“To maintain fairness and accuracy, we always stick to the [Air Force Instruction 36-2504] for eligibility,” she said. “Sometimes people want us to go around procedures, but we can’t do that.”
Promotion board members, including general officers, are supported during boards by recorders—trained staff who take an oath at the start of each board and sign a sworn statement afterward to confirm they upheld board integrity.
“Our board recorders have to be able to speak truth to power,” Murray said. “They are there to ensure the panel stays focused on what is in the record, not what they may know personally.”
The promotion board team’s attention to detail not only prevents costly delays or errors but ensures the integrity of the officer promotion process across Air Force Reserve Command. Every decision is made with the understanding that promotions are directly tied to retention, leadership development and force readiness.
“There can be frustration when we won’t go outside the standardized process for missing documents or evaluations,” Murray said. “But if we make an exception for one, we have to make it for all, and we just don’t have the manning to support that. We treat everyone the same and give them the same level of service.”
The work is constant, but the team remains focused on mission execution and continuous improvement.
“Boards can be high pressure and stressful,” Murray said. “But with process improvement, mentorship and flexibility, we continue to deliver results the total force can trust.”