It's going to be another tough year for making chief petty officer in the drilling reserve, according to the official board quotas released by the Navy Monday. 

The numbers were released following Monday's convening of the fiscal 2018 Selected Reserve and Full-Time Support Chief Petty Officer Selection Board, which reviewed the records of almost 3,800 drilling and full-time support E-6s who qualified for this year's board.

First, the bad news. For those in the drilling reserve, over 2,700 selected reservists will compete for a total of just 421 quotas, meaning the advancement rate will be around 15 percent. 

That's substantially down from last year's banner crop, when the Navy advanced over 800 into the chiefs mess in what amounted to an advancement rate of over 26 percent.

But still, the numbers are slightly up from recent years. Two-years ago, under 15 percent of eligible E-6s had a shot at advancement, which was also an increase from 2015, when less than 13 percent advanced.

This board marks the start to the chiefs season. The active-duty board will convene on June 22, and the season will culminate in the September pinning of the Navy's new chief petty officers.

For the almost-1,000 reserve full-time support E-6s, advancement opportunities are up, with 205 quotas available, up from 167 quotas last year.

Opportunity has steadily risen over the past four years for FTS chiefs. Two years ago, the advancement rate was just over 15 percent, which was also a better chance at advancement than the 2015 variation.

Full chief quota lists are available here:

About Mark D. Faram

Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.

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