Officer Evaluation Review Overview
From Star Trek: Gamma One
Contents |
General Information
Officer Evaluation Reviews, also known as Officer Evaluation Reports and in either case referred to by abbreviation as 'OER', are the primary means for officers and officer candidates (i.e., cadets) assigned to Ad Hoc Allied Task Force Gamma One to be promoted in rank. The reviews consist of a series of tests to gauge any improvement or deterioration in professional skill, warfighting ability, and (for some officers) leadership aptitude; this is followed by written summaries of the officer's performance from those in a position to gauge his or her work directly, and then lastly by a final recommendation from the Commanding Officer.
When do OERs occur?
OERs occur three times per year, in March, July, and November of the Earth Standard calendar year. Each month of OERs is referred to as a 'season', while an entire year of such is a 'cycle'. The date of the next review is based on a combination of approval date and rank. The OER Player Guide contains detailed information.
Who is Expected to Participate?
As noted above, not all officers take part in all OER seasons. Some officers, when a given OER season hits, has simply not been aboard long enough to take part; others were just recently promoted and have not yet reached time-in-grade at their current rank; still others are under some kind of formal administrative probation. Beyond this, then, the rule-of-thumb is: Any officer who has been in a duty status at a given posting for longer than four-and-a-half months when the cycle begins, has put in the required Time-in-Grade for their current rank, and is not under any form of disciplinary or professional probation or medical restriction, will be marked for participation in the OER season by the Executive Officer.
In the event that a player lacks an active Department Head and/or qualified peers, the game staff has made available the option of +requesting to staff to allow a line command officer to serve as their senior reviewer and any command branch officer to serve as their peer reviewer. Note: players making the request do not get to choose which command officer this is; they simply get to make the +request and the game staff will take it from there, rather like making an IC request of the XO.
Who Manages the OERs/Proctors the Exams?
Department Heads will manage the OER reports for their department, and proctor the exams. The exception is when an officer tries to schedule meetings with their Department Head to test and can't succeed after a few days, the officer may contact any other Department Head on their vessel or the Executive Officer.
What Constitutes a Pass?
In order to move from Stage 1 to Stage 2, an officer must have an aggregate Stage 1 score of 3 or higher. In order to move from Stage 2 to Stage 3, an officer must have an aggregate Stage II score of 3 or higher. Once the review reaches the Stage 3 level, command will complete the final review. If the final score is an aggregate of 3 or higher, and there are no valid reasons for denying a promotion, an officer will usually be promoted. This is not, however, guaranteed.
Stages
Each OER is broken into three stages as follows:
Stage I - Skills Testing
Stage I tests are a series of skills tests to determine an officer's general skill level in two or three areas: Professional Skills, Warfighting & Physical Fitness, and General Leadership, with only the first two sets of tests applicable to all candidates. For individuals completing their cadet cruise, or seeking to promote from Ensign to LTJG, the Stage I exams consist only of the Professional and Warfighting/Fitness skills tests. Officers with the rank of Lieutenant JG or higher, or who serve in any of the Liaison billets or the Bajoran Troop Commander or Bajoran Deputy Commander billets are required to complete the General Leadership tests. This last exam is functionally identical to the 'core skills' test of the Line Officer Exam, since it is meant to reflect the general administrative/command skills which any officer of the rank of full Lieutenant or higher, even in non-line positions, should know (note, though, that it does not include the crisis skills test, and hence is not considered a substitute for line certification).
Please see the OER Stage I Tests Page for the lists of tests.
Stage II - Departmental Evaluations
General Summary
Stage II of the OERs consists of evaluations performed by those who are in a position to best know of the evaluee's capacity for further growth as an officer. One such evaluation is written by the Department Head, Deputy Department Head, or Section Head overseeing the evaluee; this should be determined at the discretion of the Department Head, but always bearing in mind that the intent of this flexibility is to allow for the supervisor with the greatest amount of contact with the individual to be evaluated to write the evaluation. The second such evaluation is to be written by a peer in the same department as the evaluee but outside of his or her direct chain of command (i.e., not the direct superior, nor a supervised officer, of the evaluee); should circumstances be such that the evaluee feels that no peer in the department has had suitable professional contact with the evaluee, the evaluee is required to make immediate petition to the Executive Officer, who will then assign a peer reviewer of his or her own choice. With regards to such petitions to waive strict standards for a peer review, the decision of the Executive Officer as to the person who will write the peer review in place of an actual peer is final.
Exceptions by Billet
For purposes of the Stage II supervisor and peer reviews, Deputy Department Heads who are not assigned as Acting Department Heads at the time of the OER testing and evaluation period may have Section Heads in their department write their peer reviews, while Department Heads (including Acting Department Heads) shall have their supervisor reviews performed by the Executive Officer and peer reviews written by their choice of other Department Heads, Deputy Department Heads, or Acting Department Heads from any other ship department. Further, for purposes of peer review, all officers serving in a command branch assignment, including foreign service liaison officers, shall be considered command officers regardless of whether they report to the CO, XO, or 2O, and shall be eligible to choose their peers throughout the command branch accordingly, or make petition to the XO as specified above. Under the Status of Forces Agreement by which Bajoran Militia troops serve aboard USS Marathon, and will presumably serve aboard Outpost Gamma-One on completion, those troops may have their peer review performed by any officer in the Security or Operations Branches familiar with their work, as well as by their own peers within the Militia, with the exception of the Troop Commander, who is reviewed as a Department Head.
Review Accuracy
Department heads and senior command will review Peer reviews and may question the reviewer if they see a review that appears inaccurate based on their experience. To this end, reviewers are reminded that the Peer Review and Senior Review must be honest and truthful and anyone who is found to provide intentional and blatantly dishonest reviews may be reprimanded or court-martialed. Reviewers are simply expected to complete a review in an honest, accurate manner.
Rating Guidelines
- Rarely, if ever, meets expectations, and in fact fails completely in this area.
- Occasionally meets expectations, but performance is overall substandard.
- Usually meets expectations, sometimes failing but sometimes exceeding.
- Regularly meets and exceeds expectations.
- Regularly serves as the high bar against which later expectations are judged.
See the Officer Evaluation Review Stage II Questionnaire document to view the questionnaire.
Stage III - Command Evaluations
Stage III of the OERs consists of evaluations usually performed by the Commanding Officer and usually with input of the XO and 2O. At his sole discretion and on a case by case basis, the Commanding Officer may assign any Stage III review on which the XO or 2O has not otherwise written a Stage II evaluation to write the Stage III evaluation on his or her behalf, but this requires an active order to be signed and notice placed in the file of the evaluee. In cases where the Stage I and II scores are to one extreme or the other of the usual scale by which officers are considered or rejected for promotion, the Commanding Officer is permitted at his sole discretion to reduce the Stage III evaluation to a final summary and yea or nay decision on promotion, without further comment.
It is also important to understand that regardless of the final OER Aggregate, Senior Command is given the leeway to determine final promotion status. While having a final aggregate with a value greater than 3 will likely result in a promotion, there are no guaranteed passes.
| Officer Evaluation Review |
|---|
| Index | Overview | Stage I Tests | Stage II Questionnaire | Training and Certification | DH Guide | Player Guide |
