Originally Posted by e6bpilot

Not to judge, it is their game and they can make the rules: but for the most part, in the Navy anyway, Fitness Reports are sort of a joke. They all make you sound like you walk on water. There are a few key words and tricky phrases to pick out, but only someone with a deep background in Navy Air would have any idea how to infer those things from the white noise. You would have to be a real d-bag to have a Fitrep that sounds even neutral to someone who isn't in the military.

Also, the grades for someone who is either retiring or separating are probably going to be "team player" grades that are given to boost the careers of those still on the "golden path", so they aren't a true reflection of performance.

Unless they are using it as an additional sanity check (did this guy lie and he wasn't really the Operations Officer or Safety Officer?), I don't see the real purpose.

Originally Posted by gloopy

Nah, if anything I think it adds weight to the point of view that mil apps are preferred to some degree precicely because of the "known quantity" concept. How many mil pilots actually get truly bad fitreps anyway. Its just a company doing its due diligence. For the civvie side theres PRIA, rehire eligibility, LOR's and signing something saying you permit them to follow up on your sick leave, etc. If civilian airlines had an equivalent to fitreps that the company could get its hands on, there is a 100% chance they would want that as well.