Changes in store for evaluations, promotions

  • Published
  • By Debbie Gildea
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas --  The first in a series of changes to the enlisted evaluation and promotion systems announced July 31 will include implementation of static enlisted performance report closeout dates - or SCOD - for each grade and elimination of change of reporting official EPRs. The SCOD also drives adjusted active duty promotion eligibility cutoff dates for promotion to technical and master sergeant; all other grades are unchanged.

Evaluation system changes, which will occur in stages over the next 18 months for the Regular Air Force and 30 months for the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, are focused on purposefully evolving the enlisted evaluation system to ensure job performance is the most important factor when evaluating and identifying Airmen for promotion, according to a letter to Airmen from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody.

RegAF technical sergeants will be the first Airmen to experience the change, with a Nov. 30, 2014, SCOD.

"Technical sergeant EPRs due between Aug. 15 and Nov. 30 will all shift to the Nov. 30 closeout date," said Will Brown, AFPC Evaluation and Recognition Programs Branch chief. "What that means is evaluation periods during this initial crossover phase will range from 12 to 15 months. Annually, after that, all tech sergeants will have the same EPR closeout and will be assessed for the same number of days."

Implementing static, or fixed, annual closeout dates for each rank tied to regular Air Force promotion eligibility cut-off dates will enable implementation of the future forced distribution and stratification policies also announced by senior leaders in July, and will result in better performance-based evaluations.

In addition, static closeout dates will enable raters, commanders and support staffs to plan for and schedule the workload, Brown said.

"EPRs take a lot of administrative time. Under the current system, leaders at every level work a constant flow of evaluations, which affects their ability to dedicate time to other mission requirements. SCODs will enable supervisors, raters and commanders to plan ahead, clear the deck, focus on the evaluations, and then turn to other duties," he explained.

SCODs also level the playing field for Airmen, since all Airmen will be assessed for work done during the same time period.

"When all Airmen in a unit are assessed for accomplishments during the same time frame, factors like special events or increased workload will not unfairly favor one Airman over another. Quality of performance then becomes the primary focus," Brown said.

Also effective Aug. 15, change of reporting official EPRs will no longer be accomplished for RegAF technical sergeants.

"The rater at the time of the new static closeout date will be responsible for accomplishing EPRs that cover the entire rating period. Although there may be occasions when a mid-term assessment is required, other tools exist for those situations and this change doesn't eliminate such tools as commander-directed EPRs or letters of evaluation," Brown said.

What the change will do is eliminate the need for more than 36,000 CRO reports per year.

"As the Air Force works to accomplish critical missions with fewer Airmen, changes like this become ever more critical," Brown said.

Additional EPR SCOD date changes as well as other adjustments to the enlisted evaluation and promotion systems will be announced at a later date.

For more information about enlisted evaluations and promotions, and other personnel issues, visit the myPers website at https://mypers.af.mil. Select "search all components" from the drop down menu and enter "Enlisted Evaluations" in the search window.