The Ethical Problem with the Current Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER)

One of the biggest ethical problems facing the Army today is the current Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER) system. The NCOER is currently not use for what it was originally intended. The purpose of the NCOER is to provide a written report on the individual Soldier, to formally recognize performance and personal traits and a basis for counseling by rating officials for career development. Today, the NCOER is solely viewed as means to get promoted or to end a Soldier's career. This evaluation tool often put leaders in ethical dilemmas because as all good leaders, we want to take care of our subordinates. However, it is to what extent that we go to take care of the people that work for us. Many leaders today think that the current NCOER system is the most accurate and fair way to document and show one performance and potential for promotion. On the other hand, many say that the NCOER can, and is often used to influence decisions on subordinates, used to settle grudges or simply put, "if your rater like you he or she will take care of you, if they don't, it will reflect on the NCOER"