The Ten Deadly Sins of FITREPS

1 12 September is the month for ruiningcareers. E-7, E-8, O-4, and O-5 Reserve FITREPS are all , new and experienced CO s alikeoften sign FITREP s that can inadvertentlydamage careers. Therefore, let me sharewith you my prospective on fitness reportpreparation. Selection boards useFITREPSto decide on promotions and to select seniorofficers and CO s for pay , write FITREPS for selectionboards, and recognize that only thereviewing board member will actuallyread the comments. Aim for talkingpoints that the briefer can use to sell yourSailor to other board board members notice thefollowing items when evaluating a rarely works in one s favor,and records with questionable FITREPS rarely get the benefit of doubt.

2 To avoidinadvertently damaging your people scareers (or to document performance thatis not superlative), be aware of the followingdeadly sins :Lack of shouldhave day-to-day continuity. If not, it begsthe question, what happened during thishole? As mentioned previously, uncertaintyis bad. Ensure that the FROM date is oneday after the last TO date, or help yoursailor retrieve the missing dates with theprevious reporting block 29 14 characters in the block 29 dutiesbox appear in the performance summaryrecord (PSR) briefed at boards. List themostsignificant duty performed. Commonabbreviations are best ( , CO, XO). If aperson served only part-time in that job,still list it (and quantify months in block 29text.)

3 If you re especially clever, recognize thatthe PSR line breaks after seven characters two spaces between ADMIN andOFFICER enhance (or ) in any , onlya is adverse. In practice, a will dothe trick. Only use these grades to identifyclearly substandard performance of anature that warrants an entry in a Sailor spermanent (or ) in you canhave only one trait, you want it to beleadership. An otherwise glowing FITREP without a top grade here may causeconcern. Any other trait can be other Use this to flag Sailors who still needimprovement in this or reversed billet best first entry inblock 40 is CO, CO, as Major Commandfor Officers, Command (Senior) Chief or Senior Enlisted Advisor for , convention dictates reiteratingthese recommendations in block 41 not recommended for command,or receiving inverted recommendations( , XO/CO ) do not fare as well atapply and selection boards.

4 Be honest,though, and only recommend for commandthose you consider ready for contributions,routine duties, and adjectives withoutsupporting facts are fluff. Fluffy FITREPS imply a Sailor did not accomplish anythingsignificant. Many reporting seniors resortto fluff when receiving weak or non-existentinputs. Consider the uses of FITREPS mentioned above. If a sentence will notmake a difference, leave it out. If it meansthe FITREP is uncomfortably brief, so beit. Use initial and midterm counselingsessions to established meaningful goalsto avoid end-of-year of strong opening and first and last comment lines areFITREP sweet spots. This is where arecord reviewer looks first. Use this primeadvertising space to sell your Sailor.

5 Ranked #1 of 48 Commanders of anydesignator is a silver bullet. CDR Smithhas continued to perform his outstandingand demanding duties in a superlativemanner is fluff. Same officer, vastlydifferent perception. If possible, leaveline 2 and 17 blank so first and last linesstand out even more. Close with futurerecommendation: select for commandnow, promote now, etc. These becomeyour talking points for the in AT FITREP FITREPS are highly overrated. Manyboard members barely glance at themwhile reading IDT FITREPS a Sailor makes significant achievementson AT, reflect that in the regular report left on the 1-of-1 FITREP that is not EP is damaging,regardless of the comments. There is nopenalty to the grader for using the EP, thus boards consider a 1-of-1 MP to bea negative signal.

6 A 1-of-1 P can bedevastating. Use this only when telling aboard that this individual is not up to to manage reporting now require summarygroup average in block 45. However,Sailors (and CO s) may not know thereporting senior s cumulative average atFITREP time. A in a summary groupaveraging is great, but if the cumulativeaverage is , this is substandard. Fornew CO s, remember that the first FITREPyou write is your cumulative average; startlow and work your way up so that youdon t run out of maneuvering room later inyour career. Boards also consider howmany FITREPS reporting seniors havewritten. It won t matter if the first FITREPyou sign is or ; the narrative willmake or break your you think you have been guilty ofthese sins , review BUPERSINST all NINE changes, take these lessonsto heart, and go forth and sin no NEWS/SEPTEMBER 2003 Leadership Tip of the Month1.

7 LDO/CWO packages due NLT 15 OCT Addendum s due 15 DEC Brief your personnel on Naval ReservePolicy Board Details in LT fitness reports due 31 OCT CAPT Dick Devault, USNR (Ret)Professional Development The Ten Deadly Sinsof FITREPSCAPT G. Mark Hardy, USNRC ommanding Officer NR SPAWAR HQ 601