What will you tell NCOs when they do not get "top-block" on their NCOERS (after 1 Jan16), when they always received a 1/1?

I will be honest and say, you are not one of my top performers this year buddy.

Raters are going to have to actually counsel the NCOs underneath them. Gone will be the days of "Hey, write down what you have done in the last year."
I think the inital transition will be a little shaky for people but effective counseling will help NCOs know what they will need to work on to try and achieve the highest rating possible.

Worst case scenario though, another war kicks off and everyone goes back to being a 1/1

I think the new system will eventually work itself out and be accepted. Unfortunately, there will be alot of legit 1/1 guys receiving "highly qualified" instead of "most qualified." This will not be because they didnt deserve it, but as a rater you will also now have a rating profile. Raters will subconciously think about their 50% (I believe is the 50%) of most qualified, and choose to go with highly qualified. I think this is also going to impact smaller MOS's. I am expecting flaws to be within the system, and paranoid raters to not exceed their percentage allowed before they are deemed "Soft" raters. If anything, I think now bullets will matter alot more than anything else, and going away with the 1/1 system will eventually benefit the Army's promotion system (I hope). I have seen many people receive 1/1's that were terrible leaders, and didnt really have strong bullet comments to even back it up. Now, I think "Highly qualified" will essentially be the new everybody gets a trophy rating, however bullet comments will be more important. I am not worried about this system taking effect, and actually look forward to it. I think it will really force people to assess themselves and strengthen the NCO corps. As a rater, I will ensure my NCO's know what I expect of them, and the potential of making that "most qualified" rating that everybody will be striving for. Too me, I think college, work performance, initiative, and the NCO's Soldiers morale/welfare will now have to be analyzed to make sure the NCO gets the right rating. At the end of the day, an NCO that constantly worries about their NCOER, is not a very strong NCO (from my personal experiences). Let your work speak for itself, and the promotions that an individual earns will usually come with it.