My goal in today’s post is to share some of my best Army OER Support Form tips.
I spent 11 years as an Army Officer and have about 12 OERs that I personally received.
In addition, I’ve probably written 50 OERs for people that I supervised.
When I first earned my commission, I knew nothing about OERs.
Everything I know now I learned through trial and error and real world experience.
What I want to do with you in this post is transfer some of my knowledge so that you can learn more about the “right way” to do your OER Support Form.
In the Army, all Commissioned Officers receive Officer Evaluation Reports; also known as OERs, the Officer Evaluation Report is used to assess performance and determine the potential for promotion, and for positions of increased responsibility.
All Army Officers receive an OER at least once per year or as situations permit.
Prior to receiving an OER, the rated Officer must submit their OER Support Form to their rater for review.
Drafting up a quality Army OER Support Form is vital if you want a good (and accurate) OER.
Don’t just sit back and assume that your rater knows how to write well, or that they have kept good track of your accomplishments.
Follow these seven tips mentioned below and you will be well on your way to having a good and accurate OER.
Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
- Secret Tip for Preparing Your Army NCOER or OER Support Form
- Army NCOERs – Top Five Do’s and Don’ts
- Sample Rater Comments and Bullets for Army OERs
- Sample Battalion Commander OER Support Form
- How to Write Army NCOERs
Tip # 1: Familiarize Yourself with DA Form 67-10-1A or 67-10-2 For FG Officers
The first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with DA Form 67-10-1A.
Print out a blank copy and review each section.
Read the instructions on how to fill one out.
If you have any questions about what goes on the form, ask the S1 to explain it to you, or ask your rater for help.
Tip # 2: Get Some Samples Of Completed Support Forms to Review
Another great tip that I can share with you is to get some sample completed OERs and OER Support Forms.
Ask some of your mentors, peers, your supervisor or subordinates for a copy of some of their old OERs or OER Support Forms.
Tell them you are building up a library of examples to use for reference.
Offer to exchange one of your old Support Forms for one of theirs.
Once you get three or four copies, read each one.
Write down what you like and don’t like about each one.
Use them as a resource to brainstorm ideas about your own Support Form.
Tip # 3: Keep Track of Your Accomplishments
I’ve talked about this on other parts of my website.
You want to keep track of your accomplishments every month.
At the end of every week (for active duty soldiers) and at the end of every drill weekend (for ARNG and USAR Officers), write down your five to ten major accomplishments for the month.
Put it on a piece of paper and file it in your Leader’s Book.
Transfer someone of these accomplishments onto your OER Support Form once a month.
You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a 12-month rating period IF you write everything down each month.
Tip # 4: Keep a Working Copy
This tip goes hand in hand with tip number three.
Keep a working copy of your OER Support Form.
That means you shouldn’t wait until month twelve to write your OER Support Form.
Every month, beginning at the end of month one in the rating period, you should update your OER Support Form.
Find ways to improve it every month.
Keep adding in new accomplishments each month.
If you do this every month, you will have a well crafted document at the end of the rating period.
Tip # 5: Get Feedback from Others
Before you turn in your OER Support Form to your rater at the end of the rating period have a few people review it.
Have your NCO counterpart review it.
Have a respected peer and one of your mentors check it out.
Don’t just ask them if they like it.
Ask them how you can improve it or what they would do differently.
Be open minded.
You will be surprised at the input you get from others.
Tip # 6: Revise, Edit, Modify and Improve
Your next step is to revise, edit, modify and improve it.
Try to have your final draft done at least two weeks before it is due.
Once the final draft is done, look at it once a day and find ways to improve it.
Look for typos.
Look for better word choices to describe things.
Make sure the finished product is high quality.
Tip # 7: Write it Like You Want Your OER Written
If you do it right, your rater will more than likely copy and paste what you wrote right on your Support Form into your actual OER.
They might not, but there is a good chance that they will.
So make sure you write your OER Support Form just like an OER bullet/statement looks like.
Look at your past OERs for examples or from the OER Support Forms you collected from others.
Summing Things Up
The bottom line is that no one cares about your career as much as you do.
When it comes to drafting up your own Army OER Support Form, you should definitely follow the seven tips I mentioned above.
Do that and you will be well on your way to getting an accurate and good OER!
Don’t do it and who knows what might happen.
On a side note, if you have a lot of experience with OERs and OER Support Forms, I would love to hear from you.
Please leave a comment below to share your best tips for success.
If you have any questions about OER Support Forms, just ask and I will do my best to get you an answer.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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DA 67-9??? That’s the old form! You need to update your info for the new forms, DA 67-10-1A is the support form and DA 67-10-2 is the form for FG officers.
“The bottom line is no one cares about your career as much as you do.”– spot on. If you want it, make sure everyone knows you do and take care that everything you do is documented. I love the idea of keeping a running list of your accomplishments each month and also to keep a working copy of your OER support form. These simple things make it so much easier to actually complete the form when the time comes!
I tell everyone to take their time with their OER Support Form. Don’t wait until the last minute to do it! You want to start working on it right at the beginning of your rating period and update it at least once every 90 days.
Great resource.
Thanks, Jeff.
It's very important to write down every thing you do each month. If you wait until the end of the year you are going to forget important milestones and skills you may have achieved that year.
Also never wait until the last minute to do any evaluation reports. You never know what kind of unseen delays may slow you down. If you wait until the last minute and you hit a snag you will go overdue and that's when things can get ugly quick.
Yes, stay proactive and keep track of your accomplishments. Writing down everything you do is imperative.
I like your idea of keeping tracking of your accomplishments each month. That makes great sense. I’m going to start doing that myself.
Good for you, Mary. It works.
Being proactive and planning ahead are so important to make sure you get promoted. Your tips here for the OER Support Form is helpful. I keep a word document on my computer to jot down notes, accomplishments and other things to help be remember them when it comes time for doing the OER Support Form.
That’s good, Leslie. Like you mentioned, it’s so easy to forget our accomplishments during a rating period. If we want a good and accurate OER, it’s up to us to keep track of what we accomplish and put in on our OER Support Form. The advice I mentioned in this post is the best way to do that, as I see it.
Thanks for the comment.
Chuck
These are some great OER Support Form Tips, Chuck. I never even considered tracking my accomplishments at the end of every drill weekend. That makes so much sense, because it’s very easy to forget all the things you did over a 12 month period. I’m going to start doing this starting next drill weekend, and I’m going to have my subordinates do the same thing.
Tina
Good for you, Tina. Tracking your accomplishments every month is very important to do. I wish you all the best.
Chuck
These are some great Army OER Support Forms. I am a newly commissioned Army Officer in the Texas Army National Guard. I’ve never received an OER yet, but now I know what to do and how to prepare myself. This website is really helpful. Thanks for sharing this great article.
You’re welcome, Mike. Just follow these OER Support Form tips and you won’t be disappointed. It absolutely amazes me how many people just “wing it” when it comes to their OER. Don’t be like most people.
Thanks for the comment.
Chuck