AF implements static EPR closeout dates

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristin High
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
The Air Force announced a series of changes to the enlisted evaluation and promotion systems July 31.

The first change to be implemented will include static enlisted performance report closeout dates, or SCOD, for each grade and is set to eliminate the change of reporting official process.

Evaluation system changes are focused on purposefully evolving the enlisted evaluation system to ensure job performance is the most important factor when evaluating and identifying Airmen for promotion, according to a letter to Airmen from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody. The changes will occur in stages during the next 18 months for the active duty Air Force and 30 months for the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.

Active duty Air Force technical sergeants will be the first Airmen to experience the change, with a Nov. 30, 2014, SCOD.

The Air Force announced that all technical sergeants with an EPR closeout between Aug. 15 and Nov. 30 will switch to a Nov. 30 closeout to align with cutoff dates for the promotion cycle. Those who had EPRs close out before Aug. 15 will have another EPR close out Nov. 30, according to the Air Force Personnel Center.

Once this takes effect, all active-duty technical sergeant evaluations will close out Nov. 30.

"I like the idea of a static closeout date." said Tech. Sgt. Curtis Sutton, Jr., 2nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Operations Control Center Supervisor. " We will all be evaluated on the same time frame and it gives everyone an equal playing field, ensuring everyone is rated equally by their job performance."

Just like any new program or initiative, it's going to take some adjusting, but overall it'll improve the way things flow, he added.

Implementing fixed annual closeout dates for each rank tied to regular Air Force promotion eligibility cut off dates will enable implementation of the future forced distribution and stratification policies also announced by senior leaders in July, and will result in better performance-based evaluations.

Additional SCOD changes and other adjustments to the enlisted evaluation and promotion systems will be announced late.

Visit the Air Force Portal for more information.

Information in this article provided by Debbie Gildea, Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs