OPME Rejection Notices

[McG]

Back when i was still in the Army, i took another course designed for officers, the Intermediate tactics Course part 1. I dont know if that, or something similar, is still available.

ITC has been replaced with ATOC.  Unlike ITC, the DL portion of ATOC is not completely self-study.  It is a scedualled course with an instructor at the tactics school who conducts daily teleconfrences with the syndicate - graduates begin the residency portion the Monday after DL ends.

However, there is ATOC annonymous on DND Learn that can be done independantly but does not come with an MPRR entry.

 

[AmmoTech90]

In my opinion the CF has put the cart before the horse on NCM PD.  The word has been out for ages (NCM 2020) that you need PD to be competitive, however there has been no steps taken to institutionalize PD on the NCM side.  As a Pte/Jr NCO I saw Sr NCO PD as them getting together at the mess to get a briefing on something for a bit and then hit the bar, or battlefield tours.  In these cases the depth of PD might have been a bit thin but there was exposure to a variety of military subjects.  Now that it has been decreed that PD is needed there are two main options, post-secondary education (of which OPMEs are a form), or SLT.  There are a few long course (ATWOP for example) that count.

Except for SLT, once you have completed some form of PD you get the benefit for it for that reporting period and then it is done.  There is no incentive to complete them quickly or to attend a year long course other than personal satisfaction.

On paper someone who has completed all of their OPMEs, has a long course qualification, and is bilingual is at a disadvantage the year after that is all done, compared to someone who is bilingual and takes one random post-secondary course every year.  Hopefully the merit board can see past that, but on points the person who takes Basket Weaving 101, 201, 301, and 401 over four years is ahead of the person who has hard military qualifications.

Now with OPME effectively closed to NCMs, the routes of gaining PD that is guaranteed to be relevant to the military is SLT and long courses.  Both of these options have very limited attendance.

Unfortunately there is no way of reflecting subjective PD other than in the narrative portion.

For my trade, I would consider a Cpl/MCpl to have undergone PD who has researched a military subject (trade related or not) and delivered a competent briefing on it to an audience of their peers.  However there is no qual/MPRR entry that can reflect this, so you've got to state it in the narrative, and there is no enduring record that follows that member to reflect the knowledge and competency they gained from doing that once they are a WO and being merited as normally only 3 years of PERs are produced at the board.

One option would be to have box on the PER, Underwent PD (Yes/No) and a small text box saying what it was.  Could be abused, but hopefully merit boards can watch for that.

A question for the officers, what is considered PD for you for those years where you are not attending SLT?  In the Army, ATOC is required for promotion, correct?  In that case it is not really PD.  If it is considered PD and is required, then on the NCM side we should consider every career course (trade or leadership) as PD, which would help things out.

 

[McG]

On paper someone who has completed all of their OPMEs, has a long course qualification, and is bilingual is at a disadvantage the year after that is all done, compared to someone who is bilingual and takes one random post-secondary course every year.

You get the points every year an OPME is completed until they are all completed - they you get the points every year.  Being complete the OPMEs does not then put one on an indefinite disadvantage.

One option would be to have box on the PER, Underwent PD (Yes/No) and a small text box saying what it was.  Could be abused, but hopefully merit boards can watch for that.

PD already has an assessed spot on the PER.  It is one of the potential factors in section 6.

 

[McG]

A question for the officers, what is considered PD for you for those years where you are not attending SLT? 

Produce an Army Journal article, research a topic of military history and present it to the unit or sub-unit, research a topic of contemporary military relevance and present your findings to the unit or sub-unit, attend non-career courses, take-on secondary duties for the sake of gaining exposure to new aspects of the military duty, take a civilian college or university course with some military relevance, etc. 

 

[aesop081]

Produce an Army Journal article, research a topic of military history and present it to the unit or sub-unit, research a topic of contemporary military relevance and present your findings to the unit or sub-unit, attend non-career courses, take-on secondary duties for the sake of gaining exposure to new aspects of the military duty, take a civilian college or university course with some military relevance, etc.

....and these are all PD oportunities that are not limited to officers.

People just have to see that there are more tools in the PD box than OPMEs. I have had significant success in this regard so i can speak on PD rather confidently.

 

[armyvern]

You get the points every year an OPME is completed until they are all completed - they you get the points every year.  Being complete the OPMEs does not then put one on an indefinite disadvantage.
PD already has an assessed spot on the PER.  It is one of the potential factors in section 6.

I have recently recd the factors considered by merit boards when establishing the Merit List at NCM Career Boards from the CM Shop ... of note is the addition of the statement "1 merit point is awarded only in the year that the course is completed."

I'll pull the relevant info tomorrow.

 

[REDinstaller]

The criteria is as follows. 1 point per board mbr for every OPME completed within the Report Period. 1 point forever for having completed more than 2 OPMEs. 2 points forever for completing the complete OPME program (All 6). With a max of 2 points with all combinations. As explained to me by my CM on Thursday.

 

[McG]

The criteria is as follows. 1 point per board mbr for every OPME completed within the Report Period. 1 point forever for having completed more than 2 OPMEs. 2 points forever for completing the complete OPME program (All 6). With a max of 2 points with all combinations. As explained to me by my CM on Thursday.

I had heard it was 3 points in the forever after stage, but otherwise that is it.

 

[PuckChaser]

Just to clarify, you have to have 3 OPMEs completed to be in the forever stage?

 

[armyvern]

Just to clarify, you have to have 3 OPMEs completed to be in the forever stage?

I'll post up the actual written word on it direct from Careers on Monday.

 

[AmmoTech90]

I had heard it was 3 points in the forever after stage, but otherwise that is it.

Well, if the points for finishing all OPMEs are in perpetuity then I withdraw my point.  I had been otherwise informed.  If not, the problem still remains of short term gain for completing a programme which has a lasting benefit.

I realize there is a PD box on PERs, however there are additional PD points that can be awarded by the board, and in the briefings I have received, those points are for specific items, including post secondary education (regardless of the subject).  The items that MCG described will help getting mastered in PD PF, but not necessarily the board member points (from my understanding).

 

[Navalsnpr]

I'll post up the actual written word on it direct from Careers on Monday.

Thanks!!  Would be nice how DMILC is treating them.

 

[NCRCrow]

Other avenues of PD may include: BEW DL and POCT training at your local AJAG office.

I did the OPME's as I knew they would have a great impact of my career.

I tell my sailors to look into OPME's and then they forward me the RMC rejection letter and its a little disappointing.

The forum is right something must be done Forces wide to make available OPME's for everybody and keep it fair.

 

[aesop081]

The forum is right something must be done Forces wide to make available OPME's for everybody and keep it fair.

Something must be done to improve PD indeed but that is not making the OPMEs available to everyone. The first letter in OPME says it all. The target audience is and always has been CF commissioned officers. They have career implications if not completed. It is not a question of fairness or lack thereof.

People need to be more active in pursuing their PD, simple as that. I get points every year for having completed my OPMEs but i still do my best to fill up the "new qualifications" block on my PER so that i get an O rating for PD in my potential section.

Put your name if for courses from PSP, take courses that most people don't want, go take a class downtown, write a paper for a CF publication, take secondary duties.........

 

[McG]

Just to clarify, you have to have 3 OPMEs completed to be in the forever stage?

You need to have all OPME complete to be in the forever stage.

The advice that I have normally heard from the career shops for NCMs was that the best return came from doing one OPME a year until all OPME were complete - this was because there were no more points awarded for two OPME completed than for one OPME in a year.  On the officer side, the advice has always been get them done in as short a time as possible (multiple done in a year if the time exists).

 

[agc]

As a MS, I successfully enrolled in PSE 402 last term, and DCE 002, and POE 206 this term.

 

[muffin]

Wow .... Seriously? The DL ones through the OPME site? That's almost unheard of! You should buy a lotto ticket!

 

[agc]

Yes.  Yet another plus to living in NL, I get to register before anyone else.

 

[REDinstaller]

Or not wake up as early as us in the west.

 

[muffin]

Well the courses are put online manually, so if they are online at 8am in Nfld then they are making them available the Fri before - when I put them online I used to do it at 8am EST.
I will ask the delegated admin to send me a note when she "flips the switch" and if I can I will post it.