New Army OER Rater bullet point comments; what are your best practices?

LTC Yinon Weiss — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 14:38:55 -0400

The new Army OER form requires bullet comments for the following sections:

- Character
- Presence
- Intellect
- Leads
- Develops
- Achieves

Some of these are more obvious than others, but some are not so much. For example, assuming there is nothing unusually good or bad to say about an officer, what have you put down for Character and Presence?

Let's hear some good practices. I wish the Army gave some more guidance on this.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 7 at 2014 2:47 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 14:47:39 -0400

We'll have to wait about 3-5 years so that we can see the sort of comments that result in promotion vs. non-promotion. It seems the reason we haven't seen any guidance from the Army (or, rather, any examples) is because the Army clearly has no idea what it expects to see, and is hoping that the field produces input.

As you note, obviously leads/develops/achieves categories are quite straight-forward--the character/presence/intellect categories are a bit less so.

I too would be interested in what folks are doing here---my last OER seemed to be the first on the new OER form circulated in my HQ and my sub-section (48C) of FAO-land, so its all a bit of a mystery, even given the plethora of published documents on the new OER.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 8 at 2014 6:54 PM

SGT Richard H. — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:54:14 -0400

It's usually pretty easy to come up with something neutral, and middle-of-the-road like:

Character: CPT Crunch exhibits moral character in keeping with the high standards of the Army and the Commissioned Officer Corps, and is held in regard for his commitment to mission, men, and readiness.

Of course, that's a fairly short example, but I'm sure the idea comes across.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 8 at 2014 7:20 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 19:20:19 -0400

I just started writing my OER. This is not that simple. Nothing like the NCOER. I am glad RP is here to help with the process.

Response by SGT Chris Furry made Sep 9 at 2014 2:38 AM

SGT Chris Furry — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 02:38:39 -0400

Obviously Sir I'm not an officer, however I have to question you about one thing. If, when asked about someone's character and command presence, you have nothing positive to say doesn't that speak volumes? A persons character is not middle of the road, if they are not strong of character then their character is lacking, the same goes for command presence. You are either a strong leader or you are not. There is no so-so, so-so leadership is weak leadership. And so-so character? That is bad character Sir. You can't be an "OK" person, what does that mean? You exhibit strongly positive character traits at times, and strongly negative character traits at times? Are they supposed to balance each other out? No. If you display negative character traits as a leader then those traits need to be pointed out not brushed aside.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 9 at 2014 10:21 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:21:53 -0400

LTC Yinon Weiss , as an NCO, I would say that Character speaks to Integrity. If an Officer is of good Character, I would suggest that he/she is likewise of good integrity.

Response by SGT Thomas Sullivan made Sep 9 at 2014 11:03 AM

SGT Thomas Sullivan — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:03:29 -0400

Does anyone besides me still think it is outrageous that OERs/NCOERs are sometimes filled out and written by the the person who's ER it is. It is a sign of lazy leadership if your leaders cant perform the duties expected of them, especially when properly evaluating and rating the soldiers/officers beneath them.

Response by COL Randall C. made Sep 13 at 2014 8:02 PM

COL Randall C. — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 20:02:39 -0400

First and foremost, I have one thing to say: ADRP 6-22 (http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/adrp6_22_new.pdf)! Having just had to go through a couple of the new OERs, if you're unsure of what to address in any of those characteristics, go back to the basics.

Specifically to Character, as LTC Yinon Weiss stated, all officers are expected to be of the highest caliber, but one thing to consider is what does the officer do about promoting those attributes to the highest degree in others? Also, consider if the officer was put in a situation to really shine (or royally screw up)? What if the officer did the 'hard right thing' to their own detriment? It's easy to do the right thing when the going is easy, but do you do the right thing when it isn't?

Going to ADRP 6-22, you'll see that Character addresses the Army Values, Empathy, the embodiment Warrior Ethos and Service Ethos, and Discipline. While all the aspects of Army Values are supposed to be non-negotiable, what about empathy? Discipline?

Part of the Army Values is Respect (Treat people as they should be treated)? Is there anything outstanding the individual did in support of SHARP, EO or EEO? How about Selfless Service? Any outstanding examples of where the soldier put the needs of the unit ahead of their own?

Some links to help out:

http://www.hrc.army.mil/site/ASSETS/PDF/MOD3_Evaluation_System_Rater_and_Senior_Rater_Jan14.pdf - this has great guidance regarding rater/sr. rater, especially regarding what comments should consider, look like, etc.

https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/ASSETS/PDF/MOD1_Revised_Officer_Evaluation_Reports_Jan14.pdf - overall training packet of the OER - more focused on the mechanics than the above brief.

Others located on HRC's Evaluation Systems Homepage (https://www.hrc.army.mil/TAGD/Evaluation%20Systems%20Homepage)

Response by CPT Eric Diaz made Dec 9 at 2014 4:02 PM

CPT Eric Diaz — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:02:06 -0500

I understand the breakdown of all the sections, but I have an issue with the process. All those sections require a decent amount of writing that comes promotion time will not get read. As I am understanding the only thing that really matter are your senior rater bullets and block check. I have not been on a promotion board, of course, but am being led to believe that there is no where near enough time to read through all that "prose". 3 sentences, # rating against all officers, chosen to do XYZ, and promote ahead of peers or not. There is not enough time to read the rest, I could be wrong.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 2 at 2015 10:26 AM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 10:26:28 -0400

MAJ Weiss,
To write proper comments for each block you fill out as a rater you have to do three things. First, you need a rater philosophy that allows you to discern what constitutes a good and average rating You have to talk to of the officers you rate and ensure they understand your philosophy. Second, you have to spend time with and actually know the officers you rate. If you don't you will always make poor choices. Finally, you have to dig through ADRP 6-22 and FM 6-22 to develop the comments for each officer...it is a lot of work if done properly but there is not a good, quick way through the new OER.

John C

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 13 at 2015 8:50 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 20:50:04 -0400

I can't figure out presence. It seems broad.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Nov 22 at 2015 6:35 PM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 18:35:36 -0500

So, for fun, I just noticed (on my OER, just PERMed...) That, while you get 5 lines on the online version for the second rater comment block (the one on the performance, IV.e.), you only get 4 lines when it is finalized and PERMed....

My rater's comments read: "...a natural mentor for others. I have" and end right there.
I can still log in through EES and see what my rater has....

Progress. ;-)

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2016 8:43 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:43:06 -0500

Good question, RP needs a button so i can flag this as a favorite and come back in a year when I'm writing another OER.

Anyway, for character I usually try to put something SHARP, EO related to cover that base. Also excellent empathy skills result in navigation of the human terrain. (something like that)

In Presence I like to expand on the resilience thing something like: "Physically and mentally resilient, achieves mission accomplishment while performing duties in a complex operational environment under extreme physical conditions." --this for an Engineer officer building gravel roads through Clay City, Kentucky 18-24 hour ops for 2 weeks.