The past two weeks have been busy for NOAA Corps Officer Training. BOTC 124 Graduation was held on 25 November with Coast Guard OCS 1-15, and RADM Score in attendence. Also, this week began the first "Week 1" Mid-Grade Leadership at the National Weather Service Training Center in Kansas City.
 BOTC 124 members taking the Oath of Office. |
 Cheryl Oliver, President, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Heritage Society, presents the NOAA Distinguished Honor Graduate Award to Ensign Melissa D. Mathes. |
 Presentation of Colors prior to the drill demonstration. |
 First Week 1 Mid-Grade Leadership Training Class Photo (Back Row - Mr. Hall, LTJG Pfundt, LT Andvick, Mr. Miles, LT Schweitzer, CB Kaanaana; Middle Row - LT Gibson, CB Pooser, Mr. Vickers, LT Morrison, CB Allen, LT Felkley; Front Row - LT Sheehan, LT Sinquefield, LT Morgan, CST White, LT Cress, LT Davis, LT Kotkowski). |
CAPT Lawrence T. Krepp, NOAA
Director, CPC
| 05 December 2014 | Uniform Awards Board |
| 15 December 2014 | Deadline for Payroll Submissions |
| 18 December 2014 - 06 January 2015 | HR Direct (Payroll System) Shutdown |
| 09 January 2015 | Uniform Awards Board Meeting |
| 30 January 2015 | ACO Award Nominations Due |
| 02-06 February 2015 | Mid-Grade Leadership Week 2 |
| LT Kyle Jellison | 19 December 2014 |
| LT Erik Norris | 01 January 2015 |
| ENS Abigail Kernan-Schloss | 01 January 2015 |
| CDR Jeffrey Hagan | 01 January 2015 |
| LT Michael Davidson | 30 January 2015 |
| CDR Peter Fischel | 01 February 2015 |
Effective November 1, 2014, travelers performing TDY for more than 30 days in one location (CONUS and OCONUS) will receive a flat rate per diem. This does not apply to ship augmentation where government housing and meals are provided.
When authorized flat rate per diem, travelers are not required to submit a lodging receipt, but may be required to demonstrate that they incurred valid lodging expenses. All TDY in excess of 180 days must be justified and authorized/approved at a senior level. The commercial lodging industry considers stays greater than 30 days to be “extended stays” and typically offers reduced rates to ensure occupancy. Travelers may also consider furnished apartments or similar types of lodging which are typically cheaper than room rates in commercial lodging. Any traveler unable to find suitable commercial lodging at the reduced per diem rate should contact the Commissioned Personnel Center (CPC) for assistance. If both the traveler and the CPC determine that lodging is not available at the reduced per diem rate, the Authorizing Official may authorize reimbursement of actual lodging expenses (not to exceed the locality per diem rate). However, the traveler will receive M&IE at the reduced rate. This policy change has been coordinated with and approved by the Uniformed Services and applicable Governance Boards and stakeholders.
Officers interested in contributing the the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) will be able to do so via their local campaign coordinator. For officers who wish to set up CFC allotments for calendar year 2015, due to the pay system conversion, requests for allotment set-up (recurring payroll donations) must be submitted to the NOAA Corps Payroll Unit by 15 December 2014.
Many CFC offices have done away with the paper forms and now use online submission portals (Nexus, myPay, or EEX). The online portals do not work automatically for NOAA Corps payroll allotments. Officer may use the Nexus portal, to fill in the information for the desired allotment and print the Pledge Form to submit to the NOAA Corps Payroll unit.
One time CFC donations can still be made via cash, check, and credit/debit card. Officers can also set-up recurring donations with e-check or credit/debit cards.
Rear Admiral Score has desiginated the following ships as "Unusually Arduous" for Calendar Year 2015
The travel portion of the Fall Recruiting Season has concluded. CPC would like to, once again, thank all whom volunteered as field recruiters for the NOAA Corps. There are now 176 applications in process for BOTC 126!
Volunteers from 01 October 2014 through the present Include:
| CDR Christiaan vanWestendorp | LTJG Jennifer Barre |
| LCDR Sarah Duncan | LTJG Jared Halonen |
| LCDR James Brinkley | LTJG Damian Manda |
| Peter Plantamura | LTJG Carl Noblitt |
| LT Alex Johnston | LTJG Jamie Park |
| LT Justin Keesee | LTJG Andrea Proie (3 events) |
| LT Chad Meckley | LTJG Kasey Sims |
| LT Heather Moe | LTJG Larry Thomas |
| LT Carl Rhodes (2 events) | LT Reni Rydlewicz |
| LT Christine Schultz (2 events) | ENS Calandria DeCastro |
| LT Claire Surrey-Marsden | ENS Conor Maginn |
Special recognition goes to CAPT Jeremy Adams and LTJG Jennifer Barre. They have been awarded the U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation for their participation, outreach and recruiting efforts last Summer at the annual Coast Guard Festival.
The NOAA Association of Commissioned Officers (ACO) administers the annual Junior Officer of the Year, Science, and Engineering awards. The ACO recognizes the wide range of accomplishments and contributions of NOAA’s uniformed personnel, and encourages all commands consider nominating officers for these honors. Nominations for the 2014 awards are due by 30 January 2015.
Nomination Procedure: A nomination for a NOAA ACO award shall consist of at least two pages. The first page shall be a cover memo addressed to the National ACO, stating the name, grade, billet title, and job description of the nominated officer. The following page(s) shall be the personal comments of the nominator, which reflect the basis for the nomination. Nominations should include a detailed description of the officer’s duties and accomplishments, and the positive impact of those achievements on the Agency and the Service. All commands and field offices are encouraged to submit officer nominations for these awards. Candidates for Junior Officer of the Year must be nominated by a supervisor in their chain of command, while the Science and Engineering award nominations may be made by the supervisor or any commissioned officer.
Submit nominations via e-mail to Olivia.Hauser@noaa.gov, by COB 30 January 2015. In the nomination email please have the supporting files attached as .PDF or readable by Microsoft Word.
The subject line of the nomination email should be "Junior Officer of the Year Nomination", "Science Award", or "Engineering Award" as appropriate. This will assist the selection committee with accurate tracking and sorting of the nominations. Junior officers with civilian supervisors are encouraged to forward them this information. For more information on the awards please refer to the NOAA Corps Directives on Awards (Chapter 12 part 7).