Battlefield promotion 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 is advancement from current rank to a rank above the next highest . United States . 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 . " 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 . This promotion does not involve a promotion board and does not require the soldier meet time in service or time in grade requirements . A battlefield commission is awarded to enlisted soldiers who are promoted to the rank of commissioned officer for outstanding leadership on the field of battle . The granting of a battlefield commission has its historical predecessor 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 . Normally , enlisted service members or non - commissioned officer s cannot attain the rank of commissioned officer 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 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 . History . 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 .