Rating Chains: Senior Raters, Reviewers & More (Part 2)

Key ingredients:

Per AR 623-3, 2-7 (Rules for Senior Raters)

Senior raters will be:

· Generally speaking, two grades higher in rank that the rated Soldier (See Table 2-1 below)

· Being selected for promotion (e.g. CPT(P)) meets the 2-grades-higher requirement.

· The immediate supervisor of the rater. Remember this rule: Your rater’s rater is your senior rater!

· In position for 60 days (90 days for M-day reserve component ratings)

According to AR 623-3, Paragraph 2-8 (Rules for designating a reviewer)

Reviewers

· Reviewer is required for NCOERs when the Senior Rater is an E8 or below, or a WO1/CW2 or 2LT/1LT.

· The reviewers job is to ensure the evaluation process was done correctly and reflects counseling records, etc.

· Reviewers ensure counselings were documented and completed as reported on the evaluation.

Direct From Doctrine […with some snips for brevity…]

AR 623-3, 2–7. Rules for designating a senior rater

a. DA Form 67–10 series.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs 2–7a(5) through 2–7a(7), a senior rater will be a commissioned officer of the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. Coast Guard, or a DOD Civilian employee (including non-appropriated fund employees). Members of Allied Armed Forces are not authorized to be senior raters.

(2) The minimum grade for a senior rater will be in accordance with table 2–1. A civilian senior rater will be a designated supervisor of the rated officer serving at an appropriate grade level above the rater and meeting the minimum grade or rank requirements in table 2–1. For purposes of this regulation, a civilian supervisor/rating official need not be classified as a supervisor under the Office of Personnel Management classification guidance provided they are responsible for di[1]recting and assessing the rated Soldier’s performance. See exceptions for AMEDD officers in appendix E.

(3) The senior rater will be the immediate supervisor of the rater and a supervisor above all other rating officials in the rated officer’s chain of command or chain of supervision, except as indicated in paragraph 2–6 and 2–7a(13). To render a written OER, the senior rater must have been designated as the rated officer’s senior rater for a minimum period of 60 calendar days, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph. For USAR TPU, DIMA, and drilling IRR Soldiers and ARNG Soldiers, the senior rater must have served in that capacity for a minimum of 90 calendar days (see apps G and H).

(5) Members of Congress may senior rate all grades of rated officers serving as fellows or military liaisons on the member’s personal staff. Normally, the member’s civilian chief of staff, or another individual on the member’s staff who supervises the day-to-day duties of the rated officer, will serve as the rater (or intermediate rater) when the member of Congress is the senior rater.

(6) Ambassadors may senior rate all grades of officers serving at U.S. consulates under an ambassador’s authority.

(7) Under unique circumstances, requests for other U.S. Government officials (for example, political appointees) to serve as senior raters may be granted as an exception to policy. Written requests for an exception to policy will be submitted to the appropriate HQDA component in accordance with the guidance contained in paragraph 2–7a(8). See paragraph 2– 8a(2) and section IV of this chapter regarding supplementary review requirements. DA Pam 623–3 provides procedural guidance on OER administrative data.

(8) Requests for exception to policy will be submitted to HRC (AHRC–PDV–E) at the beginning of the rating period, or the earliest possible date when it is known that the official will need to serve as the senior rater. Written requests will be in memorandum format on letterhead stationery and will indicate the rated officer’s rank and full name, DODID number, the period during which the U.S. Government official will serve as the senior rater, the effective date, and the justification for them to serve as senior rater (see app F). A copy of the HRC-approved exception to policy memorandum will be submitted to the appropriate HQDA component as an enclosure to the completed OER.

(9) Senior raters may evaluate the rated officer with fewer than 60 days as a senior rater if they also served as the rated officer’s intermediate rater in a previously published chain, and the combined total of time served in the rating chain equals 60 days or more. For other exceptions to this policy, see chapter 3, sections VIII and IX.

(10) A senior rater who has been selected for promotion and who is in an authorized position for the next grade will be considered to be serving in the next grade. The symbol “P” will be inserted after their current rank on the applicable OER. (See para 2–11 for ARNG-specific requirements.)

The Supplementary Reviewer For NCOERs

According to AR 623-3, Paragraph 2-8 a(2) “A mandatory supplementary review is required for NCOERs when a senior rater within the rated NCOs rating chain includes an NCO in the rank of SFC through 1SG/MSG, warrant officer in the rank of WO1 through CW2, and Army officer in the rank of 2LT and 1LT. This supplementary review will be performed by a uniformed Army Soldier, senior to the senior rater within the rated NCO’s organization in the rank of SGM/CSM, CW3 through CW5, or CPT and above.”

Paragraph 2-16a(5) addresses the role of the reviewer: “The reviewer ensures all comments are consistent with counseling, support forms (or equivalent), or other communications between rating officials and the rated Soldier during the rating period. The senior rater or the uniformed Army advisor performing the supplementary review may not direct that rating officials change an evaluation believed to be accurate and made in good faith (see para 2–16c).

In summary, a Supplementary Reviewer is required for NCOERs when the Senior Rater is an E8 or below, or a WO1/CW2 or 2LT/1LT. Their job is to ensure the evaluation process was done correctly and reflects counseling records, etc.

Want more than this Daily Dose of Doctrine? Take A Doctrine Deep Dive with a read of AR 623-3 at: ARN14342_AR623-3_FINAL.pdf (army.mil)

Source: AR 623-3