Navy FitRep and Eval Changes
See How Command Climate Affects Your Eval
28 August 2013
Navy fitness reports and evaluations continue to change as Navy priorities and requirements evolve; with each change comes a clear definition of what it takes to be a 5.0 Sailor. Now it will take more. Navy Leaders need to do more to prevent sexual assault and harassment, according to Vice Adm. William Moran, chief of naval personnel. This has prompted an update to the way annual evaluations are written, holding Navy leaders responsible for developing a climate of transparency and accountability.
A recently released NAVADMIN, effective immediately, lays out these changes.
"The accountability aspect of that is, in part, dealt with in how we hold people accountable in writing, and also give credit to people in writing for those that are doing great things in the fleet," said Moran.
With the new instruction, Sailors will be held accountable on their evaluations and fitness reports for command climate. For officers, petty officers, and below, the blocks set aside for Command or Organizational Climate/Equal Opportunity (block 35 enlisted, 34 officer) and Military Bearing/Character (block 36 enlisted, 35 officer) will be tied to sexual assault and harassment prevention efforts. For the chiefs, this is related to Professionalism (block 35) and Character (block 37). To receive high marks in these categories, Sailors will have to prove their efforts in promoting a positive command climate.
The change to the evaluations and fitness reports show that sexual assault prevention is more than an annual training topic. It requires Sailors to be proactive in their approach at all times.
"It is the Navy's way of showing Sailors that we're serious," said Ens. Melissa Caban, on the USS Hue City (CG-66). Caban said that during the six years she spent as an enlisted Sailor, the annual sexual assault prevention training got her to the point where she is not embarrassed to talk about it with her Sailors.
"It is to make sure that the commanding officers and those that are responsible for writing fitness reports and evals are addressing the climate and the culture of commands that are encouraging ... supporting the right kind of behaviors that we all would agree are part of who we are as Sailors and that are consistent with our core values," said Moran.
"Now that we are a more conscious Navy," said Hospitalman Carlos Rangel-Manjia, at the Medical Education Training Campus, "we know what the indicators [of sexual assault] are, how to communicate it in the command, be able to report it if it happens, or report it if one becomes a victim of it."
Regarding sexual assault prevention, Logistics Specialist 1st Class (EXW) Jamie Osborne, at the Pre-Commissioning Detachment Zumwalt (DDG-1000), said, "It's coming along; it's just not there yet."
"It's a beginning," said Rangel-Majia. "We still have to be more preventive."
"Sailors will look at this and say, 'are there ways that I can get involved. That I can help to a greater degree - allow me to contribute to an overall positive command climate,'" said Moran.
"The more we stand behind, and we help push, and we talk about it, the more people will understand how serious it all really is," Osborne said.
This puts emphasis on the Sailor-every Sailor-to work hard to improve command climate.
"We want commanders to be held accountable and to hold their Sailors accountable for both the positive and the negative aspects of creating the right command climates," said Moran.