With new EPR system, excellence is still the goal

  • Published
  • By Maj. James Wall
  • 436th Maintenance Squadron
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Lately I have been flooded with concern, questions, and comments regarding the new Enlisted Performance Report (EPR) system. While there is still much to learn about the changes, I assure you one aspect should not change. No matter the format or style of form we use, the expectation of Excellence must remain at the forefront of our assessment of performance. By demanding excellence in communication, excellence in expectations, and excellence in supervisors and leaders, I am confident everything else will fall in to place. It is when we get off the path of excellence that we allow ourselves to fall into the gray area with excuses and misconceptions. The foundations of excellence exist in our Air Force Core Values...an Airman who truly believes and lives the core values of Integrity, Service and Excellence is destined for success under the new rating system. While the EPR system may be new, the Air Force's expectations of us as Airmen are not.

For many Airmen, the difficult part of the new system is having deliberate, constructive conversations with other Airmen on where they truly stand on the path of excellence. Calling the baby "ugly" is never easy and, for some, will take greater courage than they ever had to apply before. However, the end result will be a fair and equitable EPR system based on the principles intended under the old system. A skill I had to learn over my military career is the ability to have effective dialogue. We all want to hear and give the good news and oftentimes, I would find myself avoiding the delivery of what appeared to be the bad news. The key word here is delivery. I learned how we frame the conversation and feedback to our Airmen is crucial. Ensuring open dialogue that allows for constructive conversations that accurately inform individuals of their performance is up to us as leaders and we must also highlight any standard expectation points in between.

The reality is not everyone is going to be number one, not everyone is going to be stratified and not everyone is cut out for the military. The difference now is that we as supervisors and leaders are being held accountable for that deliberate feedback to our Airmen. Make the conversations with your Airmen purposeful. Most Airmen do not want to let the Air Force down and when we expect Excellence, most will deliver; for those that do not deliver, they have just made our jobs easier in documenting that performance in the Airman Comprehensive Assessment and Enlisted Performance Report.

I will close with a short story. Many of you have heard my chants at various Wing Events stating, "That's a Maintainer." That simple message speaks volumes in our maintenance communities. This is a message delivered by Colonel (Ret.) Randy Harvey, former 314th Maintenance Group commander at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. I was a first lieutenant serving under Col. Harvey. He demanded Excellence....excellence in maintenance standards, excellence in Airmanship and Excellence in attitude.  Not only did he demand it from his maintainers, he lived it!  Everything revolved around having and working with a "maintenance attitude." 

This is a standard of excellence I carry with me and am cognizant of daily. There is a sense of pride when part of an excellent team, working with excellent attitudes resulting in excellent production efforts. I encourage you to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, "Where do I fit in the realm of Excellence?" Let the Air Force as an institution figure out the hurdles with the new EPR system and let us instead pave the way for Excellence.