AR 600-19, CH 3 -12 a(1) states, "The promotion board's mission is to validate the potential of Soldiers to assume increased responsibilities associated at the next higher grade and to make a recommendation of yes or no to the promotion authority for each Soldier considered.

CH 3-12 c(1) states, Soldiers who are required or recommended for promotion by the unit CDR will appear before the promotion board. Utilizing a question and answer format, the board will test the preparedness of the recommended Soldier to determine their potential to serve at the recommended rank...Questions should focus on leadership, awareness of military programs, knowledge of basic soldiering, world affairs.The board should consider the Soldier's personal appearance, bearing, self-confidence, oral expression and communication skills, and attitude.

CH 3-12 d(3) (5) state, voting members will include a minority member when reasonably available and at least one voting member will be of the same gender of the Soldiers recommended for promotion. 

Currently, the question and answer portion of the board primarily measures one's ability to memorize information, which is by no means a measure of leadership potential. The questions should be situational, allowing the board to assess the Soldier's leadership skills and attributes and decision making skills. There should also be a MOS competency assessment. 

Board members vote yes or no and the result is the popular vote. In some units, the board members know nothing about the Soldiers except what is on paper and their performance that day. That does not support the whole soldier concept and is not an accurate picture of the Soldier's leadership potential. The Soldier's supervisor who knows them better than the board members, is not part of the recommendation process.  They are more qualified to determine the soldier's preparedness as they evaluate them regularly and train them.  The board members should have to vote on whether a fully qualified Soldier is promoted or not.  If the Soldier meets the requirements for promotion, their supervisor should be able to recommend to the unit CDR, yes or no. The board should be a formality where the members evaluate performance and give feedback for continued growth, as the Army promotes on potential.

The process is supposed to be fair and impartial but it does not always work that way and some Soldiers are targeted and set up for failure at the board. Some leaders, abuse their power and unjustly deny recommendation to deserving Soldiers. Eliminating the vote, preserves the integrity of the board.  Some people are nervous when they know they are being tested, which affects their performance, and that is also not a measure of their leadership potential.