Merit's Fulcrum

Commissioned officers of the United States Air Force are evaluated and promoted using the Air Force Officer Evaluation System. For at least two decades line officers and senior leaders of the AF have recognized "something isn't quite right" with the AF OES. The OES generally selects highly-qualified officers for promotion, but, as any officer has witnessed, the OES makes mistakes: officers who should not be promoted are, and officers who should be promoted are not. Why does this happen? Merit's Fulcrum takes a deep and detailed dive into the AF OES: what it is, how it works, why it works, and why it makes mistakes. Once the sources of potential evaluation and selection error are laid bare, Merit's Fulcrum evolves today's OES into tomorrow's merit-based OES using today's OES framework and adjusting it to eliminate today's sources of error.

This evolution will bring the OES closer to a true merit-based evaluation and advancement system and the U.S. Air Force closer to a purer meritocracy. An evolved OES will give rock-solid confidence to officers and citizens that the U.S. Air Force is developing and advancing the best people to meet today's and tomorrow's national security needs.

The analysis and recommendations of Merit's Fulcrum are required reading for members of any military service and leaders of any large, non-military organization who aspire to improve their evaluation and promotion systems.

For informational videos and supporting resources please visit www.meritsfulcrum.com.