The top reasons for evaluation-related phone calls to HQDA (evaluation policy team line)
Q1. How can an evaluation be unlocked?
A1. For NCOERs, the Rater can lock and unlock his box check via EES as long as the evaluation has not been signed and the evaluation is in "Draft" or "Returned (with deducting profile)" status. If the NCOER has been signed, the signatures must be removed before the lock can be removed.
For OERs, please use the following instructions to request that the Rater lock be removed by HQDA: Unlock Rater Profile Process
For both OERs and NCOERs, the Rater lock is automatically removed when an evaluation is returned to the field with the "deduct profile" option. The Rater lock is not removed if the evaluation is returned with the "maintain profile" option.
NOTE: Only the Rater can lock or unlock his/her rating - delegates cannot.
Q2. How can a signature be removed?
A2. As long as an evaluation is in "Draft" or "Returned" status, signatures can be removed by the individuals who applied the signatures; or in the case of Raters, Intermediate Raters, and Senior Raters, the delegates who have active permissions to do so.
NOTE: The Rated Soldier MUST remove his/her signature first for administrative corrections. If not, corrections cannot be applied. If rating officials remove their signature(s) before the Rated Soldier, the Rated Soldier will not be able to access the report to remove his/her signature.
If Signatures were removed out of order, the "Signature Removal" tool on the EES homepage can be used to remove the remaining signature(s). Only the person who applied the signature can remove it. Click on the "Signature Removal" button in the Tools section, select the evaluation for which you want to remove the signature, and confirm the removal.
If the Rated Soldier applied a signature and no longer has a CAC, the SENIOR RATER can request that the signature be removed by HQDA by sending an email to the Evaluations Policy mailbox (usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.tagd-eval-policy@army.mil) explaining in detail why the request is being made. The subject line should contain "SR Request for Signature Removal from HQDA # (specify evaluation ID number)".
For rating officials who signed and no longer possess a CAC, needed corrections will be applied by using a downloaded .pdf-f form from the Army Publishing Directorate website (https://armypubs.army.mil/). Signatures are then applied manually (wet signature) or by using other authorized electronic signatures.
Q3. How can a Supplementary Reviewer be added/removed?
A3. The ability to add a Supplementary Reviewer is activated on step 2 of 2 within the Senior Rater wizard section in EES.
NCOER: To enable the Supplementary Reviewer tab for use, the Senior Rater (or delegate) must answer "Yes" to the question "Is a supplementary review required?". This activates the Supplementary Reviewer tab on the EES Signature page. OER: To enable the Supplementary Reviewer tab for use, the Senior Rater (or delegate) must answer “YES” to the question "Is a supplementary review required?" and “YES” to the question “Is a uniformed Army advisor available to perform the supplementary review?”. This activates the Supplementary Reviewer tab on the EES Signature page. The Senior Rater or his/her delegate can access the Supplementary Reviewer wizard via the enabled tab and enter the required information. HQDA Supplementary Review request: For an HQDA supplementary review, the Senior Rater (or delegate) must answer “YES” to the question "Is a supplementary review required?", then upload an "HQDA supplementary review request" memorandum to the evaluation. Select “Manage Enclosures” from the evaluation EES signature page, select “Add”, and click “SELECT” for External File. To remove a Supplementary Reviewer (OERs and NCOERs), go to step 2 of the Senior Rater's wizard tab in EES. Change the answer to "No" for the question "Is a supplementary review required?". You will then be asked to confirm the deletion of all existing Supplementary Reviewer information.
Q4. How can an evaluation be deleted?
A4. Evaluations (OERs and NCOERs) in "Draft" status can be deleted by a rating official (or delegate with active permissions) once all signatures and the Rater's overall assessment "LOCK" is removed. Please see the above questions for the Rater lock/unlock and signature removal information.
Q5. How do I change the rank on an evaluation once the Rater's box check is locked?
A5. The evaluation must be in "Draft" status. NCOER: The Rated Soldier’s rank and date of rank can be changed once the Rater’s overall assessment box check is “UNLOCKED”. To unlock the overall assessment, signatures must be removed and the Rater must select “UNLOCK” on step 6 of 6 within the Rater’s section. OER: The Rated Soldier's rank and date of rank can be changed if the Rater's overall assessment box check is “UNLOCKED”. Please see the above questions for the Rater lock/unlock and signature removal information. Once the overall assessment is “UNLOCKED”, administrative corrections can then be applied. NOTE: Errors involving inappropriate rated Soldier rank designation when creating evaluation reports will result in greater problems for rating officials. Even with the Rater's lock removed, the rank cannot be changed if the correction would result in the use of a different form. Example: The Rated Soldier's rank was entered as CPT on an OER, which was created on the Company Grade Plate (67-10-1) form. Attempts to change it to CPT-P will fail as CPT-P's are assessed as Majors and require the OER to be created on the Field Grade Plate (67-10-2) form.
Q6. Why does the system prevent me from giving a 'Most Qualified' box check when rating the same Soldier a second time?
A6. NCOER: This will happen when the Senior Rater's profile for that rated rank does not support another "Most Qualified". Regulations limit the number of evaluations with a block 1 rating to less than 24% of total ratings for that rated rank. OER: Senior Raters are not prevented from selecting a "Most Qualified" rating even if his/her profile does not support it, but he/she is warned (3 times) that it will result in a misfire and be downgraded by HQDA. For LTC and below OERs, profiling regulations limit the number of evaluations with a block 1 rating to less than 50% of total ratings for that rated rank. For COL OERs, regulations limit block 1 ratings to less than 24% of total COL ratings and block 1 + block 2 ratings to less than 50% of total COL ratings.
Q7. Rated Soldier did not take the APFT - how is it recorded on the evaluation?
A7. In the APFT section of the Rater's wizard in EES, select "No APFT" from the APFT Rating drop-down list; then explain why the Rated Soldier did not take the APFT in the "Comments for APFT results" box.
Q8. How do I remove an erroneous Intermediate Rater?
A8. From the Intermediate Rater wizard within EES, click on the "Clear DoDID" button located to the right of the "DODID Number" entry box, and select the "Delete" button in the pop-up box. This will delete all Intermediate Rater content and return the user to the signature page. Selecting the "Update" button in the pop-up box will clear only the DODID so that the existing Intermediate Rater's DODID can be corrected.
Q9. Why can't I add (upload) enclosures?
A9. NOTE: See AR 623-3, para 3-35 for authorized enclosures. If the evaluation is in 'Draft' or 'Returned' (with deducting profile) status, anyone who has access to the evaluation can upload enclosures from the Manage Enclosures tab on the Signature page in EES. If the evaluation is in 'Returned' (with maintain profile) status, all Rating Officials, and the Rated Officer on a referred OER, can upload enclosures from the Manage Enclosures tab on the Signature page in EES. The enclosure must be a PDF or a TIFF file. PDFs cannot be encrypted (will indicate 'Secured' after the file name when opened in Adobe Acrobat). TIFFs must be 300 x 300 dpi.
Q10. How can I submit an evaluation if the Senior Rater (or rating official) is no longer in the Army?
A10. Signatures on evaluations may be a combination of digital and wet signatures. When an evaluation contains a wet signature, a hard copy must be mailed for processing. The evaluation missing the rating Officials signature can be printed from the Signature page in EES (“Print For Manual Submission”), mailed to the Senior Rater (or rating official) for an ink signature, then mailed to HQDA. In instances where all electronic signatures are applied to the evaluation and the Senior Rater (or delegate) is no longer able to access EES to submit the evaluation report, the above is executed. Mailing Address: U.S. Army Human Resource Command ATTN: AHRC-PDV-ER (Evaluation Processing) 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue Department 470 Fort Knox, KY 40122-5407
References
Human Resources Command. (2022, March 24). Top 10 Reasons for Calls to HQDA. Retrieved from HRC: https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Top%2010%20Reasons%20for%20Calls%20to%20HQDA