FORT KNOX, Ky. — Candidates attending this year’s Army Command Assessment Program sessions at Fort Knox are leaving with a new tool to help them shape their command philosophy and individual development.
Called an initial feedback card, candidates receive it in an envelope at the end of their four-day assessments cycle, which concludes with a developmental outbrief. The card contains key information that, according to Army leaders, is intended to provide candidates a snapshot of how they rate compared with those who have attended CAP in the past.
Candidates who participate in the CAP cycle cohorts are invited to do so by Army leaders based upon what is known as the Centralized Selection List.
“What the CSL ecosystem does is take what was really good about our legacy system and incorporates that into Phase 1, which is the Centralized Selection List board,” said Col. Bob O’Brien, chief of staff of the Command Assessment Program, during a recent podcast.
Phase 2 involves the assessment at Fort Knox. Among the candidates who have attended this year’s assessments was Lt. Col. Michael Patti, CSL program manager, Command Management Division at U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Patti said he was already aware of the feedback cards prior to participating Oct. 19-24.
“I work very closely with the Centralized Selection List program and the [Talent Management Task Force], so I remember hearing about it during discussions about improvements to CAP,” said Patti.
According to Patti, the cards provide candidates with their height and weight and Army
Combat Fitness Test results as a simple Go/No Go for each. The cards also reflect the candidates’ written, verbal and composite scores in each category, and then overall sustains and improves, which come from both voting senior leaders and the candidates. These are discussed with a psychologist during the outbrief at the end of the cycle.
Patti said because the card offers just a snapshot, it is not meant to replace the outbrief.
“The outbrief was extremely informative. I ended up taking about two pages of handwritten notes,” said Patti. “What the scorecard helped me with was just an overall, ‘Here’s where you stand in terms of officers in previous CAP iterations.’”
After completing the assessments, competing candidates will be placed on the selection list, from which Army leaders can then see who has been determined to be ready for command.
Patti said the card has had a unique added benefit for him.
“Going into the final week of preferencing for CSL commands,” said Patti, “seeing how I scored at CAP and talking to mentors about how I think I stood helped me change my preferences for competing for units.”
Patti said the feedback card can help close the gap between how candidates view themselves and how others view them, serving as a reminder of that.
“I have friends who went through CAP last year who were really successful going through it and are getting ready to take command in the next few months, so they obviously were successful at CAP,” said Patti. “A few of their comments were that they just didn’t know if they were successful, or how successful.”
While members of the Army Talent Management Task Force near the end of this year of assessments, Patti praised their constant willingness to adapt to improve future assessments based on candidates’ feedback. This includes the card.
“It gave me feedback on where I stood, which helped me turn around and make a better decision for my career.”
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