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The Officer Evaluation System identifies those officers most qualified for advancement and assignment to positions of increased responsibility. Under this system officers are evaluated on their performance and potential through duty evaluations, school evalua­tions and HQDA evaluations (both central selection boards and PERSCOM officer management assessments).

The assessment of an officer’s potential is a subjective judgment of the officer’s capability to perform at a specified level of responsibility, authority or sensitivity. Potential is normally associated with the capability to perform at a higher grade. However, the Army also assesses the officer’s potential for retention and increased responsibility within a specified grade.

Officer qualifications provide the real link between the needs of the Army and individual officer performance. They focus on an officer’s background in terms of experience and expertise and in­clude such items as specialty qualification, successful performance in demanding positions, civil and military schooling and physical profile. Performance is the execution of tasks in support of the organization or Army missions. While results or accomplishment of a series of tasks is the primary focus, the manner in which tasks are approached and a general adherence to officer corps professional values are also important. The performance assessment by HQDA differs significantly from that accomplished in the organizational duty environment. The organizational duty assessment involves per­sonal knowledge of the situations surrounding a specific perform­ance for a specified period of time. The HQDA assessment is accomplished by an after-the-fact assessment of a series of reports on performance over a variety of duty positions and covering the officer’s entire career.

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Above information derived from Army Pamplet 600-3