Director's Message:

Leadership Change at CPC

Fellow officers,

For those of you who do not know, CAPT Jeremy Adams will be assuming the duties of Director, Commissioned Personnel Center on Monday, February 22, 2016 as I take terminal leave leading into retirement. I want to take this opportunity to relay my sincere thanks to the officers senior to me that have mentored me throughout my career and those that placed their confidence in me to offer opportunities to serve in leadership positions within our organization. In addition to those officers, I would not have been able to succeed in this career without the excellent support and work of those junior officers with whom I have served. You are the backbone of this organization. It is your energy, professionalism, skill, and dedication to your jobs that create our success. I encourage you all to continue setting high personal and professional goals and to persevere until you achieve them.

I would also like to draw your attention to the staff here at the Commissioned Personnel Center. This small staff of officers and civilians work consistently to address the concerns of our future, current and retired officers, to ensure that we operate our Corps legally, and assure that the needs of our Service are met daily. Over the past two years, we have met all of our challenges and improved our processes along the way. Without this dedicated staff, it would not be possible.

Please join me in welcoming CAPT Adams into the director's position. He brings with him a wealth of experience, a proven track record of excellent leadership along with him as he takes on the business of CPC.

Sincerely,

CAPT Lawrence T. Krepp, NOAA
Director, CPC

On the Horizon

22 February 2016 Officer Assignment Board
29 February 2016 Access to EOYP end
6-26 March 2016 REFTRA-80

Approved Resignations, Separations and Retirements

LTJG Joshua Witmer 01 March 2016
CDR Stephen Meador 01 April 2016
CAPT Mark Moran 01 April 2016
CAPT Lawrence Krepp 01 May 2016
CAPT Harris Halverson 01 May 2016
LT Mark Frydrych 01 May 2016
LTJG Theresa Smith 13 May 2016

Conduct and Performance Summary in the interest of good order and discipline:

Following is a summary of adverse personnel actions levied against NOAA Corps officers over the past 24 months resulting from either misconduct or performance.

  • Letters of Administrative Censure:
    • A Commander was issued a Letter of Administrative Censure for Failure in the Performance of or Neglect of Duty.
    • A Lieutenant (jg) was issued a letter of Administrative Censure for Failure in the Performance of or Neglect of Duty.
    • A Commander was issued a Letter of Administrative Censure for Failure in the Performance of or Neglect of Duty.
  • Letters of Reproval:
    • A Lieutenant was issued a Letter of Reproval for Violation of Directives.
    • A Lieutenant was issued a Letter of Reproval for Fraternization.
    • A Lieutenant was issued a Letter of Reproval for Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.
    • A Lieutenant Commander was issued a letter of Reproval for Unauthorized Absence from Duty and Violation of Directives.
    • An Ensign was issued a Letter of Reproval for Fraternization.
  • Letters of Reprimand:
    • A Lieutenant Commander was issued a Letter of Reprimand for Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.
    • A Lieutenant Commander was issued a Letter of Reprimand for Failure in the Performance of or Neglect of Duty.
  • Formal Disciplinary Measures:
    • An Ensign was brought before a disciplinary board and involuntarily separated from the Service for Conduct Unbecoming an Officer.
  • Separation or Retirement in the Best Interest of the Service:
    • A total of six officers were brought before the Officer Personnel Board, recommended, and subsequently approved by the Director for Involuntary Separation or Retirement in the Best Interest of the Service.
  • Involuntary Retirement/Separation:
    • Two officers were brought before the Officer Personnel Board, recommended, and subsequently approved by the Director for Involuntary Separation or Retirement.

Awards

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 2015 awards are due by 01 April 2016.

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 Ryan.Wattam@noaa.gov, by COB 01 April 2016. 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).