The first week of June marks the begining of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and with one named tropical storm just passed, I would like to take this opportunity to remind all to get ready for the season. Preparation, of course, begins at home by replenishing your emergency supplies, knowing your evacuation routes and plans, and learning what risks and hazards may impact your area before and after the storm.
While shoring up plans at home, keep in mind that CPC is here to assist in the event of an evacuation. Active duty officers and their dependents residing at the permanent duty station, or an approved designated location as specified in a BAH Waiver, are authorized travel reimbursement in the event of an evacuation. This authorization applies to officers on TDY orders as well, and dependents enroute to new PCS location. More information on these entitlements is a available in the Joint Travel Regulations - Chapter 6. When an evacuation is ordered for your area, follow instructions of your local emergency management authorities, and contact CPC as soon as possible with your planned evacuation information. To ensure this process runs smoothly, we ask that officers review and update contact information for themselves and their dependents within OPF Online.
Also, I highly encourage officers to log-in and review their NOAA Staff Directory (NSD) information, and update their personal contact information in the Emergency Notification System (ENS) located on the NSD site. To ensure your most recent permenant duty station is reflected in the NSD, submit endorsed PCS order upon arrival at your duty station. It can take two to four weeks for the change to be reflected in NSD. Supervisors should also review their "Direct Reports" list by clicking on the "Request Reports" button under their information on the Employee Record, and selecting the Direct Reports option. A list of all staff, including federal employees, contractors and offficers, assigned to you will be listed. For help with the NOAA Staff Directory, contact NOAA.StaffDirectory@noaa.gov.
CAPT Lawrence T. Krepp, NOAA
Director, CPC
| 05 May 2015 | BOTC 125 Graduation |
| 22 May 2015 | Officer Assignment Board |
| 30 May 2015 | PUT Request Deadline |
| 31 May 2015 | Aviation Application Package Deadline |
| 26 June 2015 | Aviation Advisory Board |
| 27 July 2015 | BOTC 126 Begins |
| LT Christine Schultz | 31 May 2015 |
| LCDR Phillip Eastman | 01 June 2015 |
| ENS Daniel Hodge | 15 June 2015 |
| LCDR Abigail Winz | 13 July 2015 |
Congratulations to RADM John D. Bossler, NOAA (Ret), one of seven alumni recognized by the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering 51st Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards. RADM Bossler was honored with the Civil and Environmental Engineering Award. While serving in the NOAA Corps, he rose to be the Director, National Ocean Survey and received the Department of Commerce's Gold Medal Award for distinguished service. Upon his retirement from the NOAA Corps in 1986, he became a professor at Ohio State University and the Director of the Center for Mapping. Well Done!
In September 2011, CPC received feedback from OPM stating NOAA Corps officers are not eligible for appointment under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). 5 USC 3304(f)(1) states that preference eligibles or veterans who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after 3 years or more of active service may not be denied the opportunity to compete for vacant positions for which the agency making the announcement will accept applications from individuals outside its own workforce under merit promotion procedures.
While NOAA Corps service is considered active service, OPM decided it does not meet the USC definition of armed forces, and therefore, is not qualifying service under VEOA. Additionally, NOAA Corps officers interested in continuing service with NOAA are not eligible for referral on the agency's civilian merit assignment plan certificates. The legislation package OMAO is working on, contains language to amend the VEOA defintion of preference eligibles to include uniformed services.
An Aviation Advisory Board will convene in June 2015 to select for initial flight training. Please see below for additional information:
Initial Flight:
The Board will select up to three officers from the fleet who are interested in transitioning to aviation. Start dates for flight training will be determined based upon the needs of the Service and rotation dates of the officers selected. Flight experience is encouraged, but is not required for this opportunity.
Requirements for the NOAA Corps Aviation Selection Process:
1. Complete all sections of NOAA Form 56-43 (Application for NOAA Corps Aviation Program).
2. Complete a USCG Class I flight physical.
3. Complete the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) exam through a Department of Defense recruiting center.
4. A recommendation for aviation selection must be included in Section 10 (Potential) of the applicant’s Officer Evaluation Report (NOAA form 56-6A), or provide a written endorsement from your current supervisor.
Notify LCDR Nicholas Chrobak (assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov) as soon as possible, if you are interested in this opportunity. AOC will be responsible for conducting interviews between April and May for all applicants. Completed aviation application packages must arrive at the Commissioned Personnel Center (CPC) by COB, 31 May 2015. Contact LCDR Chris Kerns (christopher.kerns@noaa.gov) – (813) 828-4361, or LCDR Jason Mansour (jason.mansour@noaa.gov) – (813) 828-4165, with any questions that you have.
NOAA Corps Directive Section 10002, Aviation Advisory Board (AAB) has been amended to include a mariner in or above the permanent grade of commander as a member to the Board and remove the requirement for the Director, Aviation Operations Center to serve as a member of the Board. The updated Directive is available at https://www.corpscpc.noaa.gov/procedures/directives.html.
As a reminder, the deadline for submitting the PUT application form to the Director, CPC, is 30 May 2015. The original announced for this opportunity was announced 30 April 2015 via Message from the Director, CPC. The application form is available on the CPC Website. Any questions can be directed to CDR Zegowitz, Chief, OCMD.
NOS Billet #7005: Deputy Chief of Staff, NOS
The National Ocean Service (NOS) is leading the way the world understands, predicts, and responds to the challenges that face our oceans and coasts, making sure they are safe, productive, and resilient. Billet #7005 is an O4 billet in the NOS Assistant Administrator’s (AA) Office, located in Silver Spring, MD.
The officer serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for NOS. This is an exciting, fast-paced, career enhancing billet. The individual supports the management and day-to-day operations of the NOS AA’s office. The officer routinely engages and interacts with senior leadership from both the AA's office and individual NOS program offices. Responsibility spans budget and contracting, fleet allocation, policy and planning, workforce, and organizational compliance. In addition, the officer has the opportunity to support and provide input to line office strategic direction and priorities. The wide range of experience and understanding gained will be invaluable throughout any officer’s career. Interested officers should contact LT Benjamin LaCour (Benjamin.lacour@noaa.gov) or LCDR Nicholas Chrobak at AssignmentBranch.CPC@noaa.gov.