How to Complete NGB Form 78: Recommendation for Promotion to 1LT/CW2

NGB Form 78 is the Army National Guard’s recommendation for promotion from second lieutenant to first lieutenant, and from warrant officer (W1) to chief warrant officer two (CW2). It handles the automatic, time-in-grade promotions that do not go before a competitive board. A blank copy is available from the National Guard Bureau Publications and Forms Library at ngbpmc.ng.mil.1National Guard Bureau Publications & Forms Library. National Guard Bureau Forms Once the completed form clears every level of review, it becomes part of the packet the National Guard Bureau uses to grant federal recognition in the higher grade.

Who and What the Form Covers

NGR 600-100 describes NGB Form 78 as the form “used to provide for automatic promotion from 2LT to 1LT or W1 to CW2 based on time in grade.”2National Guard Bureau. NGR 600-100 – Commissioned Officers Federal Recognition and Related Personnel Actions That is the whole scope. It is not used for competitive promotions to captain or above, and it does not apply to enlisted advancements, which run through a separate regulation. If a promotion board is involved, this is not the form.

Eligibility to Check Before You Start

The form is built around the Promotion Eligibility Date, or PED. The PED is the latest date on which all four conditions are satisfied: time in grade, a passing fitness test score, compliance with height and weight standards, and completion of required military education.2National Guard Bureau. NGR 600-100 – Commissioned Officers Federal Recognition and Related Personnel Actions Whichever condition is met last sets the date. Miss one, and the form is not ready to submit.

Time in Grade

A second lieutenant needs 18 months in grade for promotion to first lieutenant. A W1 needs 24 months to reach CW2. If a second lieutenant has not completed the Officer Basic Course by the 18-month mark, the unit commander submits an NGB Form 78 asking The Adjutant General to extend the timeline to 24 months. Further waivers can extend to 36 months, but only when the officer is enrolled in OBC through the Army Training Requirements and Resources System. Nothing beyond 36 months is authorized; if the officer is still not qualified at that point, discharge proceedings must begin.

Military Education

OBC is the baseline military education requirement for 2LT to 1LT. Three exceptions exist: aviation second lieutenants enrolled in flight school may promote at 24 months without OBC, officers commissioned through the Enlisted Commissioning Program are eligible at 24 months without OBC, and chaplain candidates enrolled full-time in an approved graduate program may promote at 18 months without finishing the Chaplain Officer Basic Course.

Fitness Test, Height, and Weight

A passing fitness test must be recorded in the Digital Training Management System. For AGR soldiers, the test must fall within six months of the PED; for M-Day drilling soldiers, the window is 12 months. Height and weight compliance also feeds the PED calculation. An officer flagged for a failed fitness test or body composition failure cannot move forward until the flag is cleared.

Filling Out Blocks 1 Through 3

The form has three working sections that the unit and approving authority complete: officer identification, the requesting official’s recommendation, and the approving authority’s action. Blocks 4 through 6 are filled in later by the state’s Officer Promotion Branch and eventually function as the promotion order itself.3National Guard Bureau Publications and Forms Management Center. NGB Form 78 Recommendation for Promotion

Block 1 — Officer Identification

  • 1a: Officer’s full legal name.
  • 1b: DoDID (Department of Defense Identification Number). Not the SSN.
  • 1c: Current grade: O1, O1E, or W1.
  • 1d: Duty position with paragraph and line number exactly as shown in IPPS-A.
  • 1e: Complete unit address with UIC, city, state, and ZIP.

Block 2 — Requesting Official’s Recommendation

  • 2a: Date of rank as 2LT or WO1.
  • 2b: Promotion Eligibility Date. This is the latest date on which time in grade, fitness test, height and weight, and military education were all satisfied. For a 2LT on first look, 18 months from appointment; for second look or W1, 24 months.
  • 2c: Date of the most recent passing fitness test on record in DTMS.
  • 2d: Total months in grade as of the date in 2e.
  • 2e: Date the requesting official forwards the form to the approving authority.
  • 2f: Check whether the officer “is” or “is not” recommended for promotion, and select the state from the dropdown.
  • 2g: Remarks. If the recommendation is negative, the reasons must be stated here.
  • 2h through 2j: Date signed, name and grade of the supervisor or rater, and digital signature.

Block 3 — Approving Authority’s Action

  • 3a: Mark Approved or Disapproved.
  • 3b: Remarks explaining the decision if the officer is not recommended.
  • 3c through 3e: Date, approving official’s name and grade, and digital signature.

Blocks 4 through 6 are completed by the state’s Officer Promotion Branch. Blocks 6a through 6g act as the promotion order, and the effective date entered in 6e matches the PED from 2b.

Signing and Routing the Packet

Both signatures are digital, applied with a Common Access Card. The requesting official is typically the officer’s immediate supervisor or rater. The approving authority must be at least an O-5 (lieutenant colonel). If someone of lower rank signs, a written delegation memorandum from the O-5 must accompany the packet.

After the approving authority signs, the packet moves to battalion or brigade for accuracy review, then to the state’s Officer Promotion Branch, and finally to the National Guard Bureau for federal recognition. Errors at any stage bounce the packet back to the unit, so an incorrect DoDID or a miscalculated PED can cost weeks. Verify both before signing.

Federal Recognition After Submission

A state-level promotion does not take full effect until NGB grants federal recognition. Under 32 U.S.C. § 307, the officer must hold the qualifications the Secretary of the Army prescribes for the grade and pass an examination for physical, moral, and professional fitness.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 32 USC 307 – Federal Recognition of Officers: Examination; Certificate of Eligibility For automatic promotions submitted on NGB Form 78, the packet is reviewed by NGB and placed on a Promotion Screening List before being scrolled for federal recognition.

Expect a long wait. NGB has reported that Army Guard promotions average roughly 240 days, and Air Guard promotions run 180 to 210 days.5National Guard Association of the United States. Bipartisan Legislation Aims to Cut FEDREC Delays During the wait, officers often perform in the higher grade while still being paid at the lower one.

Retroactive Pay if FEDREC Runs Long

Federal law now protects officers from part of that pay gap. Under 10 U.S.C. § 14308(f)(2), if federal recognition takes more than 100 days from the date NGB considers the packet complete and the delay is not the officer’s fault, the Secretary of the Army must adjust the effective date of rank. For state promotions with an effective date on or after January 1, 2024, the adjusted date becomes the later of the date NGB deemed the application complete or the date the officer occupied a billet in the higher grade.6Army Board for Correction of Military Records. BCMR Case AR20230007741 NGB treats a packet as complete once it has been reviewed, cleared, and assigned to a Promotion Screening List. If FEDREC takes longer than 100 days after PSL assignment, the effective date of rank is adjusted to 100 days after that assignment.

The practical result is retroactive pay at the higher grade back to the adjusted effective date. If finance does not process the adjustment on its own, raise it through your unit’s S1 and, if needed, file a pay inquiry through IPPS-A.

Tracking the Packet in IPPS-A

The Integrated Personnel and Pay System — Army is where you watch the packet move. The Personnel Actions Summary screen shows Personnel Action Requests advancing through each approval level.7Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army. IPPS-A Self-Service User Guide The system works on mobile, so a government workstation is not required.

If the packet stalls or shows something wrong, open a Customer Relationship Management case through the IPPS-A Help Center tile. Select Create Case, indicate whether the issue affects pay, choose the category from the dropdowns, and attach supporting documents. Prior cases live under My Cases. For promotion point validation, go to Self-Service, then OML/Promotion Points, to view and print your Promotion Points Worksheet.

Your unit’s S1 shop is still the fastest way to get answers. They can see whether a packet was kicked back at the state level or is sitting at NGB, and they can push a CRM ticket on your behalf when the system shows an unexplained hold.