CG PSC- Officer Personnel Management

Coast Guard Personnel Service Center

Officer Personnel Management Division

Officer Evaluations Branch (CG PSC-opm-3)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. If a member has an approved retirement or separation can a continuity OER be submitted?
An officer on an annual schedule has an approved retirement or separation (only separations which are voluntary resignations or discharges) date within 18 months of the last regular OER submission and has met the expected high standard of performance during the period. Officers requesting reserve commissions or being released from active duty (RELAD) may not apply these criteria.

Officers going into Reserve status or that transition directly to a retired recall status cannot do a continuity OER.

An officer that has an approved retirement date (voluntary or mandatory) within 18 months of their last OER submission and has met the expected high standard of performance during the period may submit a continuity OER per Article 5.A.3.(a)(5).

A waiver shall be obtained from CGPSC-rpm or CGPSC-opm-3 to extend a continuity only OER upon retirement or separation (voluntary resignations and discharges only) beyond an intervening submission occasion (e.g. detachment of Reporting Officer).

2. Why are the name and date not auto populating on top of page 2-3?
Have you noticed that the Name and date data in the header of each pages 2-3 is not auto populating. If so, select Edit from the tool bar, then select Preferences, select JavaScript from the categories on the left, make sure that Enable Acrobat JavaScript box is checked. Once the JavaScript is enable delete and re-enter the dates in the Period of Report and continue to hit tab all the way to the end of the document. If this does not work please call and we may be able to fix the form.

3. I'm having problems with the spacing on the name line on the CG-5315(Reviewer Comments) form. In order to get the proper spacing between your last name and initials insert an underscore character. Example: Coastie_A_D. The underscore will not show on the final printed form.

4. Who can I call to get copies of past OERs?
The Coast Guard Personnel Service Center's Military Records Branch handles all requests for copies of your official record. They require a signed and dated request (fax copy is acceptable) to send you a copy of any portion of your record.
Contact them at the following website: http://www.uscg.mil/psc/adm/adm3/

5. I am the Reporting Officer for a CDR OER. Where can I get my RO Report Card so I can provide to the Reviewer?
You can access it by logging into Direct Access and going to the following pathway: Home> Self Service> Employee> View> Off Comparison Scale Summary

6. I am frocked to LCDR. Do I complete a LCDR or LT OER?
Your OER must reflect your current pay grade and not your frocked pay grade. If your pay grade is LT, then you must receive a LT OER.

7. My Supervisor was disqualified from carrying out his rating chain responsibilities. What is the next step for my unit?
If any member of your rating chain was disqualified or is unavailable per COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.2.g., then the Commanding Officer or next senior officer in the chain of command shall designate an appropriate substitute who is capable of evaluating your performance. An e-mail or letter notification should be sent to the OER Manager, with a copy to the Reported-on Officer and new rating chain members informing OPM-3 of the rating chain exception. For Reserve Officers, contact RPM.

8. Do civilians need formal training before being added to a unit's rating chain? There is a requirement for formal training for civilians per COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.2.b.2.i. Commands are reminded that OES Rating Chain responsibilities must be incorporated into the civilian employee’s core competencies. CG PSC-opm-3 will prepare training certification letters for civilians who complete the training. If, for some reason, a civilian rating chain member is unable to attend the training, the command can direct them to read Chapter 5.A. and review the OES power point presentation on the CG PSC-opm web page. Once the command is comfortable that the civilian staff member understands the OES process and can carry out their responsibilities, the command can notify CG PSC-opm-3 that the training requirements have been completed.

9. I’m planning to retire. What do I need to do about my OERs until then?
Please take a few minutes to read COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.3.a.5 concerning Reports submitted for Continuity Purposes. Officers with an approved retirement or separation date within 18 months (annual schedule) or 12 months (semiannual schedule) of the last regular OER submission, and who have met the expected high standards of performance during the period, may be eligible to finish out their careers with a Continuity OER. If you prefer to have a completed OER documenting your recent work experience for “job hunting” purposes, you may want to submit a completed OER to coincide with the annual submission requirements and then submit a “for continuity purposes only” OER for the remaining time on active duty.

If you are in or above zone for promotion and the Board is scheduled to convene prior to your retirement date, you must request a waiver in accordance with the provisions of COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.3.a.5.b if your intent is to submit an OER for continuity purpose only upon retirement. A brief email requesting the waiver and acknowledging that, if approved, your record will be incomplete before the Board, will suffice. See sample. Send the email to the OER Manager, with a “copy to” each member of your rating chain.

Remember, for OER purposes, the end-of-report period will be your last day of active duty, not the day before beginning terminal leave. As a reminder, the Reporting Officer and Reviewer’s signature dates cannot precede the Reported-on Officer’s last day of active duty.

10. I’m the Reporting Officer for five officers at my unit and I’m due to PCS this year. What can be done to ease the burden of my having to write five OERs on the occasion of my departure while I’m busy trying to get things ready for my move? Often times there is no way around it, but COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.3.a.2. offers some relief. For example, you would not have to do an OER for an officer on a semi-annual schedule if less than 92 days has elapsed since the end of period of his/her last OER. So if you were departing in June, and you had an Ensign on your staff that was last evaluated in March, then a Detachment of Reporting Officer OER would be optional.

11. I was just awarded a Coast Guard Achievement Medal and wanted to include it on my next OER.
Per COMDTINST M1000.3 awards are no longer authorized attachments to the OER.

12. Why are in and above zone candidates for the Lieutenant Selection Board required to end their semi-annual reporting period in June rather than July this year?
All LTJGs in or above zone are required, by policy, to submit their semi-annual OERs with an end of period no later than 30 June. This will provide sufficient time for the OER to be reviewed at CG PSC and, if necessary, corrected and entered into the record prior to the convening date of the LT Selection Board. Please see COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.3.a.

13. Do you have a listing of OER comments that are written to convey hidden messages?
There is no such thing as a listing of OER comments that are written to send "hidden" messages. More importantly, we do not want people to write OERs with what they think are hidden messages. Your OER, and any other writings for that matter, are read and interpreted by a variety of readers – assignment officers, and board and panel members. We cannot stress enough the importance of taking the time to paint a clear and succinct picture of the Reported-on Officer’s performance and potential in OER comments to avoid inaccurate (or unintended) interpretation.

14. I don’t understand why OERs are returned for abbreviations and acronyms? Besides making the document awkward to read, OER readers consist of an occupationally diverse group who may not be familiar with the "language" of your community. Many times, a ROO’s achvmts are lost i/the o/use of hard to interp abbrvs/uncom acros specif to partic pgms, i.e. MODU, iot save OER space. Don’t sacrifice clarity for brevity.

15. What do you consider to be a well constructed OER comment?
A well constructed comment will be clear, concise and easy to understand. It should discuss how well the task was done and report the result achieved. Most importantly, it should indicate the impact of the officer’s conduct or performance on the unit’s ability to meet its mission objectives. You can see examples of this format in OPM-3’s OER Training Presentation.

16. Where do I send Reserve OERs?
These OERs are prepared for Coast Guard Reserve Personnel under the Inactive Duty promotion list and should be addressed to the Reserve Program Management Branch.

17. What are the OER submission requirements for officers on Retired Recall?
OER submission is optional in all cases. An OER submitted for one of these officers will go through the normal review process destined for the member’s HQ PDR. No effort will be taken to remove or replace Continuity OERs to present an unbroken record of documented performance. Please see COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.3.d.

19. I thought the OER was supposed to be gender neutral. Can I use gender pronouns like "he" or "she?"
There is no intention to make the OER "gender neutral." There is no prohibition against using gender pronouns like "he" or "she." However, we recommend limited use of all pronouns, where appropriate, in order to write in bullet format and to save space. There are restrictions upon emphasizing gender when documenting performance or behavior in an OER. COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.4.f.7 directs that members of the rating chain shall not "expressly evaluate, compare, or emphasize gender, religion, color race or ethnic background." Additionally, Article 5.A.4.f.8 prohibits placing emphasis "upon a third party by gender, religion, color, race or ethnic background (e.g., Catholic lay minister, wrote award recommendation for African-American female civilian)."

20. I’m reviewing an OER that contains a comment to support the "Looking Out for Others" block ... it says "the member volunteered to take on additional duties to allow another member to stay at home & care for an ill family member." I know we’re pretty strict about medical comments -- is the statement prohibited?
The comment is acceptable, as long as it is clear that it referred to another person’s ill family member. The restriction in COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.4.f.5 prohibits the mention of a medical or psychological condition (factual or otherwise) about the Reported-on Officer and family members. Documenting good performance demonstrated by a Reported-on Officer to deal with the illness of another’s family member is not prohibited.

21. Can the Reviewer complete the comparison scale block when optional Reviewer comments are submitted with the OER?
No. The Comparison Scale (W2 to O5) or Rating Scale (O6) portion of the Reviewer Comments form (CG-5315(series)) is only to be completed when mandatory Reviewer comments are prescribed. COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.2.f.2.b requires a mandatory Reviewer Comparison Scale/Rating Scale mark only when the Reporting Officer is not a Coast Guard commissioned officer, civilian member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), or a PHS flag officer assigned to the Coast Guard as the Director of Health and Safety. Additionally, the directions in the Comparison Scale or Rating Scale box of the Reviewer comments form indicate, "Mark only when Reviewer comments are mandatory."

22. I am a Lieutenant transferring in July and my OER is due at the end of May. I am up for the LCDR Board in August. Can I delay my regular OER to my departure date?
No. Those officers above zone and in zone for promotion as specified by ALCGOFF promulgated by Commander (CGPC-opm) shall not delay their regular annual or semiannual OER past the scheduled due date. Please see COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.3.a.1.b.

24. The ‘Reserve Status/Drills Conducted’ block has been removed. Where do I list my Reserve Time?
This block was rendered obsolete per ALCOAST 077/04. All Reserve time shall be listed in the block 2 comments section as indicated in COMDTINST M1000.3 Article 5.A.4.c.2.c. Please contact RPM with further Reserve OER questions at ARL-PF-CGPSC-RPM@USCG.MIL.

25. What can I put in the Primary Duty block?
This block is intended to list the member’s primary duty only (e.g.,AVIATOR ROTARY WING- DUTY). Description of the officer’s primary duty and all other collateral duties shall be listed in the larger block of section 2.

26. Do I have to select any Block 7 “Concur” bubbles?
The Reporting Officer (RO) block 7 comments section remains optional for the RO to amplify or comment upon the Supervisors evaluation areas. Comments are highly encouraged, and the bubbles were added to achieve consistency and clarity to the Reporting Officer’s assessment of the Supervisors evaluation.

27. What do I put in the EMPLID (Employee Identification) block if I don’t have one? Non-Coast Guard members of the rating chain will not have a seven-digit CG Employee Identification (EMPLID) number. In those cases, please include the service designation in the signature block (USN, DHLS) and include the last four digits of the member’s SSN in the EMPLID block. An employee identification number will be assigned within Direct Access upon receipt at CG-PSC.

28. I am having trouble saving entered data on the new OER form. How can I save my changes?
Adobe Reader version 7 does not allow data to be saved to the form. Form users are advised to save their forms (prior to drafting) to their desktop first and then reopen with Adobe Acrobat Professional version 6.0 or earlier.

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Last Modified 1/26/2012

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