Corps ditching pro/cons for new junior Marine evaluation system

In February the Corps will be ditching the current proficiency and conduct marks used to promote junior Marines and replacing it with the more objective junior enlisted performance evaluation system, or JEPES, according to a Marine administrative message released Wednesday.

The JEPES system will consist of four equally weighted parts, according to the MARADMIN.

The first three parts, titled warfighting, physical toughness and mental agility, are based solely on the ranks of a Marine’s rifle score, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program level, physical fitness test, combat fitness test and primary military education, the MARADMIN said.

The score will simply show which percentile that Marine scores in compared to peers in the same military occupational specialty, the MARADMIN reads.

The final component, called command input, will be a subjective score, put together by a Marine’s chain of command, evaluating them on individual character, MOS skill, mission accomplishment and leadership, according to the MARADMIN.

The command input score will be on a 0.0 to 5.0 scale with a Marine who just “meets expectations” expected to be marked between a 2.0 and 3.0, coordinating to a Marine scoring between 4.0 and 4.4 in the pro/con system, according to the MARADMIN.

Representatives from the Marine Corps’ Manpower and Reserve Affairs have not immediately responded to questions on how the four categories will be combined to decide promotions.

The final pro/con marks will be given to Marines on Jan. 31, 2021, with the JEPES system released to the fleet Feb. 1, 2021, “and be used for junior enlisted performance evaluations and promotions thereafter,” the MARADMIN reads.

The software required to implement JEPES is still being completed, the MARADMIN reads, but certain units in the fleet will start using a prototype of JEPES from September 2020 through December 2020 to test and refine the software.

Representatives from the Marine Corps’ Manpower and Reserve Affairs have not immediately responded to questions about which units have been picked or why.

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