Chief master sergeants will now be evaluated on a new enlisted performance report form, the Air Force said June 8.
The new Form 912, which is solely for evaluating chiefs, is part of the Air Force's ongoing overhaul of the way it evaluates and promotes enlisted airmen. Previously, chiefs used the same Form 911 as other senior noncommissioned officers.
This form has four lines for a chief's rater to provide comments on his performance, and another line for a senior rater's assessment. The Air Force said those comments will help it find promising leaders among the ranks of chiefs, and allow senior raters to recommend chiefs for future jobs such as career field managers, major command functional managers and command chief jobs.
"The focus of this evaluation form is to vector Air Force senior enlisted professionals toward leadership positions where they can best positively influence airmen," Will Brown, the chief of the Air Force evaluation and recognition programs branch, said in the release. "Chief master sergeants perform at the senior leader level, so comments are likely to to illustrate where a chief will best fit in the Air Force leadership matrix."
Senior master sergeants who have been selected for promotion to E-9, but have not yet sewn on their new ranks, will be rated with the Form 912.
Chief master sergeant EPRs now close out on May 31 each year, under the new system.
The new form includes performance assessments by the chief's rater and senior rater. It also asks the senior rater if the chief should be considered for higher responsibility, and what future roles he should hold.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
