A battlefield promotion (or field promotion) is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a "jump-step" promotion allows the recipient to advance by two ranks.
A battlefield commission is a commission granting an enlisted soldier a battlefield promotion to the rank of commissioned officer. The granting of a battlefield commission has its historical precursor in the medieval practice of the knighting or ennoblement of a plebeian combatant on the battleground for demonstration of heroic qualities in an exceptional degree. In the medieval context, this martial achievement was often one of the main restricted pathways into the sword-bearing feudal aristocracy.
The last person to receive a battlefield promotion in the United Kingdom was Rifleman Gigar Das. Das was given a field promotion to lance corporal in 2014 after serving eight years in the 1st Battalion The Rifles. Das had been deployed on three tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. Das was promoted after Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Wall witnessed him giving a training session in marksmanship principles. General Wall was astonished that Das was still only a Rifleman, a rank equivalent to a private. He immediately promoted Das after consulting his company commander, Major Sam Cates. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the last previous field promotion was believed to have happened during the Korean War (1950–1953).[1]
A battlefield promotion is awarded to enlisted soldiers who are promoted to a higher enlisted rank during combat or combat conditions. The US Army discontinued this practice after the Vietnam War with the centralized promotion system, but in 2009 decided to again allow such promotions.[2] "Battlefield promotions are predicated on extraordinary performance of duties while serving in combat or under combat conditions." It can be used to promote an individual soldier one grade, to at most staff sergeant, and has a variety of constraints.[3] This promotion does not involve a promotion board and does not require the soldier meet time in service or time in grade requirements. Soldiers given a field promotion from corporal to sergeant must complete the Basic Leader Course or BLC. A sergeant field promoted to staff sergeant must complete the Advanced Leader Course (ALC) and both have 270 days after redeployment to a home station.[4] Extensions can be applied for but failure to complete the required courses will result in an administrative reduction in rank.[5]
Normally, enlisted service members or non-commissioned officers cannot attain commissioned officer rank through regular promotion. Starting in 1917, during World War I, the United States Army started awarding battlefield commissions to soldiers to replace the "Brevet Officer" system (the promotion of an enlisted man to a commissioned officer without an increase in pay). The Marine Corps started awarding battlefield commissions in place of the Brevet Medal, which was second only to the Medal of Honor. From World War I to the Vietnam War, over 31,200 sailors, soldiers, Marines, and airmen had been awarded battlefield commissions. Such a commission is usually advancement from a position of non-commissioned officer to a commissioned officer, generally O-1 - Second Lieutenant, or ensign in the Navy and Coast Guard. The most significant aspect of a battlefield commission is that it is granted apart from the regular commission sources: Officer Training School/Officer Candidate School, Reserve Officer Training Corps or a service academy. Battlefield commissions are awarded on the basis of merit and demonstration of leadership, and bypass this step. The most notable recipient of a battlefield commission was Audie Murphy, who was promoted from staff sergeant to Second Lieutenant during World War II. Once on a peacetime footing, battlefield-commissioned officers are required to meet the normal requirements within a timeframe in order to be retained (e.g., a bachelor's degree[6]).
From 1845 through 1918, enlisted men who were commissioned for outstanding leadership on the field of battle were referred to as Brevet Officers. The Marine Corps recognized the value of combat leaders who were commissioned in this manner and created a Brevet Medal which was second only to the Medal of Honor. In the wars following 1918, enlisted men and warrant officers, commissioned for the same reason, were referred to as battlefield commissioned.
Lieutenant Vikram Batra was given a field promotion to captain in 1999, during the Kargil War (Operation Vijay). During the war, the task of capturing Point 5140 was assigned to the "13 JAK RIF" under the command of (then) Lt. Col. Yogesh Kumar Joshi. On 27 June 1999, after the capture of Point 5140, Lt. Batra was promoted to the rank of "Captain". General Ved Prakash Malik, the then Chief of Army Staff, called to congratulate him.