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The ongoing overhaul of the enlisted performance system is one of the biggest changes in store for airmen in 2015 — and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody is urging airmen to be patient as it kicks into gear.
"It's going to be a big year," Cody said in a Sept. 10 interview. "We'll see a lot of things change. The fair thing that I want our airmen to do is have faith in the fact that this is exactly what they've been asking for. Even though there's some people that I think might be getting nervous about it, and I understand, because it's new and it's a change. This is what the force has been demanding."
Over time, the old enlisted performance report system gradually became inflated until the vast majority of airmen received a so-called "firewall 5" out of five possible points. This left the EPR system effectively useless at distinguishing levels of airmen's performance, and airmen clamored for it to be fixed for years.
The long-awaited overhaul — the most sweeping changes to how the Air Force evaluates and promotes enlisted airmen in decades — began this summer. The first phase came July 1, when a new feedback form called the Airman Comprehensive Assessment went into effect. That feedback form is intended to improve communication between supervisors and their airmen, and the Air Force hopes it will help supervisors start conversations with airmen about problems that could hurt their performance and careers, and help airmen resolve those problems.
"If our airmen are going to reach their potential, if they're going to understand what it is we expect of them, that happens there," during the feedback process, Cody said. "It won't happen on the EPR, and it won't happen in the promotion process. It happens when we have those meaningful, purposeful conversations with our folks."
The Air Force this month used a new performance report specially designed for chief master sergeants as part of the Command Chief Screening Board process, which covered a little more than 500 chiefs. Cody said it was a successful test that will help the Air Force learn as that chiefs' EPR is fully put in place next year.
No more numerical scores
The most sweeping changes will come in 2015, as numerical EPR scores are done away with. Instead of assigning airmen a score on a five-point scale, supervisors will assess their performance by choosing from a series of pre-written responses on the revised EPR form that best describe an airman's duty performance.
When promotion time comes around, commanders will take the eligible airmen's EPRs and slot them into one of five categories, the top of which will be for airmen who are most highly recommended for promotion.
The top two categories will have a forced distribution, or quotas, so only a certain percentage of eligible airmen will end up with recommendations.
Also in 2015, the Air Force will start phasing out awarding airmen longevity points for how long they've been in the service and in their current grade. Those time-in-grade and time-in-service point values will be gradually drawn down over the next three years, until they are done away with entirely.
Beginning in November and continuing through 2015, the Air Force will close out EPRs for airmen of the same rank on their promotion eligibility cutoff date, instead of staggering their EPRs throughout the year.
Some airmen could have as few as 108 days between EPRs next year as a result of this change, which is shorter than the usual minimum of 120 days.
Cody said that short time frame caused some consternation, but said, because it's only 12 days shorter than the typical minimum, it should not worry airmen too much. It's also a unique situation, because 2015 is a transition year.
"No airman will be disadvantaged in any way, shape or form because of this," Cody said.
Promotion board for MSgts.
And next year, the Air Force will for the first time hold a promotion board for aspiring master sergeants, similar to those held for promotion to senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant. The top 60 percent of eligible technical sergeants will go before the master sergeant board, meaning that board is likely to consider roughly as many airmen as the senior master sergeant board considers.
"We have changed it dramatically, the master sergeant promotion form, to focus more on performance, not as much on time and grade, time and service," Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said. "We want to make it a performance problem and get our best tech sergeants promoted to master sergeant first.
"Those changes are not minor in the service, and it is going to take a focus stand for over the next two years to get those in place, established and running," Welsh said.
The Air Force will phase in those changes throughout the year. On Sept. 11, the Air Force released a timeline for when information on each change will become available.
"You'll see us work aggressively to get this all implemented," Cody said.
