The EIA Program

Scope

The EIA Program identifies outstanding CMF 19 soldiers whose performance demonstrates superb leadership

potential.  EIA is both an active and reserve component program.

  The program goals for the EIA Program are:

(a)  Identify and develop bright, highly motivated Armor and Cavalry soldiers whose performance is consistently

 outstanding.  Encourage and facilitate their career progression and growth into noncommissioned leaders.

(b)  Provide incentives which will lead to retention of high quality NCOs.

Responsibilities

(1)  Identify newly assigned soldiers as being enrolled in the EIA Program.

(2)  Administer TCCT/SCCT Level I.

(3) Identify and enroll soldiers whose performance meets the criteria for EIA membership.

(4)  Disenroll soldiers who no longer maintain the EIA standards or do not display the performance, motivation

 and potential expected of an EIA soldier.

(5)  Maintain a unit listing of all soldiers enrolled in EIA.

(6)  Have EIA Sergeants and Sergeants(P) who have attended BNCOC take the TCCT/SCCT II test.

EIA Enrollment

(1)  The company/troop commander may recommend any soldier, PVT to SFC, whom he believes should be

enrolled in EIA.  The battalion/squadron commander must approve all selections.

(2)  The soldier must meet the following standards:

**Commander's subjective evaluation of the soldier's tactical/technical proficiency, leadership, potential and

motivation.  This is the most important selection criterion.

                APFT....................................260

                CTT.......................................PASS

                TCCT/SCCT-I..................... PASS

                Individual Wpn Qual..........Sharpshooter

(3)  A battalion/squadron commander enrolls soldiers who meet the standards listed in paragraph 4a(2) into EIA

 by sending a letter to OCOA (sample letter at Annex B).

(4)  The soldier, through the unit commander, will receive a letter from  OCOA acknowledging enrollment

 in approximately 30 days.  If the unit does not receive acknowledgment after 30-45 days, the commander should

 contact OCOA.  The soldier's name should not be added to the unit EIA roster until the commander receives the

 soldier's enrollment certificate.

(5)  The commander must forward a copy of the letter to the local PSC and have "EIA, date enrolled" entered in

Block 19 of the soldier's DA Form 2-1 (IAW AR 640-2-1 and Commander, PERSCOM and MILPERCEN

message # 90-113).

(6)  A soldier requiring a waiver from the Chief of Armor must have his waiver approved prior to enrollment in

the program.

NOTES:

(1)  Chief of Armor intent.  Standardize EIA enrollment in the Armor Force using established enrollment standards.

Commanders may not add their own objective standards (e.g. Tank Table VIII qualification score).  However, the

subjective evaluations of company and battalion commanders are extremely important.  For example, if a

commander believes a soldier has not shown leadership ability, the soldier should not be enrolled, even if the

soldier meets or exceeds all standards.

(2)  Battalion/squadron commanders should only request an APFT waiver from the Chief of Armor under unique

circumstances, e.g., a soldier had a temporary profile for a medical condition.  See Annex A for an example of a

request to waiver EIA standards.  If an EIA soldier does not meet the minimum standards, the commander should

counsel the soldier on his shortcomings a short period of time (30-90 days).  The commander will disenroll

soldiers who fail to meet the standards after counseling and retesting/requalification.

Incentives

(1)  EIA soldiers should be strongly considered for accelerated promotions to SPC/CPL, SGT and SSG.  They

should also be considered for early attendance to PLDC and BNCOC (for early attendance consideration to

BNCOC, contact Armor Branch, PERSCOM, DSN 221-5532).  It is essential that commanders look carefully at EIA

soldiers and give them special consideration for early promotion and NCOES if they consistently display superior

performance and potential.  This benefits the Armor force by recognizing superior performance and potential,

and it benefits the unit by increasing the soldier's motivation.  It also sends a message to other soldiers that

demonstrated performance and potential count more for promotion than just time in grade.  If the commander does

not feel that the EIA soldier possesses the potential to warrant special consideration for promotion and NCOES,

then he should evaluate whether or not the soldier should be in the EIA Program.

(2)  An EIA Sergeant or Sergeant (P) can earn 50 promotion points (IAW AR 600-8-19) by taking and passing with

 a score of 70 the Tank Commander or Scout Commander Competency Test -- Level II (TCCT/SCCT-II).  To take

the test the soldier must be enrolled in EIA, have already attended BNCOC, and passed the Tank Crewman or

Scout Crewman Competency Test -- Level I (TCCT/SCCT-I).  The TCCT-II and SCCT-II are difficult,

comprehensive, written examinations with a two-hour time limit based solely on skill level 3 and 4 tasks.  An EIA

soldier can only take this test once.  Due to the difficulty of this test, failure of the TCCT/SCCT-II should not be

the sole reason for disenrollment from EIA.  A soldier may not take this test unless enrolled in the EIA Program.

(3)  An EIA Sergeant who has attended BNCOC and passed the Level II test is highly qualified for the Master

Gunner Course and should be strongly considered as a Master Gunner Candidate by the commander.  The Master

Gunner and Excellence in Armor programs complement one another.  Both programs are aimed at the brightest

Armor force soldiers who are highly motivated and strive to excel in their profession.  An EIA soldier should be

considered for Master Gunner School providing he meets those prerequisites IAW DA Pam 351-4.

(4)  EIA soldiers should not be assigned to duties other than tank/scout vehicle crewman, such as commanders'

drivers, armorers or PAC clerks.  These soldiers have demonstrated the potential and motivation to be Armor

leaders, what they lack is technical expertise.  Taking EIA soldiers away from their primary weapon system early in

their careers deprives them of the early foundation of technical and tactical skills they will need as NCOs.

(5)  Unit enrolled soldiers will receive a DA Certificate of Achievement, preferably in formation.

Disenrollment

(1)  If the chain of command believes that the soldier's performance or attitude no longer warrants enrollment in

EIA (or if the soldier, PVT thru SFC, falls below the selection standards, the battalion/squadron commander

should remove the soldier from the program.  The battalion/squadron must send a letter to OCOA stating the

soldier has been dropped from EIA.  The commander must give the soldier a copy of the disenrollment letter and

should formally counsel him on the reasons for being dropped from EIA.  An example of the letter is at Annex C.

(2)  If the soldier's performance, motivation and demonstrated potential raise back to the EIA standard, the soldier

cannot be reenrolled.

Program Administration

EIA Database and Periodic Reports.

(1)  The OCOA maintains the EIA database, both for active and reserve component soldiers.

(2)  OCOA annually sends all active component armor brigades, cavalry regiments, and separated squadrons

and troops an EIA roster and informs them of any recent changes to the EIA Program.

(3)  Commanders should compare the report with their own unit roster.  To ensure accuracy of the database,

commanders must inform OCOA of discrepancies as soon as possible.

(4)  OCOA will provide interim rosters on an "as needed" basis upon request.

Unit Administration and Training

(1)  The key to a successful EIA Program is command support.

(2)  Commanders should designate one soldier (usually EIA) to monitor the unit EIA Program as an additional

duty.  In many units the program is monitored by the battalion master gunner with support from the company

master gunners.  In other units, the battalion/squadron CSM monitors the program with the 1SGs, and the master

gunners provide technical expertise on EIA training matters.

(3)  There is no requirement for specialized EIA unit training.  However, an EIA training program developed by the

battalion and company master gunners that supports the unit METL can be an excellent tool to further develop

the technical and leadership skills of our future NCOs and improve unit readiness.

Proponency Source

Commander, USAARMC, ATTN:  ATZK-ARP, Fort Knox, KY  40121-5000

Or call:        DSN 464-1368/1439/3188 or Fax 464-7585; COMM (502) 624-1368/1439/3188 or Fax (502) 624-7585