The Air Force’s plan to introduce a standardized closeout date for evaluating the performance of all technical sergeants, as part of sweeping changes to the enlisted promotion system, has left some airmen unclear on when their next evaluation will occur.
In an Aug. 8 release, the Air Force said technical sergeants whose enlisted performance reports were due between Aug. 15 and Nov. 30 would now have a closeout date of Nov. 30.
“What that means is evaluation periods during this initial crossover phase will range from 12 to 15 months. Annually, after that, all technical sergeants will have the same EPR closeout and will be assessed for the same number of days,” Will Brown, chief of the Air Force Personnel Center’s Evaluation and Recognition Programs Branch, said in the release.
The release did not explain whether airmen whose evals were completed prior to Aug. 15 would receive another one before Nov. 30, or if they would receive their next eval in November 2015.
Airmen took to social media to try to sort out how the transition will work. Some said they believed all technical sergeants would be evaluated with the Nov. 30 closeout this year. Others who had already received an eval this year said their reading of the news was that they would wait until November 2015 for their next eval — well over 18 months for those whose closeout dates were in early 2014.
“Still doesn’t make sense to me,” said one airman. “My [EPR] closed out in June, which means if I get one in now it doesn’t fall in the 12-15 month mark, and if I don’t next year it still won’t fall in the 12-15 month mark.”
Air Force Personnel Center officials did not respond to questions submitted Wednesday about how the change affects airmen whose EPRs were closed out before Aug. 15. Mike Dickerson, spokesman for AFPC, said Thursday that the questions were being worked.
