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How to Sabotage the Promotion Statement
Comments from the rater or the rater’s rater are the most important part of the EPR. Promotion board members depend on this section of the EPR to provide the most revealing information about the individual they are evaluating. They are aware of the code and know that the graduations of performance documented here are universally understood. Although an Airman may have received a standard -5- EPR, the promotion statement will relegate the Airman to one of several stratums.
It's easy to slip in a seemingly acceptable but ultimately derogatory promotion statement. In real life, we understand the words, adequate, acceptable, and average, to be positive adjectives. But, in today's Air Force we are expected to exceed standards, stand head and shoulders above our peers, and be #1 of 12 airmen in the workcenter all the time. That's how the code works. If the rater describes the ratee's performance as anything but ABSOLUTE BEST EVER, PROMOTE IMMEDIATELY!, he's history.
But the rater doesn't have to resort to such transparent statements. English is a marvelously subtle language, awash in nuance and double meaning, as it is. In this "Through the Looking Glass" world of Air Force Performance Report english, up is down, hot is cold, and always means never. To give you an idea of how positive sounding descriptions can telegraph not-so-good performance, check out this ranking of promotion statements taken from a popular and authoritative Air Force Eval guide:
SAMPLE STRATIFICATION LEVELS
Top Level
- My #1 of 12
- Top 1%
- #1 of 7 MSgts in my division
- Top 1% of all Tech Sergeants
- My #2/24 Staff Sergeants
- 1 of my top 2 support NCOs
- Top 1% of all SNCOs I know
2nd Level
- Top 5%-10% of his peers
- Top 10% of my Senior NCOs
- Top 10% of Tech Sergeants I’ve seen in 20 years
- Top 5% of my star-studded cast of Airmen
- Top 10% talent
3rd Level
- A leader of incredible breadth
- Impact leader—gets results
- My fire and forget weapon
- Tested hard—passed brilliantly
- Give me ten more like him … I’d serve with him anytime, anywhere!
- Leadership his hallmark, excellence the norm!
- My most talented SNCO
- Put a tough job on his radar scope, and you can take it off yours
- One of my best
4th Level
- Outstanding
- Superior
- In a roomful of standout AOs, XXX shines brightest
- If I go to war, I want XXX in the lead and so do you
- Exemplary! Sharp, honest professional
- A thoroughbred running full stride
- Pure gold! Gutsy, incisive leadership
- Nerves of steel—rare talent
- MVP from day 1
Who would have ever thought that these bullet statements are appropriate for the lowest level of performance?! Not me! I would have been happy to have seen any of these statements in my EPR!
Promotion Statements are the most common method of sending hidden signals. They can be written strong or written like a dormant computer virus. For example:
- SSgt Smith will make a good first-line maintainer; promote when ready
Any NCO reading this promotion statement would understand its meaning immediately: the rater doesn't believe this troop should be promoted. Even though the rater is complimentary and even orders a promotion, this statement really says that SSgt Smith is not a good first-line maintainer now but will be one day (sometime in the distant future probably). Furthermore, by writing, "promote when ready", the rater is clearly stating that the ratee is not ready now. Otherwise the rater would have written, "promote now". This is a classic example of the code. It says "promote" but clearly means don't promote.
Another example:
- Good performer with potential to be an outstanding Airman and a valuable asset; promote with peers"
This promotion statement is the kiss of death. It has sub-standard written all over it. Good? What about "top" or "best" or "great"? Potential? Potential is one of those universally recognized key words I told you about. This phrase, "potential to be", is understood to mean that, although you have the capability of someday being an outstanding Airman, you are not one now. And just why you're not one now we're left to wonder. But there's no mistaking the message: You are not an outstanding Airman which is probably a polite way of saying you're sub-standard. And promote with peers? agghhhhhhh!!!! Although the supervisor did write, "promote", he qualified it with "with peers". This indicates that the rater doesn't think you're ahead of the pack but should only be promoted when EVERYBODY ELSE is! In real life, there is, of course, nothing wrong with being average or being promoted at the same time as your peers. But remember, we're in the Air Force and we must adhere to the code. In the Air Force, Airman are bulletproof and Officers are immortal. So to slander someone with a statement like Promote With Peers is like saying your ancestors are from France. If you see this on your EPR, consider pounding your supervisor.
Other examples of "not ready for prime time" statements :
- groom for SMSgt This phrase suggests that further preparation or grooming is necessary before the person will be ready for promotion to SMSgt or that the individual is not currently ready for promotion. Subtle, eh? I thought it meant that the rater approved of the ratee and had given him his blessings but that's not what it means at all!
- continue to challenge with... Although this phrase literally implies supervisor approval and a ratee who enjoys challenges, it is actually supervisor code for "this person is not ready to advance and should remain in his current position"; or "not ready for promotion". The logic behind this is that if a person was really high-speed, he'd be ready to graduate to more responsibility and a more demanding job. Air Force people are always advancing, always accepting greater responsibility. By saying "continue to challenge...", the rater is suggesting that he needs more practice at whatever it is he's currently doing. Or that he makes lousy coffee. One of those.
- Dependable NCO! Never fails to meet Air Force standards! Personally, if I had seen this on my EPR, I would have been flattered but I would have been wrong! This is bad. It's a disguised way of saying a person only "meets standards". In real life, meeting standards is a good thing but in the secret code of the EPR, it's about as bad as being a sex offender. Air Force people always exceed standards or maybe even invent their own.
- has potential for success Even though this sounds promising and positive, it's not. When the rater writes that the person has the potential or the possibility of success, the rater is saying that the ratee is not actually a success -only that he has the potential to be a success. The same way a lump of dough has the potential to be a doughnut. It's a very common way of describing inferior or lackluster performance. Subtle yet plain. Even the least experienced NCOs can understand it.
- strives for perfection in all he does Although on any other planet, this would be received as a complimentary bullet statement, in the Air Force, it has long been a code phrase for "doesn't succeed" or "not quite ready for promotion". The reasoning behind this is that supposedly, if the ratee had actually been successful in his or her endeavors, the rater would have written "achieved perfection in all he does" or "reached perfection". The words, "strive" and "try" are understood to mean unsuccessfull as in "strived but didn't quite make it" or "tried but failed". So, to slip this by the ratee, couple the code words with something grand and heroic like "always strives to exceed world class standards". He'll never know what hit him.
To paint an exceptionally mediocre word picture of the ratee:
On the promotion statement, for those who deserve it (which is just about anybody with a pulse these days), the last line should reflect the mediocrity of the performance compared to the last EPR. It shouldn't indicate any growth or progress or rise in authority since the last EPR.
The last line should not be hard-hitting or recommend progress to the next level of leadership or responsibility.
Stratification of less than the top 50% sends a strong negative message. Find a way to compare the ratee with the lower half of the rating pool, i.e., my #7 of 15 NCOs. Although it certainly works, this is sort of clumsy and obvious. A better strategy would be to poison the job recommendation.
Raters, when favorably reviewing a ratee's performance, always make recommendations as to what future position the ratee might excel at. To handicap your ratee, recommendations for the next job should be for a job at the same or lower level of responsibility than is currently held. This is the equivalent of "continue to challenge" and shows a lack of progress or potential for progress.
No promotion statement at all or a weak one. This ominous silence speaks volumes.
To hammer home the idea that the ratee is vulture bait, recommend retention in their currently held position. An example statement would be something like:
- best technical order tech we ever had; keep this winner managing our books!
Nothing says this person is not ready for promotion or increased responsibility like a veiled plea to keep them from leadership positions.
Make no PME recommendations. Recommending someone for PME ahead of their time is a time-honored method of endorsing the ratee for bigger and better things. Don't make a recommendation!
To confine the ratee to the lowest level of 5 purgatory, in the promotion statement, use the phrase "ready for promotion". This phrase is normally used for a "4" EPR and may not make it through the reviewing chain. Although the phrase , "ready for promotion", appears to be a positive sentiment, it's actually one of the agreed upon key phrases which means "Not Ready For Promotion". Or "consider for promotion after the rest of the free world has already been promoted. twice." Or use the stock phrase for "3" EPRs: "consider for promotion".
Key:
- 5 - promote now, immediately, as soon as possible (promote)
- 4 - ready for promotion (don't promote)
- 3 - consider for promotion (never promote)
- 2 - no promotion statement (demote)
Put a community involvement bullet in last line instead of a promotion statement. Ouch!
Leave lots of white space on last line. An example of such a line might be: Met acceptable levels of performance.
In summary, using these techniques, you should be able to condemn anyone to a lackluster career without them even knowing it!
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