FutureOKtrooper
Active member
For all of you Vets out there, I know you understand what I’m about to say. For you guys/gals that haven’t joined the Armed Forces yet, you’ll eventually know what I’m going to talk about.
My leave expired yesterday so you guessed it; I had to go back in today. To my amazement, I was given three new troops to supervise! I convinced myself I would manage. After all, it is my job as a Staff Sergeant. But the real shocker came later in the day. I received an email from the Commanders Support Staff (CSS) saying there is an EPR due next week on one of my new troops. I don’t know what they call it in the other services, but an EPR in the Air Force is your annual “report card”.
Now here’s the problem. The new troop is currently somewhere in Iraq. I’ve never meet him before so I have no idea what kind of person he is. Does he have good supervisor/leadership qualities? How is his work ethic? Should I recommend him for promotion? These are all questions you must know the answer in order to write an effective EPR.
I approached a senior NCO in my unit with the dilemma. The NCO told me to BS my way through the EPR and rate him a “5”. (AF EPR’s are ranked from 1-5, 5 being the highest score)
This brings up my next point. Inflation! If I give him a “5” and he doesn’t deserve it, not only does it make me look bad, it gives him advantages in the future he may not deserve. However, you see this kind of thing everyday. Someone gets a “5” but in reality, deserve a “3”. A “3” isn’t bad. It’s just “complying with the standards” and nothing more. EPR’s are important when testing for rank. He could make rank faster than someone who really deserves it, all because his supervisor “doctored” his EPR.
What’s a man to do? There has to be a better system somewhere out there. A system that can’t be abused. Any suggestions?
My leave expired yesterday so you guessed it; I had to go back in today. To my amazement, I was given three new troops to supervise! I convinced myself I would manage. After all, it is my job as a Staff Sergeant. But the real shocker came later in the day. I received an email from the Commanders Support Staff (CSS) saying there is an EPR due next week on one of my new troops. I don’t know what they call it in the other services, but an EPR in the Air Force is your annual “report card”.
Now here’s the problem. The new troop is currently somewhere in Iraq. I’ve never meet him before so I have no idea what kind of person he is. Does he have good supervisor/leadership qualities? How is his work ethic? Should I recommend him for promotion? These are all questions you must know the answer in order to write an effective EPR.
I approached a senior NCO in my unit with the dilemma. The NCO told me to BS my way through the EPR and rate him a “5”. (AF EPR’s are ranked from 1-5, 5 being the highest score)
This brings up my next point. Inflation! If I give him a “5” and he doesn’t deserve it, not only does it make me look bad, it gives him advantages in the future he may not deserve. However, you see this kind of thing everyday. Someone gets a “5” but in reality, deserve a “3”. A “3” isn’t bad. It’s just “complying with the standards” and nothing more. EPR’s are important when testing for rank. He could make rank faster than someone who really deserves it, all because his supervisor “doctored” his EPR.
What’s a man to do? There has to be a better system somewhere out there. A system that can’t be abused. Any suggestions?