Team Goodfellow members sharpen bullet-writing skills

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anne Gathua
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFEllOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --   Members of Team Goodfellow gathered at the Building 901 auditorium for an hour, three straight days last week, eager to gain the skills needed to write a good bullet.

Classes included bullet information gathering, construction and editing.

"Performance reports, award and special duty packages all have one thing in common, bullets," said Tech. Sgt. April Miller, 17th Force Support Squadron, Airman Leadership School instructor. "Bullets are statements that contain a brief description of performance and accomplishment."

Sergeant Miller said bullets help represent what has been accomplished by an individual during a reporting period.

"One example is a performance report, where there are only 15 lines to accurately depict up to 20 months or one year worth of work, education and volunteering," the sergeant said. "Bullet statements are not grammatically correct sentences, but they have to make sense to be worth anything. I have read bullets where I couldn't really understand what the accomplishment was or what the person did. Those types of bullets are just wasted space."

Sergeant Miller said Airmen should learn and practice how to write bullets early in their careers.

"Airmen have to make sure that they can take care of themselves and know how to take care of their subordinates when they become noncommissioned officers," the sergeant said. "The difference between an accomplished bullet writer and a newbie is experience and knowing the impact that certain words can have on a package."

Sergeant Miller said supervisors should take the lead on gathering their subordinates' bullets and observe the work performance. However, Airmen should also document volunteering, education and significant work they complete outside of their normal duties.

"At one time, I was an NCOIC with 12 people working for me, and it was difficult to keep track of all of the accomplishments that were being completed," the sergeant said. "This is why it is so important that Airmen keep a log of what they are doing. Completing this once a week or month will make it easier to remember when it's time for performance reports and awards."

Sergeant Miller said a common mistake Airmen make when writing bullets is they don't recognize the impact their job has to this base.

"They think 'I just did my job' when in reality they are saving the Air Force money, man hours or lives," she added. "Another mistake is people reusing the same bullet. Also, bullet books and websites such as www.bulletwriter.com are useful tools but should be used just as idea starters."

Sergeant Miller said learning how to write bullets improved her career and gave her valuable tools to accurately rate and reward her Airmen.

"When I first started writing, all of my work came back covered with red ink. But with time and practice, I have learned most of tools of the trade," she added. "If you doubt your skills, don't be afraid to ask for help.

The sergeant said each base does things a little different, and at Goodfellow, bullets should be written in this order:

· First, gather solid information. Write down what you did, how did you do it and why the Air Force should care.
· After gathering information, start a rough construction. Start the bullet with an action verb such as "implemented" or a modified verb like "meticulously," then list the accomplishment.
· The last part of the bullet should be the impact. This is where you quantify the accomplishment. Ask yourself "Why does the Air Force care?" when thinking about what the impact is.
· When writing the rough construction, do not be concerned with the length. After finishing your rough draft, the next step is to edit and streamline your products. Your edited bullet must fit on one line.
· Do not use personal pronouns (I,she,we,he,they,you.)
· Check each word. The easiest way to find out if a word can be deleted from the bullet is to read it out loud and see if it makes sense without that word.
· The last step is to have someone else read it. Ensure this person does not work in your section. This is an important step to check if your bullet will make sense to potential board members outside of your squadron who are grading your package.

Here are the ABCs of bullet writing and what it takes to write a good bullet:

1. Accuracy- Make sure what you are putting in the bullet is true and factual information. There is no need to over-inflate bullets -- those types of bullets are easily spotted.

2. Brevity- Make sure you only have one line per bullet. Extra "fluff" is not needed.

3. Clarity- The information in the bullet should be easy to decipher. If the reader can't understand the bullet, then the information you are trying to get across is lost.