I have just received my Change of Rater before I PCS in a month. I never received an initial, or quarterly counseling and I got a 1/2.

2014-04-01T15:00:42-04:00

Should I make a big deal about this or is it even worth the time? Im just irritated that there is a standard that needed to be met and it wasnt. Please help

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 3:04 PM

2014-04-01T15:04:12-04:00

With the way the Army is transforming if you feel that your NCOER is not up to par, I highly recommend you fight for what you think is right. An old saying that I truly believe in , that still holds true today. If you don't fight for yourself. Who will ? That NCOER might not mean anything to your rater or senior, but you damn sure bettter believe it means something to you.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 3:07 PM

2014-04-01T15:07:22-04:00

1/2 is not a "bad" rate perse. I feel you on the counseling as I have heard this many times. Me personally, when I PCSd at the end of the first month I sat at my raters desk until I got my counseling. He got the idea. NCOERs and counseling are as much the rated individuals responsibility as it is the raters in my opinion.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 4:40 PM

2014-04-01T16:40:24-04:00

SGT McDonald, is this your first NCOER as a SGT?

Reason for my question is, from what I have been told, a 1/2 is still a very good NCOER, you are succesful in performance and superior in potential, in my last one I got a 2/1 and I am not complaining about it

Rather look at the bullets, do they justify the ratings that you got?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 18 at 2014 10:45 AM

2014-04-18T10:45:56-04:00

Honestly, you're a SGT, it doesn't really matter.

By the time you make it to the SFC Board, there will be 4-5 NCOER's as a SSG for the board to review. Unless you recieved a 4/5 or something horrible, they don't care what you did as a SGT. Look at your SGT time as an officer has their butter bar time. It's time for you to learn by making mistakes, charging ahead too hard, and completely screwing up situations you have never encountered before.

This is one of those mistakes. Now you know to write your own NCOER, with experience and good mentors you'll learn how to write them well.

Also, a 1/2 is a great NCOER. What really matters is those Senior Rater bullets and how well supported your other bullets are. One trend I have seen a lot in combat arms is to just drop bullets in there and give arbitrary numbers. Board members can read the bullets and determine on their own if the guy is really the cream of the crop, or if his rater was just lazy.

Response by MSG Clark Shumway made Apr 18 at 2014 2:19 PM

2014-04-18T14:19:03-04:00

This is a sure sign of piss poor leadership and they who ever they are need to be removed from that position. I deployed and and not with any unit my NCOER was written by people I didn't even know. The SGM was to lazy to write who I worked for. I passed it up my chain of command and it went know where. The leadership involved all should have be removed and a letter of reprimand placed in their file as at permanent record. They should never be allowed to hold a leadership position again. The Army is afraid to do that because it could hurt someones feelings. To damn bad. Lead or get the hell out of the way.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 18 at 2014 3:08 PM

2014-04-18T15:08:49-04:00

I see why you're frustrated. I would like to ask, are you frustrated with your rater or your senior rater? The reason I ask, because your rater doesn't have a say on how your senior rater perceives your potential.

You got rated with a 1/2 which is a good NCOER for your first. A 1/2 means that you're great performer and that you need a little bit more mentoring/evaluating. Now, if I'm not wrong, you're frustrated because you did not get no counseling, no feedback or mentoring.

Which is partly the senior raters fault for not ensuring that the rater was counseling you. However, as a brand new NCO you first NCOER is a good one and it wont hurt your career. Just take it as a lesson learned and ensured you don't do it to your future subordinates.

Words of advice, remind your leaders to give you some feedback on your performance/potential. Because no one will care more about your career than you.

Response by SFC David Cook made Apr 19 at 2014 12:13 AM

2014-04-19T00:13:53-04:00

SGT Macdonald,

A 1/2 makes no sense. Your senior rater is basically saying you are performing at a very high level but you have the potential to perform lower??

Response by CW2 Joseph Evans made Apr 19 at 2014 12:55 AM

2014-04-19T00:55:35-04:00

Without seeing the entire NCOER in context, it's really tough to say whether you got a good or bad NCOER. The 1/2 is the Senior rater remarks and should correspond with future assignments. Basically the 1/2 says "He did a spectacular job at his current rating, but I feel that a position of greater responsibility imay be premature, give him more time in grade." The 2/1 everyone talks about is a "He did fairly well in his current rank and position, I feel that he has grown and will be able to perform at a higher level during his next rating period." The question though is what positions for future assignments were recommended? Were they at current rank? Higher or lower?

The problem with your rater slacking and filling in weak bullets is not too big of a deal unless he gave you weak bullets for Excellent ratings.

As for the no counseling... If you don't have the support of the CoC, it isn't going to change until the central promotion boards for SFC, MSG and CSM start holding seniors responsible for the NCOERs they write the same as they do the Field Grade officers.

In the future though, you may consider maintaining a running NCOER support form/counseling. Even if your rater doesn't do any counseling, you can sit down with a peer and work through the process as a peer eval to provide the in house development that your seniors are not providing.

As others have stated, this is a first and your NCOERs really only matter at the central boards. This will never be seen unless you are submitting a warrant officer packet, so use it as a learning experience.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 19 at 2014 7:55 AM

2014-04-19T07:55:26-04:00

Here is a different response after giving this some thought:

What makes you think you deserve a 1/1? Do you somehow feel entitled to it because you weren't counseled? Why didn't you chase down your rater for counseling? It's your career, you have to be proactive in developing it. A 1/2 is a great NCOER. It says you perform well at your level and could perform well at the next. Meet the standard next time and you will earn 1/1's on all your NCOER'S.

Response by SFC Christopher Walker, MAOM, DSL made Apr 19 at 2014 8:46 AM

2014-04-19T08:46:11-04:00

It is your responsibility to ask for your initial and quarterly counselings. Yes, I know your rater should be doing it. Some NCOs are just flat out lazy. Just remember that your career is in your hands. In my eyes, if you aren't being counseled it's your fault. Ensure your NCOs are doing their jobs; initial 30 days and quarterly 90 days. If you really feel that you are the "Cream of the Crop 1/1" then fight for it. Never settle for less if you have the proof and fire power to back up your argument.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2015 5:39 AM

2015-02-03T05:39:10-05:00

a 1/2? how do you do that? 1 for performance but a 2 for potential? never seen someone go above their potential if their potential was only a 2.