Seven Section Bullets
The NCOER's seven section blocks come straight from the Army Leadership Requirements Model. Each section tests a different leader quality, and the regulation says you can only use a specific example once. That forces you to choose which leader quality the bullet most demonstrates.
// 01The regulation, verbatim
Attributes:
- Character — Army Values, Empathy, Warrior/Service Ethos, Discipline, Humility
- Presence — Military and Professional Bearing, Fitness, Confidence, Resilience
- Intellect — Mental Agility, Sound Judgment, Innovation, Interpersonal Tact, ExpertiseCompetencies:
FM 6-22 Chapter 4 (Leadership Requirements Model)
- Leads Others — Leads by Example, Builds Trust, Extends Influence Beyond the Chain of Command, Communicates
- Develops Others — Prepares Self, Creates a Positive Environment/Fosters Esprit de Corps, Develops Others, Stewards the Profession
- Achieves — Gets Results
// 02The Leadership Requirements Model
Three attributes describe what a leader IS. Three competencies describe what a leader DOES. Plus the Overall block, which integrates everything across the model.
Attributes:
- Character — Army Values, Empathy, Warrior/Service Ethos, Discipline, Humility
- Presence — Military and Professional Bearing, Fitness, Confidence, Resilience
- Intellect — Mental Agility, Sound Judgment, Innovation, Interpersonal Tact, ExpertiseCompetencies:
- Leads Others — Leads by Example, Builds Trust, Extends Influence Beyond the Chain of Command, Communicates
FM 6-22 Chapter 4 (Leadership Requirements Model)
- Develops Others — Prepares Self, Creates a Positive Environment/Fosters Esprit de Corps, Develops Others, Stewards the Profession
- Achieves — Gets Results
Checkpoint
A bullet describing how an NCO mentored three E-4s into E-5 (two on first-look) belongs in which section?
The primary leader quality the bullet demonstrates is the development of other NCOs. Even though the results are quantified, the work itself is "Develops Others." If you place it in Achieves, you have classified the wrong quality.
// 03The "use a specific example only once" rule
The regulation forces a single placement decision per accomplishment. You cannot describe the same event in two different sections with slightly different verbs. The board reads it as the rater not having enough material, and the credibility of the whole report drops.
"Use a specific example only once; therefore, the rater must decide under which attributes or competencies the bullet fits best or is most applicable."
DA PAM 623-3 ¶3-6b(6)
Checkpoint
Your NCO led the company range qualification cycle and dramatically improved the qual rate. The accomplishment could plausibly fit Achieves OR Leads Others. What does ¶3-6b(6) require?
The regulation says "the rater must decide under which attributes or competencies the bullet fits best or is most applicable." Pick the section where the bullet's primary leader quality lands strongest. If it is more about the qualification results, Achieves. If it is more about how the NCO motivated the squads, Leads Others. Pick one.
// 04How to pick the section
The principle: pick the section that matches the leader quality the bullet most clearly demonstrates. "Coordinated brigade-wide ammo resupply across six companies during the ITX, raising company qual rates 18%" is an Achieves bullet — it is about results. "Mentored three E-4s into E-5, two on first-look, with weekly NCOPD sessions and structured PT" is a Develops Others bullet — it is about growing other NCOs.
The same action cannot credibly fit both. The board can tell when a rater placed a bullet poorly. Pick honestly.
When in doubt, ask: what does the board need to see in THIS section for the tier the rater is checking? If you want an Exceeded box check on Achieves, the strongest Achieves-type bullet goes there. If you want it on Develops Others, the strongest develops-others bullet goes there. The bullet supports the box.
Checkpoint
A bullet about an NCO who personally led PT and modeled fitness for the platoon belongs in which section?
"Modeled fitness for the platoon" is Presence (Fitness is one of the four Presence attributes per FM 6-22 Ch 4). Even though leading PT involves leadership behavior, the leader quality the bullet most clearly demonstrates is the rater's own fitness posture. Presence is the right section.
// 05Worked examples
Worked example · Exceeded
A SSG ran weekly NCOPD sessions and built individual training plans for three E-4s. All three were promoted to E-5 during the rating period; two on first-look.
Mentored three E-4s into E-5, two on first-look, through weekly NCOPD sessions and structured individual training plans across the rating period.
Goes in Develops Others. The primary leader quality is growing other NCOs (three promotions). The frequency marker ("weekly across the rating period") supports Exceeded. The first-look promotions are immediate impact.
Worked example · Exceeded
Same SSG. He also coordinated the brigade-level ammo resupply for the ITX and the company qual rate jumped 18 points.
Coordinated brigade-level ammo resupply for the ITX across six companies; raised the company qual rate from 73% to 91% within the rating period.
Goes in Achieves. The primary leader quality is results. The two examples — Develops Others and Achieves — are different accomplishments that each have their own section. The "use once" rule is satisfied because the rater did not duplicate either across sections.
Worked example · Did Not Meet
A rater wanted to use the brigade ammo resupply accomplishment in two places.
(Achieves) Coordinated brigade-level ammo resupply across six companies; raised company qual rate from 73% to 91%. (Leads Others) Led brigade-level ammo resupply effort; motivated six company supply teams to deliver on schedule.
Same accomplishment described twice with different verbs. The board sees the duplication immediately. The rater signals "I did not have enough distinct accomplishments to fill the sections." Both bullets together do less work than either bullet would do alone in the right section.
// 06Practice: name the tier
Read each bullet, decide the tier it honestly supports, then check the answer underneath.
Answer · Met
Mentored two junior NCOs through the EIB train-up; both earned the EIB on first attempt.
Markers: appropriate initiative; positive impact
Single event (EIB cycle), no frequency marker, positive but bounded impact. Goes in Develops Others. Met tier supports the box honestly.
Answer · Far Exceeded
Demonstrated extraordinary mental agility during the FTX; rebuilt the company's tactical SOP overnight after the original was compromised; SOP adopted as the brigade standard.
Markers: extraordinary performance; enduring effect
"Extraordinary mental agility" maps to Intellect (Mental Agility is one of the five Intellect attributes). "SOP adopted as brigade standard" is enduring effect. Two Far Exceeded markers. Section placement: Intellect.
Answer · Met
Took initiative leading the platoon during quarterly readiness inspection; passed all evaluated tasks.
Markers: appropriate initiative; positive impact
Single event. "Took initiative" + "passed" are Met-tier signals. Section placement could be Leads Others (led the platoon) or Achieves (passed the inspection). Pick the stronger section read; "led the platoon" suggests Leads Others is primary.
Answer · Far Exceeded
Consistently built and ran company NCOPD across all four rating-period quarters; mentored eleven E-4s and E-5s into expanded responsibility roles, six on first-look; curriculum adopted as battalion standard.
Markers: consistent initiative; leadership multiplier; enduring effect
Clear Develops Others bullet. "Consistently across four quarters" — Marker 2. "Eleven NCOs / six on first-look" — Marker 4 multiplier. "Curriculum adopted as battalion standard" — Marker 3 enduring effect. Three markers.
Answer · Far Exceeded
Performed extraordinarily in physical fitness; achieved 600 ACFT, led platoon PT five days a week, motivated three peers to retake the ACFT and improve their scores.
Markers: extraordinary performance; consistent initiative; leadership multiplier
Goes in Presence (Fitness). "Extraordinarily" is Marker 1. "Five days a week" is consistent. "Motivated three peers to improve" is the multiplier. Three markers.
Answer · Did Not Meet
Has shown promise as an instructor based on demonstrated teaching ability.
"Has shown promise" is potential language reserved to senior raters per AR 623-3 ¶1-40c. Forbidden in a rater bullet. Rewrite as past action: "Instructed the brigade NCOPD twice in the rating period; received excellent on both end-of-course critiques."
// 07What most get wrong
The most common failure: a draft has the same accomplishment described two different ways across two sections, with slightly different verbs. Boards spot this immediately. It signals "the rater didn't really have enough material" and the whole NCOER gets discounted.
The rewrite move: when you find yourself repeating, decide which section it most belongs to and DELETE it from the other. Then find a different, real accomplishment for the other section. If you can't find one, that section's box check probably can't be supported at the tier you wanted anyway — and that's information the rater needs.
// 08Regulations cited in this lesson
- FM 6-22 Chapter 4 (Leadership Requirements Model)
- DA PAM 623-3 ¶3-6b(6)
// 09More in Foundations
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