Writing FITREPs, Plain and Simple

BLUF: There are documents online that will tell you exactly what language and achievements should be in your FITREP. Using them will greatly simplify your process of writing FITREPs.

As a Navy Officer, writing an effective FITREP (Fitness Report) is crucial for your career progression (past O3).

But writing FITREPs is painful. None of us (hopefully) have experience bragging about ourselves. Then there’s the uncertainty in trying to figure out how to condense a year’s worth of work into a few bullet points:

What things did I do really matter? Does anyone reading this care that I did X or Y? Did I phrase everything well?

How do we remove the guesswork?

Three documents can significantly simplify this process by providing clear guidance on what promotion boards are looking for: the SecNav Approved Promotion Precept, the Promotion Board Convening Order, and the SECNAV Approved Merit Reorder Briefs. This isn’t a new hack; many people already use these documents to write their FITREPs.¹ Let’s explore how they’re using them to craft more impactful FITREPs.

Understanding the Key Documents

SecNav Approved Promotion Precept

The Promotion Precept² is a document signed by the Secretary of the Navy that provides instructions and guidance to the promotion board. It outlines the Navy’s needs for officers with particular skills in each competitive category and offers guidelines for the board to perform its functions properly.

Promotion Board Convening Order

Released when a promotion board starts, the Convening Order[^2] provides additional guidance and selection criteria to board members. It includes specific information such as the maximum number or percentage of officers that can be recommended for promotion.

SECNAV Approved Merit Reorder Briefs

These briefs³ assist board members in identifying performance and career achievements that may indicate a record of particular merit. They provide prioritized criteria for each rank and each designator (eg Surface Warfare Officer, Cyber Warfare Egineer, etc), helping to determine which officers should be considered for merit reordering.

Leveraging These Documents for Better FITREPs

1. Align Your Achievements with Navy Priorities

Use the Promotion Precept² to understand the Navy’s current needs and priorities. Highlight achievements in your FITREP that directly address these areas, demonstrating your value to the service.

2. Emphasize Key Performance Indicators

The Convening Order often specifies what the board should look for in candidates. Use this information to emphasize relevant accomplishments and metrics in your FITREP that align with these criteria.

3. Showcase Merit-Worthy Achievements

The Merit Reorder Briefs provide insight into what the Navy considers “top performance.” Structure your FITREP to highlight achievements that match these criteria. For example:

• For Lieutenant Commanders: Emphasize being a top performer in consecutive tours, advanced warfare qualifications, and excellence in production environments.
• For Commanders: Focus on standout performance in operational department head milestone assignments and successful completion of nominative assignments.

4. Use Specific Language

Extract key phrases and terminology from these documents and incorporate them into your FITREP. This ensures you’re speaking the same language as the promotion board.

5. Quantify Your Impact

These documents often emphasize the importance of measurable achievements. Use specific numbers and percentages to quantify your impact and stand out from your peers.

6. Highlight Career Milestones

Pay attention to career milestones mentioned in these documents, such as completing JPME I or serving in specific types of assignments. Ensure these are prominently featured in your FITREP if applicable.

7. Address Skill Gaps

If the Precept mentions specific skills the Navy needs, use your FITREP to show how you’ve developed or utilized these skills. If you haven’t used these skills, use them next year and then highlight that in your FITREP.

Conclusion

By familiarizing yourself with the SecNav Approved Promotion Precept, the Promotion Board Convening Order, and the SECNAV Approved Merit Reorder Briefs, you can remove much of the guesswork from writing your FITREP. These documents provide a clear roadmap of what promotion boards are looking for, allowing you to tailor your FITREP to showcase your most relevant and impactful achievements.

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1. Old article with similar advice ↩︎

2. The msot recent SECNAV Approved Promotion Precept and Promotion Board Convening Order can be found on this page. Note: this page is for information concerning the promotion of line officers to O4. For information on promotion to O5, O6, CWO4-6, or Staff Officer promotions, see the bar on the left side of the page in the same link. ↩︎ ↩︎²

3. The most recent SECNAV Approved Merit Reorder Briefs can be found on this page ↩︎