The Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reporting System

The Army should change the emphasis placed on the noncommissioned officer evaluation reporting system or adjust the procedures used in implementing the system. All noncommissioned officers of the United States Army have their performance and potential documented by using the Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reporting System (NCOERS). Through the issuance of Army regulations, the Secretary of the Army contends that the system strengthens the noncommissioned officer corps and ensures selection of the best-qualified noncommissioned officers. The regulation states that the NCOERS also contributes to the Army wide professional and performance development of the noncommissioned officer. This evaluation system, the way is has evolved today, does little to establish an equable record of one's true abilities and potential. Because of the emphasis placed on the evaluation by a centralized body or selection board, NCOs feel forced to forfeit their Army values and become cornered in an ethical dilemma. The first flaw that has come from the reporting system is the way seniors view the report and the emphasis it carries during promotion selection boards. The Army regulation governing the NCOERS states, "A single report should not, by itself, determine an NCOs career." The intent implied is clear but a review of nearly any promotion boards after action report will show that the evaluation is the document that will make or break your career. Also prevalent is the scrutiny the board puts on the administrative correctness of the report. Members are more likely to assess a soldier based on a reports "administrative correctness", rather than quantifiable content. The thoughts and actions of the promotion boards show an extremely high degree of emphasis placed on evaluation reports. This results in favor going to the soldier with the best report writer rather than the best soldier.