Apply Boards and FITREPS What Every Officer Should Know

FITNESS REPORTS Career Management

Fitness Reports  Your fitness report is not necessarily written for you.  Your fitness report is your CO’s opportunity to communicate with the Board.  What does the CO want the board to do with you?

What’s Important?  Leadership Grades  Command & Promotion Recommendations  Promotion Breakout  Leadership positions (CO, XO, OIC)  Rankings (#2 of 13 behind XO)  Comparison with CO’s grading average  Leadership comments (character descriptions)  Continuity (no missing fitreps)

What’s NOT SO Important?  Write-up’s of what you accomplished over the year.  Grades in areas other than leadership.  Fluffy language.  Detailed descriptions of unit mission.  Civilian accomplishments (e.g.. Boy Scout Leader, Civic Assoc Leader, etc).

Recommendation for Promotion OR??

Written Comments (Block 41) A recent Reporting Senior wrote: “Read this carefully…the rules force me to make him only a Must Promote. He is an Early Promote! He is rated against another O-X who I anticipate will be promoted. Joe’s turn is next. Joe would truly be number one in any other setting.”

Written Comments (Block 41) Opening: “Ranked 1 of 10 hand picked active duty officers.” Closing: “ He has my strongest endorsement and recommendation for aviation and major command. In addition, he has earned my strongest possible recommendation for accelerated promotion to captain now.”

What can get you sent to the VTU?  Missing Fitreps with no explanations (write a letter to the board on why it is missing)  PRT failure  OSR anomalies with no explanation  No leadership or difficult jobs  Consistent 3.0 grades in Leadership  Pack performance with no CO recommendations  Incomplete Apply Board Submittal

What You Should Be Doing:  Discuss Fitreps with your CO.  Command early, command often. Or  Get Hard Jobs: Training Officer, XO.  Do well in hard jobs; break to the right.  The future is purple: obtain JPME.  Avoid homesteading in non-hardware units.  If you are in a VTU, find a job that supports a Gaining Command, versus a Center.

Apply Board

FY2003 Apply Board RankApps# BilletsCO Billets

Apply Board Panel President Members (Briefers) Recorder Recorder Staff

Apply Board: Three Phases  Phase One:  Reviewing Records: Briefer Review  Phase Two:  Voting Records: Assigning Confidence  Phase Three:  Slating Records: Assigning Billets

PHASE ONE Records Review

Record Distribution:  Random Distribution to Members to Ensure Impartiality  Warfare Community Matched (As Feasible)

Viewable Contents  Performance Summary Record /Officer Summary Record  FICHE 5  Awards  FITREPS  Letter to the Board President (When Received)

The Environment  Large # of records to review  Significant time pressure  Your briefer is your advocate: Briefer must interpret career as displayed on OSR/PSR and FITREPs.

What Your Briefer Looks For:  Play in traffic  Leadership jobs (CO, GCLO, OIC, XO)  Hard jobs (Dept. Head, Det OIC, etc.)  Improving performance over time  Command Recommendations  Rankings (#2 of 50) with explanations  Grade comparisons to CO’s average  Leadership grades

What You Should Do:  Learn how to read an OSR/PSR – This is who you are to the Board.  Make sure your record is complete 4-6 months prior to Board. No missing fitreps/ awards No missing NOBC’s/AQD’s Correct promotion dates Correct Education

Letters to the Board  Keep your letter as terse as possible. (1-2 pages max w/ enclosures (missing FITREPS/Awards).  Do not write “Pick Me!” letters.  Do not reiterate career history if it’s in the Record.  Focus letter on objective information that explains PSR/OSR anomalies (e.g. ranked #4 of 13 as XO without explanations).  Letter is visible only during review process by briefer. Put detailing-relevant info in the APPLY COMMENTS field.

PHASE TWO Voting Records: Assigning Confidence %

GRADING / VOTING CRITERIA  100 OR AABSOLUTELY SELECT  75 OR BPROBABLY SELECT  50 OR CNOT SURE  25 OR DPROBABLY NOT  0 OR FDO NOT SELECT

Briefing the Records  Briefer Paints The Picture in 30 Seconds.  Summarizes OSR/PSR and good elements hard to see on OSR/PSR. Includes excerpts from FITREPs.  Explains perceived or actual problems: Example: “Although Ranked 3 of 6 as XO, This is her first O-6 report and is competing against a group of senior Post CMD O-6’s”.  Voting is Complete Within 1 Minute.

EXAMPLE OF PSR TO AVOID

Phase Three Slating Records: Billet Assignment

Slating Criteria  How Your Record Competed (Stack Ranked)  Qualifications:  Designator/NOBC/AQD  PRD  Your Choices: Billets & Travel Requirements (Apply Program)  Gaining Command Requirements  Waivers provided only under unusual circumstances

SLATER Welcome to SLATER This is the Command/Non-Command Selection and Assignment Board for Fiscal Year This web applications only to be used in the assignment portions of the board's work GRIDVacated BilletsReportsLog Out Board President: RADM XXX Vice President: RADM XXX Head Recorder: CDR XXX Select “Grid”

Grid Select Tank/Number/Description Grid Select Confidence Factor Submit Close Max Conf 100 Min Conf 87 CAPT Line CDR Line LCDR Line Other Line CAPT Medical CDR Medical > > CAPT Line Select rank Select confidence factor

Ranking Grid

Applicant Data “Name” Cell, “Detail”

Detailed Applicant Data Provides List of Billets Applied, Plus Travel, etc. FILL OUT ALL BLOCKS

Billet Data “Billet” cell “Detail”

Detailed Billet Data Lists Who’s Applied For Billet

Applicant Comparison Applicants for the same Billets are compared

Detailed Applicant Data

Slating “Billet” cell, “Slate”

Slated Billet Billet added to “Billet” column The billet turns Green throughout the Grid

Other Colors Blue indicates the billet has been removed by NAVRES. Yellow indicates temporary Slate. Applicant needs additional billets.

Additional Billets All billets on Dream sheet have been Slated. Suggest

Suggest Billets Specify how you want the available vacancies searched in order to suggest possible billets for this applicant. Choose to search by designator or distance, but not both. Suggest Billets Selection Match the applicants designator Select designator Search by Distance Search by Designator Billets at a Reserve Center within miles of the applicant 500 SubmitClose Can search by Designator and Distance Submit

Open Billets Suggest Billets Selection Officer: CAPT Desig: 1325 SSN: PRD: Number of Billets = 3 Close MilesRankAdesgBilletNameUnitCenter 151CAPT1000CG1234 COPERSSUPDET 0194RESCEN AUSTIN 247CAPT1050CG5678 PAO OFFNAVAL MEDIA CTRNAR DALLAS 431CAPT1000CG9876 COMBAT SYSSUPSHIP 101RESCEN HOUSTON These are the open billets based on the criteria set In the previous screen.

Vacated Billets Welcome to SLATER This is the Command/Non-Command Selection and Assignment Board for Fiscal Year 2004., This web applications only to be used in the assignment portions of the board's work GRIDVacated BilletsReportsLog Out Board President: RADM XXX Vice President: RADM XXX Head Recorder: CDR XXX As the board progresses billets open up Vacated Billets

APPLY Recommendations  Use all 35 dreamsheet slots if possible (Unless you have a Navy Cross/Silver Star there will be at least 34 people who are rated higher than you).  Be careful what you ask for. If you say 5000 mile radius, you may be drilling in Anchorage, San Juan, or London (unless specified not to).  Don’t waste slots on billets for which you are ineligible for (non-command billet if you still have tenure).

APPLY Recommendations  Fill out all available fields, particularly COMMENTS, HISTORY, TRAVEL fields. The more info you give to the Board about your skills/desires, the more likely they can find a good fit for you.  APPLY COMMENTS are visible only during detailing, not during the voting process. Voting relevant info that is not in record should go in Letter to the Board.

APPLY Recommendations  NOBC and designator waivers are feasible, so consider applying for such a job if you have available slots. Put items in the COMMENT section that would help Board justify a designator or NOBC waiver.  If you have a special clearance or billet- relevant civilian skills, note this in the COMMENT section.

APPLY Summary  Fair Process.  Expands the number of selections for the SELRES.  One Stop Shopping for SELRES:  View and select billets.  No more copying OSR/PSR’s/FITREPS.  Increases talent pool to fill billets appropriately.

APPLY Summary  Keep Your Record Updated.  Fill In Your Billet History/NOBC/AQD.  Think the Travel Restrictions Through.  If You Are Not Up For a Billet, Try to Become a Member of the Board.

Questions?