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Fitreps

DevilDolphin01

New Member
Hi everyone, I'm learning to write Fitreps, and I see "PFA: 19-2" on my last fitrep's block 29. Does anybody know what that means?

Thank you in advance.
 

fieldrat

Fully Qualified 1815
Hi everyone, I'm learning to write Fitreps, and I see "PFA: 19-2" on my last fitrep's block 29. Does anybody know what that means?

Thank you in advance.
EVALMAN, my friend, is your best friend.

No disrespect, but it's a requirement to read/know it, especially the edge cases that are so common to Reservists. Not just for yourself, but those under you as well.
 

nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Looking at your profile, I see you're a brand new 18X5. The best thing you can do is first, ask a JO or O-4 senior to you to explain the basic structure of a FITREP, since it looks like you have some basic questions. That's fine, but any officer can explain that. After that, ask your CO or XO to explain FITREP Writing 101 to you as an Intel O. Most of us here are aviators, so we may not be able to give you how to read the FITREP tea leaves as an 18X5 type.

Also, ask one of those people to explain the differences between writing EVALs, CHIEFEVALs, and FITREPs. They are three completely different beasts. Don't be scared to ask people in your command for mentorship. They should (hopefully) be glad to help you if you're new.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
EVALMAN, my friend, is your best friend.

No disrespect, but it's a requirement to read/know it, especially the edge cases that are so common to Reservists. Not just for yourself, but those under you as well.
There's a relatively new one too, which, among other things, changes how you document PFA amplifying info.
 

fieldrat

Fully Qualified 1815
Looking at your profile, I see you're a brand new 18X5. The best thing you can do is first, ask a JO or O-4 senior to you to explain the basic structure of a FITREP, since it looks like you have some basic questions. That's fine, but any officer can explain that. After that, ask your CO or XO to explain FITREP Writing 101 to you as an Intel O. Most of us here are aviators, so we may not be able to give you how to read the FITREP tea leaves as an 18X5 type.

Also, ask one of those people to explain the differences between writing EVALs, CHIEFEVALs, and FITREPs. They are three completely different beasts. Don't be scared to ask people in your command for mentorship. They should (hopefully) be glad to help you if you're new.
This is a much better long form answer.

My lens was from sitting next to a former AO turned Aircrew Divo who trashed my Fitrep and made me rewrite it three times before they would sign the routing sheet.

Something about a 'growth opportunity' and professional development...
 

Farva01

BKR
pilot
EVALMAN, my friend, is your best friend.

No disrespect, but it's a requirement to read/know it, especially the edge cases that are so common to Reservists. Not just for yourself, but those under you as well.
The EVALMAN is probably one of the better, more user friendly instructions in the Navy.

Now excuse me while I go throw myself from the balcony to save myself from the monster I have become.
 

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
Ask. Your. Recruiter...

In all seriousness, go find mentors both within your unit and out to help out. @bubblehead can attest but reservists have often shot themselves in the foot because they didn’t put in the effort towards writing a good FITREP.
 

bubblehead

Registered Member
Contributor
Hi everyone, I'm learning to write Fitreps, and I see "PFA: 19-2" on my last fitrep's block 29. Does anybody know what that means?

Thank you in advance.
Download and read the latest: NAVY PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM. Send it to FedEx Kinkos and have it printed and bound. At least that's what I do. I also maintain the PDF on my laptop and on my iPhone. In a couple of years, I would also encourage you to sit on the O4 selection board as an assistant recorder. Best crash course in FITREP's I've ever experienced.

The sad reality is that many CO's suck at writing FITREP's and it's your job to hold them accountable for personally debriefing you for every FITREP you receive and clearly articulating why they rated you a certain way and why certain comments were made, not made, or were not crystal clear. You learn the importance of clear write ups when you go to the O4 board as an assistant recorder. The briefer for a particular designator is the person that your CO is trying to talk to with your FITREPs because the briefer has to somehow interpret why your CO wrote or did not write something or wrote something that made no sense. You want to make the briefer's job as easy as possible and you do this by having clearly written FITREPs that leave no question to the reader.

Don't be a wuss puss with your FITREPs. It's your career.
 

Attachments

  • NRA-0309 The Ten Deadly Sins of FITREPs.pdf
    24.7 KB · Views: 19
  • NRA-0409 Writing Great FITREPs.pdf
    26 KB · Views: 15
  • FITREP and EVAL Guidance.pdf
    127.4 KB · Views: 12
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nittany03

Recovering NFO. Herder of Programmers.
pilot
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
The sad reality is that many CO's suck at writing FITREP's and it's your job to hold them accountable for personally debriefing you for every FITREP you receive and clearly articulating why they rated you a certain way and why certain comments were made, not made, or were not crystal clear.
OK, let’s throttle back on the rhetoric a tad here. Yes, you shouldn’t leave a FITREP debrief with questions. But repeat after me: “my anecdotal experience is not necessarily universalizable to the entire Navy Reserve.” This is a trend I’ve seen in your posts, both here and on SB.

In this particular instance, you’re treading close to publicly insulting a whole block of officers senior to you based on nothing more than personal anecdotes.
 

fieldrat

Fully Qualified 1815

bubblehead

Registered Member
Contributor
In this particular instance, you’re treading close to publicly insulting a whole block of officers senior to you based on nothing more than personal anecdotes.
Let me correct that: there are CO's who suck at writing FITREPs based on my personal anecdotes of my direct experiences, my experiences helping others and on SB, as well as my experiences in reading hundreds of FITREPs while an assistant recorder.
 

Buffmeyer

Member
Adding on to an established FITREP thread - been meaning to share these gouge files for awhile with O-3 - O-5 bubbas & reservists in mind. They are both really good guides I'd recommend for any officer type though, active/reserve.

Detailed descriptions of the blocks from medical corps officer, some advice to remember for breakouts & block 41:
https://navypa.com/navy-pa-info/blog/pa-fitrep-guide

Other reminders for senior types: "What should you do if you didn't promote?"
https://mccareer.org/2020/05/18/2020-update-what-should-you-do-if-you-didnt-promote/

Fitness Reports and Selection Boards

On promotion board letters:
Slide 38
Only eligible officer may submit information to the board that is not part of the official record.
–Must be in writing
–May include endorsements or attachments from anyone
–“Third party correspondence” sent directly to the board is returned to prevent inclusion of material without officer’s knowledge
May call board’s attention to any matter officer deems important.
–Keep it succinct!
–Focus on potential for filling key positions in future.
–May not criticize or reflect on character, conduct or motive of any other officer
Should you or shouldn’t you? 2 extremes / schools of thought.
–Opportunity to market yourself
–Use only as a last resort
A must for those passed over, otherwise it is interpreted as ’lack of interest’ if you don’t.

Slide 39
Letters to the Board can add value if they:
–Provide additional information to the board not in record
–Are short and succinct
–ID something briefer would probably miss
–Correct wrong info (i.e. awards, etc.)
–Endorsement from a Flag Officer if strongly written
–Are for your second look
Letters to the Board may hurt you if they:
–Unnecessarily call attention to something that may have been overlooked. (DUI as an Ensign, etc.)
–You tick off briefer with data overload & info easily seen in fitrep
No letter from 1 time FOS (Failure of Selection) looked at as “not interested in your career”.
If your people have a potential problem or concern, encourage them to seek counsel before they write.


Source: https://www.slideserve.com/betty_james/fitness-reports-and-selection-boards

Other threads worth reading on this site for context, commisserating, and advice:
 

IKE

Nerd Whirler
pilot
On promotion board letters:
...
A must for those passed over, otherwise it is interpreted as ’lack of interest’ if you don’t.

Is this true now that the AZ stamp was killed a few years ago?
I have a few friends selected AZ for O-5 or O-4. I can ask, but I doubt they submitted letters.
 

Buffmeyer

Member
Is this true now that the AZ stamp was killed a few years ago?
I have a few friends selected AZ for O-5 or O-4. I can ask, but I doubt they submitted letters.

I wish I knew for sure, but I haven't heard anything like that. When the promotion stats are released, they still read as AZ/IZ/BZ. What seems to be changing is more BZs are given.

I'd be interested in hearing any news though. I see the Marines in 2021-2022 let officers decline a board for a year for O-4 - O-6 to hit more milestones and not be penalized for weird assignments. So they got one more year of paper. "Force shaping" gets weird stuff baked in.

As far as submitting a letter, I always have, as long as you're not spamming them (one page, bulletized, to the point, cordial etc.)
 
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