FY-15 ADHSB

[Brett327]

Completely agree on educating your folks early, as there are far too many that don't truly understand the system. I like the idea of splitting the report, though there's always the chance that the performance report portion could influence a subsequent CO's board report... but maybe that's not a bad thing. Some commands (commanders) are better at this than others, but I've always found the mid-term counseling to be of great value in rendering an unvarnished assessment of the individual's performance. We do far too little mentoring in my experience - formal or informal.

 

[lowflier03]

So we have gone back and forth on how to fix the fitrep and promotion system with varying ideas thrown around. I ran across this during some other research.
It is a thesis from an NPS student in 2011. He focuses on innovation and its historical role in the military. He then goes on to make recommendations for all the services as well as discusses how to improve the promotion system to encourage innovation. Obviously some of his ideas are a bit drastic (like reducing manpower by half) but there it still contains some very sound advice. I honestly feel like his conclusions section should be required reading for those responsible for making manpower and acquisitions decisions.

http://hdl.handle.net/10945/5616

Recommendations begin on page 108. He makes some smart comparisons with how the business model could be applied, has ideas for the up-or-out problem, etc. I particularly liked this blurb. "As long as the U.S. military promotion system is rigidly based upon time in service, as it is now, the organization will not be a meritocracy. Military organizations in history that employed a meritocracy system had an institutional ability to integrate innovative mindsets into their doctrine and strategy. . .
The year-group promotion system codifies a rigid bureaucratic structure that ensures slow change and little innovation."

 

[nittany03]

We do far too little mentoring in my experience - formal or informal.

Agreed one hundred percent. Our system tends to promote some amazingly talented people. Unfortunately, those people can sometimes be so good at their jobs that they don't always realize that what may be easy for them may not be for a brand new Level I or DivO, be he/she a brick or a future superstar. People think differently. Also, just because you're good at something frankly has little to do with your ability or interest in teaching it. I wish the Navy could do a better job fostering that and teaching people how to teach. It sometimes seems we just hope it'll happen.

Looking up from the JO perspective, midterm counseling should be a formality, or at least a "big picture" overview of stuff you've already corrected me on or discussed informally earlier. If a JO doesn't already know walking in, or at least have a good idea, what you're going to recommend that the skipper cover during midterm counseling, that's bad. We can't fix what we don't get called on, and better to do that on the spot than 4 months later.

 

[lowflier03]

Looking up from the JO perspective, midterm counseling should be a formality, or at least a "big picture" overview of stuff you've already corrected me on or discussed informally earlier. If a JO doesn't already know walking in, or at least have a good idea, what you're going to recommend that the skipper cover during midterm counseling, that's bad. We can't fix what we don't get called on, and better to do that on the spot than 4 months later.

Concur completely with this. However I have been at commands where midterm counseling didn't even occur. When JO's asked for feedback they were told that there was nothing they needed to change, everything was ok. Then got handed a fitrep 6 or 8 months later that ranked them poorly, with no explanation.

I was lucky to have had an awesome first DH who kept me appraised of my performance and left no surprises for my midterm counseling. He gave me some advice on how to do better, then gave me the opportunities to succeed. Its a crime that many JOs today are not afforded those same professional standards.

 

[revan1013]

Concur completely with this. However I have been at commands where midterm counseling didn't even occur. When JO's asked for feedback they were told that there was nothing they needed to change, everything was ok. Then got handed a fitrep 6 or 8 months later that ranked them poorly, with no explanation.

QFT. Not in my case, but this definitely happens.

 

[robav8r]

FYI . . . . the O4 results just popped on BOL for those with command access.

 

[insanebikerboy]

FYI . . . . the O4 results just popped on BOL for those with command access.

FYI, the results are also posted on NPC for everyone to see.

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/ALNAVS/ALN2014/ALN14055.txt

 

[llnick2001]

Quite the blood bath. Anyone ever know anyone who has declined a promotion? With all the talk of everything Big Navy is doing wrong, seems like a way for some of the more disgruntled to "stick it to the man."

 

[KTBQ]

49.5% selection rate for in zone 1310/1320. Pretty rough-lots of good dudes left out.

 

[nittany03]

Quite the blood bath. Anyone ever know anyone who has declined a promotion? With all the talk of everything Big Navy is doing wrong, seems like a way for some of the more disgruntled to "stick it to the man."

I'm sure it's been done, but for those reasons, it'd be a completely stupid and pointless thing to do. Decide you've had enough? Great. Leave and do something else. Our leaving or staying has no effect on "the man" whatsoever. If it did, they wouldn't be shitcanning so many people.

Edit: Holy fuck; it's getting worse every year.

 

[insanebikerboy]

49.5% selection rate for in zone 1310/1320. Pretty rough-lots of good dudes left out.

Source?

 

[KTBQ]

board stats on NPC

 

[llnick2001]

I'm sure it's been done, but for those reasons, it'd be a completely stupid and pointless thing to do. Decide you've had enough? Great. Leave and do something else. Our leaving or staying has no effect on "the man" whatsoever. If it did, they wouldn't be shitcanning so many people.

Edit: Holy fuck; it's getting worse every year.

I'm agreed it isn't a rational play for the EAFD reason. Just curious if anyone has heard of the play being made.

 

[Pags]

I'm agreed it isn't a rational play for the EAFD reason. Just curious if anyone has heard of the play being made.

I don't know about turning it down, but I'm sure some SELs will drop their letter between now and next years ADHSB.

~50% screen rate for 13XXs? Is NAE that overmanned with JOs or is there a bigger problem at work? I remember @AOCM discussing the lack of open O-4 slots being handed out by N1 but are there really that many more O-4 slots for communities other than Aviation? Is there something else at play such as SWOs having DH billets on their fitreps as LTs?

 

[nittany03]

Is there something else at play such as SWOs having DH billets on their fitreps as LTs?

I thought their lack of retention was what was the kicker. More SWOs bail because they only have to do 4 years, thus less bodies stay for O-4 screen, thus less attrition necessary. Whereas we have bonuses and long winging commitments which keep people around until around the O-4 statutory board. Heck, I FOSed twice and still got the boot 6 months before my PILOT winging commitment from '07, let alone my NFO one.

Are the statistics up behind the NMCI PKI wall or something? They're not showing on the NPC website, or else my Google-fu is lacking.