COMMENTARY: You are most likely not a firewall five

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Tommy Lake
  • 488th Intelligence Squadron first sergeant
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Since its birth, the Air Force has followed along with our sister services by evaluating service members. James C. Binnicker became the ninth chief master sergeant of the Air Force July 1, 1986. He noticed the Airman performance report, the predecessor of the enlisted performance report, was not adequate in providing a proper assessment of performance. Binnicker set out to create the EPR and the coinciding performance feedback worksheet.

These new documents introduced the Air Force to writing bullets, which meant a story could be written to outline the performance of an Airman. Still, there was no overall performance assessment like is seen today. It took another chief master sergeant of the Air Force to get us to our current versions of the EPR; this time it was in 2007 when Rodney J. McKinley became the 15th chief master sergeant of the Air Force. McKinley's efforts revalidated the evaluation system for the first time in 21 years. 

Fast forward to the present, many changes are still taking place in our beloved Air Force. It's no secret; the old system was slightly flawed and inflated. Many Airmen were misled by supervision into believing they were a "firewall five," but in reality, they weren't.

Now, on the threshold of a new era and a new enlisted evaluation system, the reality checks that not everyone is the best of the best are to be written and distributed appropriately. Many Airmen of all ranks could leave with hurt feelings because they are not in fact what we lead them to believe they are.

In reality, we are not all firewall fives, and this new system will ensure EPRs reflect this.

The changes to the enlisted evaluation system ensure that duty performance is the primary factor in enlisted promotions. They will limit evaluation inflation, and enable supervisors and commanders to accurately document subordinates' performance without fear of inadvertently damaging an Airman's career progression. Complied with the new Airman comprehensive assessment tool, this combined process will assist commanders and Airmen to improve communication and clarify expectations between formal evaluations.

For the many Airmen who are the actual firewall fives, the new EES will not affect their duty performance. For others who may have had their previous evaluations inflated, it's time to step up and know it's not too late to be a true firewall five.

Just because the documents have changed, the overall standards that have been stressed and heard since we joined the Air Force will always remain the same; be excellent in all you do.  

Master your job, challenge yourself, continue to grow through professional development and education, and be active in the base and community. Doing one or two wing-level activities a year is about right. If you follow these simple guidelines, you'll be on the right track to a firewall five.