THE AIR FORCE’S MYEVAL SYSTEM HAS BEEN A FAILURE TO LAUNCH

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the U.S. Space Force (USSF) continue to work toward better efficiency, better techniques, and better performance. It’s a large part of why we dominate the skies. But the myEval system that was supposed to help the branch continues to find itself under scrutiny after almost a year of failing to perform. The portal was supposed to improve evaluations but is now hindering the careers of both Airmen and Guardians.

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A Look at the myEval Air Force Portal

Short for myEvaluation, myEval is an Airforce portal among the many on my.af.mil that aims to evaluate Airmen and Guardians. vPC is the predecessor, and myEval Air Force is replacing this system with more modern technology, including cloud computing and automation. myEval is now live, and it has been since January 2022. The system is supposed to improve the system of evaluations for enlisted personnel and officers. This is important, considering that it affects the careers of those relying on the system. This is why the problems faced so far can have serious repercussions throughout both branches. So far, the Air Force myEval implementation has been met with harsh criticism, frustration, and concern, and it seems to be working against its actual goals.

Not a Smooth Takeoff

The USAF myEval portal is facing delays due to glitches, causing almost a year of misfires. Features such as click-to-sign functionality, automatically pulling information from centralized data systems, and more are supposed to be implemented. For now, there are just more headaches. Despite opening myEval in January-February, its issues continued through spring and then summer. There wasn’t a real beta test beforehand, causing a terrible user experience and plenty of promises left unfulfilled. Leaders in the Air Force set their sights on myEval 2.0 for September in an attempt to replace the already failing system beginning on October 1, 2022. Still, change eluded the program. As it stands, the USAF is looking to streamline things and aim for the 2.0 release in early 2023. There are still questions surrounding a full version release of the AF myEval portal. “Right now, [the Air Force’s personnel branch] is working on the IT infrastructure to ensure a successful rollout. The simplified version will be more user-friendly and intuitive,” said Tech. Sgt. Deana Heitzman. Online, various complaints can be found on social media sites such as Facebook. These posts outline not only stress from working on the project but also from lack of support and annoyance at the delays combined into consolidated frustration. To make matters worse, because the myEval USAF evaluations are connected to military careers, there are multiple concerns:

• Improper evaluations can stifle military careers and hinder progress for those serving on a personal level.
• From a sense of national security, if America is unable to properly assess its fighters, improper career advancement could make a weaker force overall.

For any branch, this is a problem, but the problems could be even more paramount considering that one of the main branches affected by the myEval AF problems is actually the youngest branch, the U.S. Space Force.

How To Get to myEval

The Air Force Personnel Center can help you navigate myEval, and at Hill AFB, the 75th Force Support Squadron Force Management Section will be the main point of contact for assistance with the portal. Both myFSS login and CAC login are available for use. Where the branches go from here is anyone’s guess, but there seems to be a true commitment to keeping myEval running. Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, the issues will be fixed sooner rather than later to keep everybody’s career on track, increase morale, and maintain the standards of excellence the American Armed Forces are known for.

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The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Photo by Dani Johnson U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach