3 and Freeze – CPO Memo

	Department of Health and Human Services	Public Health Service
		Chief Professional Officer Board Office of the Surgeon General Rockville MD 20857

Thank you for meeting with the Chief Professional Officers (CPO) Board on February 9 to discuss our concerns and recommendations regarding the “3 and Freeze” promotion policy (Section F.3, CCPM Subchapter CC23.4, Instruction 2-Temporary Grade Promotion). This policy, approved by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health in December 2003, “freezes” officers in their temporary grade for the remainder of their career if they are not promoted after three attempts, with the exception that they may be considered a fourth and final time at the request of an OPDIV/STAFFDIV Head. The policy was approved upon completion of the 2003 Promotion Task Force report and was based on the assumption that several other critical actions would be undertaken concurrently to rectify the entire promotion process, including review and revision of the billet system and a determination of promotion rates based on projected needs of the Corps according to the revised billet system. However, these other critical actions have not yet been undertaken. The CPO Board has analyzed relevant data and the projected effect of activating this policy in the absence of the other key elements recommended by the Promotion Task Force. Based on this review and the expected adverse impacts on the Commissioned Corps and the Department, the CPO Board recommends an immediate suspension of the policy and establishment of a Task Force to further evaluate the policy and to develop recommendations for its revision, specifically in the context of the other ongoing Transformation efforts. Such a revised process would consider criteria such as the officer’s current and past performance, potential to excel in a higher grade, and role in a Transformed Corps, before permanently restricting his or her further career advancement.

ISSUE:

The USPHS temporary grade promotion policy (CCPM Subchapter CC23.4, Instruction 2- Temporary Grade Promotion) approved by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health in December 2003 contains a provision commonly referred to as “3 and Freeze”(Section F.3). Under this provision, beginning in PY 2006, Commissioned Corps officers who do not receive a promotion after three attempts even if they are recommended for promotion, will remain, or be “frozen,” in their temporary grade for the remainder of their career. These officers are rendered ineligible to be evaluated for promotion again, with the exception that they may be considered a fourth and final time at the request of an OPDIV/STAFFDIV Head. Furthermore, a process for the fourth consideration does not yet exist.

It is our belief that any decision to restrict an officer from being considered for future promotions should be based on a careful review of an officer’s performance and potential, rather than on an arbitrary number of promotion board considerations. The promotion rates for any given year are not based on individual officers’ performance, and thus officers should not be automatically penalized without consideration of factors beyond the officer’s control.

BACKGROUND:

The “3 and Freeze” policy was developed in response to recommendations from a 2003 Promotion Task Force. Its purpose was to reduce the workload on promotion boards tasked with reviewing each promotion-eligible officer regardless of how many times the officer had been reviewed by a promotion board, but not promoted. The Task Force reviewed promotion data through 1992 and determined that officers who were not promoted after four attempts were unlikely to be promoted.

DISCUSSION:

In 2003, the implementation of the “3 and Freeze” policy was based on having a prospectively developed billet system in place as well as promotion rates based on such a billet system that would meet the needs of the Corps. Neither of these elements is in place at this time.

The Promotion Task Force’s recommendation was based on a statistical analysis of promotion data for 1988-1991, some of which was published in the August 1992 issue of the Commissioned Corps Bulletin which reported that “an officer’s best chance for promotion is the first time he/she is considered for a specific temporary grade.” The Commissioned Corps Bulletin went on to report: “For the temporary 0-4 grade, the probability for promotion after being considered four times is practically nonexistent. For the temporary 0-5 grade, an officer’s probability for promotion is markedly reduced after having been considered five times, but promotion may occur. This data also indicates that an officer may still be promoted with some frequency to the temporary 0-6 grade, even after being considered as many as seven times.” The Task Force also cited 2001 promotion data for the Pharmacy category that showed there were no promotions beyond four reviews for the temporary (T) O-4 and T O-5 grades and less than 9% of those reviewed for the T O-6 were successful after four reviews.

The CPO Board examined promotion data for 2004 and 2005 and future projections for 2006 and 2007 provided by the Office of Commissioned Corps Force Management (OCCFM). Specifically the data analyses revealed that:

• Temporary promotions have become increasingly more competitive, particularly for the O-6 grade. In Promotion Year (PY) 2005, officers promoted to the T O-6 grade had an increasing number of previous considerations, with 24% of these officers having previously been considered three or more times, and some seven or more times.

• There is considerable variation among professional categories in promotion rates after the first attempt. Results based on the Pharmacy category are not representative of the other individual categories or of the Corps as a whole. For example, of the officers promoted to the T O-6 grade in PY 2005, only 11% of pharmacy officers had previously been considered three or more times, compared to 30% of the Medical category, 75% of the Veterinary category, 100% of the Therapy category, and 24% of all officers promoted. The CPOs looked at those individual officers (by name) within their category who had been promoted after three or more previous tries and determined that most were performing admirably and that it would have not have been appropriate to freeze these officers at the T O-5 grade. The assertion in the 1992 Commissioned Corps Bulletin “that an officer’s best chance for promotion is the first time he/she is considered for a specific temporary grade” may not be valid for some categories today. For example, there were no promotions to temporary O-6 grade in PY 2005 for officers up for the first time in either the Veterinary or Therapy categories.

• Promotion rates for T O-6 have fluctuated considerably since 1988 ranging from a high of 42% in 1992 and 1993 to a low of 15% in 2004. This variation in promotion rates adds to the arbitrary nature of the “3 and Freeze” policy, since promotion rates are not directly linked to the qualifications of officers under consideration or their billet grades.

• A projected 322 T O-5 officers (43% of all T O-6 eligible officers and 68%, 62%, and 55% of T O-6 eligible officers in the Therapy, Dietitian, and Medical categories, respectively) will be frozen in grade for the remainder of their career after PY 2006 based on a 25% promotion rate. This represents 20.5% of all current T O-5s in the Corps and 5% of the current total active duty strength (excluding the Commissioned Officers Student Training and Extern Program (COSTEPs).

However, a differential impact is expected across categories. For example, 41% of all current T O-5s in the Therapists category are expected to be frozen, followed by the Dietitian (28%), Scientist (28%), and Medical (27%) categories. The categories with the lowest percentage of current T O-5s projected to be frozen in grade are Health Services (13%), Engineer (14%), Pharmacy (15%), and Environmental Health (16%). If the promotion rate for T O-6 is less than 25%, then these numbers and their impact will increase accordingly.

• While the new promotion policy was accompanied by the provision of categoryspecific and Corps-wide benchmarks to assist officers with preparing for promotion precepts, this has not been accompanied by career development infrastructure and other enhancements needed to support successful career planning and a transparent promotion process.

Impact on the PHS Mission

The CPO Board is concerned that implementation of this policy will have a detrimental effect on the Corps’ ability to perform its public health and emergency response missions. Specifically, the Board is concerned about significant adverse impacts on the following aspects of the Corps:

Esprit de Corps/Deployment Readiness: With nearly 50% of the Corps deploying in response to the 2005 hurricanes, and the highest level of readiness in the history of the Corps, it is clear that there is an unprecedented level of esprit de corps among officers. Imposing the “3 and Freeze” policy could have a devastating effect on the morale of all officers, many of whom were pivotal in the recent disaster response and who will be critical in responding to future disasters. Nearly all of the officers who will be affected by the “3 and Freeze” met readiness standards for PY 2006, and it is estimated that at least 50% of these officers deployed for the 2005 hurricane response. By being frozen in grade, officers have little or no incentive to obtain or maintain their readiness status, support the Professional Advisory Committees, or recruit for the Corps.

Recruitment: Potential Corps officers may not consider a career in the Corps if they ascertain that their chances of career advancement can be limited by administrative decisions not directly related to their professional performance.

Retention: Once an officer is frozen for future promotions, the officer may decide to leave the Corps immediately or perhaps decide not to serve beyond 20 years. This is especially important for categories in which there are current shortages and/or declining numbers (e.g., medical, nurse, dental, veterinary). This may lead to further reduction in the overall Corps strength and ultimately prevent or at least diminish the Corps ability to achieve its mission. Thus, increased efforts will be needed to recruit and retain replacements for these officers, which may divert limited resources from public health practice to recruiting, hiring, and training personnel and other force management activities.

RECOMMENDATION:

To ensure the continuity of the Corps’ ability to carry out its public health mission to advance, protect, and promote the health and safety of the nation, the CPO Board respectfully recommends that you:

(1) Support an immediate suspension of the “3 and Freeze” policy, Section F.3 of the USPHS temporary grade promotion policy (CCPM Subchapter CC23.4, Instruction 2- Temporary Grade Promotion), to allow time for review of this policy and the development of new recommendations for consideration, and

(2) Support establishment of a Task Force with representation from the CPO Board, the Surgeon General’s Policy Advisory Council (SG PAC), and the Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) Chairs to a) evaluate the implications of this policy within the context of the Transformation and b) propose recommendations for future promotion policies that are in line with the goals of the Transformation.

If you concur with our recommendations, we ask that you forward the attached memorandum to the Assistant Secretary for Health for approval and action.

Thank you for your continued exemplary leadership of the Corps.

Very respectfully,

William S. Stokes, DVM, DACLAM
Chief Veterinary Officer
Chair, CPO Board

The CPO Board:
RADM Dushanka Kleinman, Chief Dental Officer
RADM Richard Barror, Chief Engineer Officer
RADM Carol Romano, Chief Nurse Officer
RADM Robert Pittman, Chief Pharmacist Officer
CAPT Linda Brown, Chief Health Services Officer
CAPT Janice Huy, Chief Dietitian Officer
CAPT Charles McGarvey, Chief Therapist Officer
CAPT Helena Mishoe, Chief Scientist Officer
CAPT David Rutstein, Chief Medical Officer
CAPT Craig Shepherd, Chief Environmental Health Officer
CAPT William Stokes, Chief Veterinary Officer
RADM Richard Wyatt, Research Officers Group (ex officio)

cc:
Deputy Surgeon General
Chief of Staff, OSG
SGPAC
PAC Chairs