As someone who teaches history and government, I’ll explain this in plain language. On your PPW it says “Recommended E‑5 STEP NCOES REQ.” That basically means you’re competitive for promotion to E‑5, but under the Army’s STEP system (Select – Train – Educate – Promote), you still owe the required NCO school—usually BLC—to fully meet the education requirement. The system is telling you, “You look good for SGT, but you still need the school unless you qualify for a temporary exception.”
Your friends who picked up SGT without BLC most likely benefited from temporary promotion policies. In recent years, the Army has sometimes allowed Soldiers to pin the rank first and then attend BLC later, within a certain time limit. They still have to complete BLC, but the promotion comes first. That’s why you might see people wearing SGT rank even though they haven’t finished BLC yet.
For you as a 13J with 355 points, whether you can pick up E‑5 on the November list comes down to two things: (1) the cutoff score for 13J that month, and (2) whether the current policy still allows temporary promotion without BLC in your specific situation. If the November cutoff for 13J is 355 or lower, and the temporary promotion rules still apply to you, and your unit processes everything correctly, then you can be promoted even if BLC isn’t complete yet—but you’ll still be required to attend.
Because the details change with each policy update, your best move is to talk directly to your S1 or Career Counselor. Ask them for the exact cutoff score for 13J for October and November, and whether you qualify for temporary promotion without BLC. Think of them the way we think of primary sources in a history class—they’re the authoritative source for the current rule, but hopefully this gives you a clear framework for what’s going on.
