# 2015-246 Careers, Promotion

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2015–11–23

The grievor's Commanding Officer (CO) recommended that he be promoted to the rank of Captain (Capt) based on his interpretation of the terms “time in rank (TIR)”. The CO determined that the grievor's time served as a non-commissioned member, prior to having been commissioned, should count towards a promotion to the rank of Capt, in accordance with Canadian Forces Administrative Order (CFAO) 49-12 – Promotion Policy – Officers – Primary Reserve. The grievor was however promoted Acting Capt as it was found that he was missing TIR.

The grievor argued that, in accordance with Annex A of CFAO 49-12, his service as a Master Corporal (MCpl) places him in Serial 5 of the policy, “Former service in the Canadian Forces in other than officer rank.” Therefore, he claimed that, in accordance with Note 2b, he was eligible to count his service in the rank of 2Lt as qualifying TIR for promotion to Capt.

The Initial Authority (IA) agreed that there was confusion surrounding the term “former service” and concluded that Serial 5 did apply to the grievor. However, the IA determined that Note 2b did not apply because it referred to service as a Sergeant or above and the grievor had only served as a MCpl.

The Committee agreed with the IA that Serial 5 did apply to the grievor because “former service” can be interpreted to include current enrolment as well as a former period of enrolment and it did not make sense that a break in service could create an advantage over a currently serving member for service at the same rank.

With respect to Note 2b, the Committee found that in order to be credited as TIR as a Lt, the time a member serves in the ranks listed in Note 2b had to consist of training and experience comparable to that of a Lt. Depending on the specific trade and duties performed, the experience brought to the duties, and the performance of the CAF member, it was possible for a CAF member to have service in those ranks that was comparable to that of a Lt. In those cases, it would be reasonable for the CAF to consider the CAF member to be ready for the rank of Capt without requiring the usual minimum TIR.

The Committee noted that the grievor was an untrained officer during his time as a 2Lt. As a non-commissioned member he had junior leadership training but no training as a senior non-commissioned officer. The Committee found no evidence that would allow it to conclude that the grievor's training, experience, or performance during his time as a 2Lt were comparable to that of a Lt. The Committee also found that counting the grievor's time as a 2Lt as TIR for promotion to Capt would not be in accordance with the intent of Annex A.

The Committee agreed with the IA's support of the grievor's promotion to Acting Capt, one year in advance of his substantive promotion date on the basis of his strong performance.

The Committee recommended that the grievance be denied.

FA Decision Summary

The FA agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that the grievance be denied as the evidence on file does not allow to conclude that the grievor's training, experience or performance during his time as a 2Lt warrants counting this period as TIR for promotion to Capt.