Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2011

Around the Army

Box check returns to company-grade OERs

For company-grade officers, the senior rater “box check” will soon reappear on officer evaluation reports.

The Army is making multiple changes to officer evaluation policy to better identify officer talent and potential. Those changes take effect Saturday, and apply to OERs with a “thru” date of Nov. 1 and later.

Included among the changes are modifications to the senior-rater successive assignments list, accountability for completion of a multisource assessment and feedback/360, a reduction in short-term evaluations, and the reintroduction of the senior-rater box check for company-grade officers. In addition, the OER support form will now be optional for all officers.

The OER form — DA FORM 67-9 — now presents the “above center of mass,” “center of mass,” “below center of mass, retain,” and “below center of mass, do not retain” check boxes for only those officers above the rank of captain. But for OERs with a “thru” date of Nov. 1 and later, the box check will be displayed for all Army officers, except chief warrant officers 5 and major generals.

“We’re bringing back honest feedback both for the rater and the senior rater — it goes back to rater accountability for fairly and accurately accessing their Soldiers,” said George Piccirilli, chief, Evaluation, Selection & Promotion Division, Adjutant General Directorate, U.S. Army Human Resources Command. “When you bring back the senior-rater box check, we reinstate senior rater accountability to the company-grade officer.”

Deadline nears to apply for stop-loss

Only a month remains for eligible service members, veterans and their beneficiaries to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay.

Officials extended a previous deadline to Oct. 21 to allow more time for eligible people to apply. Eligible members or their beneficiaries may submit a claim to their respective military service to receive the benefit of $500 for each full or partial month served in a Stop Loss status.

To apply, or for more information — including submission requirements and service-specific links — go to http://www.defense.gov/stoploss.