The Army Non-Commissioned Officer Evaluation Report (NCOER)

It's an unfortunate fact of Army life that no matter how hard you work or how many hours you put in, your accomplishments won't be recognized unless they can be accurately represented by the words contained on a single sheet of paper --your NCOER.

Evaluation reports are among the most important documents you're likely to encounter during your military career. That single sheet of paper affects your chances for promotion, your assignment options, training opportunities, and your entire future in the military. No other document has as much effect on your career or your life. So it only makes sense that we should take the time to do a good job on our and our troops' NCOER. If you're the ratee, make sure that if your supervisor asks for input or bullet comments for your NCOER that you provide as much as you can. Providing material for your NCOER is not doing your supervisor's job. It's an opportunity to have some influence on your rating! It's like your supervisor handed you a blank check and said, fill in whatever you want! Because NCOERs have a lot of weight in determining whether you get promoted or not. And a promotion means a raise of thousands of dollars a year! I don't know about you but I could definitely use the money! So when my supervisor gives me a chance to have some input on my evaluation, I'm taking it!

A lot of people have a hard time coming up with input for their NCOER. It's hard to express in just a few words all the ways you've contributed to the mission. And knowing how important the NCOER is to your future and reaching your goals makes it even harder. To help in this difficult task, we've assembled a collection of NCOER examples, duty descriptions, and NCOER bullet comments. Maybe these examples will give you some ideas on how to document your achievements.

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NCOER Bullet Comments

NCOER Examples

NCOER Duty Descriptions

NCOER Phrases

Submitting someone for a medal is one of the most satisfying things a supervisor can do. The results are so positive that it's almost magic. Not only do you get to express your appreciation for someone who deserves it, the person who was recommended is even happier than you. They're ecstatic that someone recognized their efforts and took the time to make the recommendation. And the promotion points are an added bonus. And, recommending someone for an award makes you look good. It demonstrates to the Commander that you're taking care of your troops. And finally, the Commander is happy, both with you for being a top-notch NCO and about being able to hand out an award. Commanders love to present awards. It makes them look good and they're happy to have an opportunity to show their appreciation for their troops. The judicious award of medals is good for morale all around.

The Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal are probably the most commonly submitted and awarded decorations in the Army. The Army has streamlined the process over the last few years and it's easier than ever to submit someone for a medal.

If you've never submitted someone for a decoration before it might seem complicated but it's not really that hard. All awards follow a prescribed format which is outlined in the applicable reg (AR 600-8-22, Military Awards). All that needs to be done is to fill in the details. But sometimes it's hard to get your thoughts flowing, to accurately convey what you want to say. That's where we come in. We're in the process of collecting awards and decoration examples to make the job easier. So far, we have basic instructions for preparing the most commonly awarded medals and quite a few examples of properly written citations. We hope this will make the job of writing your next decoration easier.

How to prepare recommendations for the:

Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM)

Army Commendation Medal with V Device

Bronze Star Medal

DA Form 638, Recommendation for Award Guide

Citation examples for the:

Army Achievement Medal

Army Commendation Medal

Bronze Star Medal

Distinguished Service Cross

Miscellaneous Citation Examples