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2009 Promotion Cycle

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Introduction

Promotion Year 2009 (PY 2009) has arrived. This year's promotion cycle will run from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. Officers eligible for competitive promotion review have been identified by the Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO). Please monitor the Officer's Main Page in the Secure Area of the CCMIS website for competitive promotion notification. All officers will receive a listserv message regarding the current promotion year. Officers are encouraged to periodically review promotion requirements and be proactive with their preparation for promotion consideration.

OCCO has posted the Notification of Promotion Eligibility on the officer's main page in the Secure Area of the CCMIS website.

Competitive promotions include officers eligible for temporary and/or permanent O4 through O6 grades (excluding medical and dental officers eligible for Temporary O4), and regular Commissioned Corps officers eligible for permanent O2 or O3 grades. Officers eligible for non-competitive promotions will NOT be identified on the website as they are excluded from the competitive promotion review process.

In addition, OCCO has posted information pertaining to PY 2009 on the CCMIS website. The CCMIS Promotion Information Page has links to documents including

Officers who are eligible for competitive promotion review in PY 2009 are encouraged to familiarize themselves with all of the documents on the promotion information page.

Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF)

Your electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) will be available to the promotion board of your respective professional category for review during the spring of 2009. The eOPF includes documents, such as

Upon receipt of this correspondence, you are required to review your eOPF. To ensure documents are included in your eOPF for promotion board review, you must fax materials to OCCO to either one of the following fax numbers no later than December 31, 2008.

Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO)
Fax: 301-480-1436
OR
Fax: 301-480-1407

Officers must follow OCCO instructions for faxing items to their eOPF. Please remember to include your name, PHS serial number, and category on the upper right-hand corner of all sheets.

Do NOT fax your documents mixed with documents from another officer. Mixed documents are very difficult for OCCO file technicians to identify and index in the correct eOPF. Once documents are received to be placed in your eOPF an auto-generated e-mail notification is sent.

Officers are strongly encouraged to review their eOPF to ensure their documents submitted were received and their eOPF is in proper order for promotion review. Officers are highly encouraged to print out a copy of the fax confirmation sheet to verify documents were successfully faxed to OCCO.

NOTE: Please allow 2 to 4 weeks for documents to appear in your eOPF. OCCO will NOT accept photographs, publication reprints, program agendas, and general promotion recommendations other than the reviewing official's statement for inclusion in the eOPF.

Promotion Information Report (PIR)

The PIR is an internal document from OCCO, which reflects specific real-time information as documented in OCCO's data system and is a succinct summary of verified data about an officer. Information on the PIR includes

Officers should review their eOPF, including their PIR, to ensure that their file is up-to-date. Officers should submit corrections to their PIR to OCCO prior to November 1, 2008. All requests should be sent to:

Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO)
1101 Wootton Parkway
Plaza Level, Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20852.

Commissioned Officers' Effectiveness Report (COER)

All officers (regardless of the date of entry on to active duty) who are eligible for promotion are required to have either an annual or a manual COER in their eOPF. The manual COER is completed ONLY if the officer was called to duty after July 1, 2008, so the promotion board will have a means of assessing the officer's recent performance. Based on the new policy that officers may NOT have missing COERs in their files, all officers must have a minimum of one COER in their file and must have a COER for every year that they were on active duty prior to July 1 of each year. (Note: A manual COER will NOT be accepted if an annual COER is required). To complete a manual COER, go to the Commissioned Personnel Official Forms page of the CCMIS website. Print out and complete the PHS-838 form, Attachment I and Attachment II. All manual COERs (such as the interim COER) must be processed through your agency channels, Commissioned Corps liaisons, and be received in OCCO no later than December 31, 2008 to ensure availability for the 2009 promotion boards. OCCO will NOT accept COERs that have been sent directly from the officer.

Officers are encouraged to access their latest COER in the eOPF and review each page to ensure that the document has been satisfactorily archived. Officers should also ensure that the last 5 years (as applicable) of COERs are on file in their eOPF. Missing COERs within the last 5 years may result in adverse actions. Failure to have required annual COERs on file will result in removal from the promotion pool at the end of board review.

Officer's Statement (OS)

The OS is a one-page document which provides the officer with an opportunity to address activities that demonstrate

  1. Support of PHS Commissioned Corps activities,
  2. Commitment to visibility as an officer (including the frequency and occasion of wearing the uniform), and
  3. Support of the vision and expectations of a career in the PHS Commissioned Corps, including commitment to the USPHS mission.

Please refer to the Officer's Statement on the CCMIS website for more information.

Only the 2009 Officer Statement (OS) Form will be accepted for promotion consideration and for inclusion in the eOPF. NO OTHER VERSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. After completing the OS form, officers should print, sign, and fax the OS form to OCCO using the eOPF fax lines (301-480-1407 or 301-480-1436) no later than December 31, 2008. The promotion board will only have access to the 2009 OS form; they will NOT see any other OS submitted from previous years. Therefore, an officer must submit a new OS every year the officer is eligible for permanent or temporary grade promotion.

Reviewing Official Statement (ROS)

The ROS is a one-page document used by the promotion boards to assist in evaluating the officer's performance and career progression/potential. This document is completed by the reviewing official who served as the officer's 2008 COER reviewing official. The ROS addresses the following:

  1. Promotion Readiness-Is the officer ready for promotion and to serve at the next higher rank? [Yes/No]. Explain,
  2. Leadership-How does the officer take a leadership role in the Agency/OPDIV?
  3. Mission-How does the officer contribute to the mission of the Agency/OPDIV?

The reviewing official may solicit outside letters of recommendation for his/her use in evaluating the officer's collateral duties and/or outside activities.

The ROS is attached to the COER for the first time this year. Most officers will have this document completed at the same time the reviewing official signs off on their annual COER. If an officer accomplishes a manual COER during their promotion eligibility year or is nominated for EPP, the reviewing official must complete a paper version of the ROS. A manual COER and accompanying ROS need to be received by the CDC Commissioned Corps Liaison's office NLT COB on December 12, 2008.

Please note the CDC CC Liaison's Office address has changed.

Inter-Office Mail
Mail Stop E-50

Postal Address
1600 Clifton Road
MS E-50
Atlanta, GA 30333

Overnight or Express Mail Address
2400 Century Center Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30345

It is the officer's responsibility to verify the ROS was submitted to OCCO by logging onto the Secure Area of the CCMIS website. If it doesn't appear in your eOPF following the COER deadline, follow up through your chain of command to check the ROS status. All completed ROS forms should be sent to OCCO by December 31, 2008. OCCO will NOT accept any ROS sent directly from officers; it must be submitted either through the COER process or through the Commissioned Corps liaison's office.

Reviewing officials MUST use the 2009 Reviewing Official Statement PDF when completing this form. No other version will be accepted. Please note that the board will only have access to the current year ROS; they will NOT see any ROS submitted from previous years. Therefore, an officer must have a new ROS submitted every year the officer is eligible for permanent or temporary grade promotion.

Basic Readiness/Office of Force Readiness & Deployment (OFRD)

Per the directive from the surgeon general's office, all Commissioned Corps officers shall maintain Basic Force Readiness standards per Manual Circular PHS No. 377. Visit the OFRD Website for more information.

For promotion purposes, OCCO conducts a pre- and post-promotion readiness check. Officers will be awarded five (5) points for Precept 5 if the basic readiness requirements are met as of the December quarterly check, as reported by the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD). If these basic requirements are NOT met at this time, zero (0) points will be awarded and the officer will be given a not recommend based on force readiness standards. Additionally, all officers, who do NOT meet basic readiness requirements when the post-board administrative review is performed (using March OFRD reported data), the officer will be REMOVED from the promotion pool, regardless of where they fall on the promotion rank order lists.

Please note: Officer's with a previously approved waiver will be exempt only from the portions of the OFRD requirements as annotated on their waiver. It is essential that if an officer has a medical condition that prohibits them from completing certain aspects of the OFRD requirements, the officer MUST contact the Medical Affairs Branch (MAB) and request a waiver, it is NOT automatic even if MAB is aware of the medical condition.

Officers should direct all questions, comments, inquiries, and concerns on response readiness-related matters directly to the OFRD office:

General Questions: ofrd@hhs.gov
Response Questions: ofrd-response@hhs.gov
Training Questions: ofrd-training@hhs.gov

Licenses/Certifications

Officers are required to have a valid, unrestricted license on file in OCCO. Officers should review the information listed on the screen after logging into the CCMIS website's Secure Area and ensure that a copy of their most recent license is in their eOPF. Officers must update their license/certification prior to or immediately upon the expiration of their previous license by faxing their documents to 240-453-6142, ATTN: Betsy Darracott. (NOTE: Officers who successfully compete in PY 2009, but do NOT have a valid license (if required) in their eOPF will NOT be promoted).

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The CV is the best place to present a concise picture of the officer's career, as well as information not reflected in the PIR or COER. The importance of the CV cannot be over emphasized. An absent or outdated CV will put the officer at a disadvantage and make him/her less competitive.

Officers submitting CVs should note that if a summary page (informative cover sheet) is used, it must be included as page 1 of the CV as only the MOST RECENTLY SUBMITTED CV document is retained in the officer's eOPF. (i.e., DO NOT fax the summary page separate from the CV). Officers should contact their category Chief Professional Officer (CPO), Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) Chairperson and/or refer to their PAC website for recommended CV formats. Officers should also refer to category benchmarks when developing their CVs.

Links to the websites of these resources are available through the CCMIS Promotion Information Page.

CVs considered by the 2009 promotion board must be faxed to OCCO at 301-480-1436 or 301-480-1407 no later than December 31, 2008.

OCCO will NOT accept photographs, publication reprints, program agendas for inclusion in the eOPF.

National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI) Requirements

OCCO will perform an administrative security review for officers eligible in PY 2009. Officers must have a NACI, or higher level of security clearance or documentation of a pending investigation in their eOPF. (NOTE: Officers who successfully compete in PY 2009, but do NOT have a NACI or higher level security clearance or pending investigation in their eOPF will NOT be promoted).

Medical Requirements

All officers are required to have a physical examination signed by a medical provider within the last 5 years. Additionally, officers eligible for competitive or noncompetitive permanent grade promotions must also have a completed form DD-2807-1, Report of Medical History (accompanied by a signed Disclosure Statement) within one year prior to the expected permanent grade promotion effective date. The DD-2807-1 must be submitted to the Medical Affairs Branch and be current as of April 30, 2009.

Officers may view the date of their last physical examination and medical history in the Secure Area of the CCMIS website. Promotion board members DO NOT consider medical confidential information as a part of their promotion review of the officer's record and board members DO NOT have access to the officer's medical information. The requirement for updated medical information will be applied after their 2009 promotion board meets and prior to permanent promotion orders being issued.

The Report of Medical History form can be completed entirely by the officer and does NOT require a physician's signature, if a completed disclosure statement is attached.

NOTE: All medical forms and disclosure statements must be sent to:

Chief, Medical Affairs Branch
Room 4c-06, Parklawn Building
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857.

DO NOT FAX! Failure to meet these requirements during the post-promotion board administrative file review will result in removal from the promotion pool at the end of the board reviews.

Career Counseling/Category Benchmarks

Official Commissioned Corps policy is promotion counseling should be provided by the officer's category Chief Professional Officer (CPO) and/or Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) chairperson. The link for the CPO/PAC representatives can be accessed through the CCMIS website under About Us. You may grant your CPO temporary access to your eOPF to provide consultation. To access this eOPF feature, login to the Secure Area of the CCMIS website and select the Access New OPF Activity Menu link and follow the guidelines on granting limited access to your eOPF.

Category benchmarks will be used by the various promotion boards to identify the best qualified officers. The 2009 category benchmarks are available through the CCMIS website, as well as on the Promotion Information page. All questions, comments, inquiries, concerns, and explanations related to career recommendations in relation to benchmarks must be addressed through the officer's category CPO and/or PAC chairperson.

The CDC's Commissioned Corps Personnel Office encourages officers to please continue to monitor the CCMIS website and the listserv for updated news on PY 2009. If you have questions about preparing for promotions, please feel free to contact: CDR April Shaw, Commissioned Corps Office Promotion Coordinator at (404) 498-1813 or CAPT Dan Cline, CDC/ATSDR Liaison Officer at (404) 498-1805 or call the general number for Commissioned Corps Personnel Office at (404) 498-1800.

All the best to our officers who are eligible for promotion this cycle!

The Commissioned Corps Personnel Office

Contact Information

CDR April Shaw, MPH, RD, CDE
Promotion Coordinator
CDC/SWDD/OWCD
2400 Century Center, Rm 5405 MS E-50
Atlanta, GA 30345
(V) 404.498.1813
(F) 404.498.1825

Last Reviewed: November 14, 2008