Greetings & Salutations, NOAA Corps,
You’ve likely heard or read some communication from me at this point regarding the sheer volume of actions and activity that occurs “within the walls” of CPC. Related, and in our continuing effort to make CPC more transparent to the workforce, I wanted to share a brief behind-the-curtain view of CPC’s dedicated OMAO Marine & Aviation Cyber Center (MACC) folks (see Information Technology Support on the CPC directory). This mighty team of four led by CPC’s Software Lead, Victoria Elinson, works day in and day out to perform a multitude of IT-related tasks toward an overarching multi-year plan in support of CPC staff and NOAA Corps functions.
While a healthy majority of their time is devoted to performing routine maintenance and security updates on CPC’s internal servers and cloud infrastructure, CPC MACC also interfaces directly with CPC staff toward development and improvement of automation tools for NOAA Corps HR-related processes, amongst many other duties. When I hear, “Hey, Captain! That HR Action thingy in my OPF Online is a nice improvement,” that is the direct result of countless hours/days/weeks/months of CPC MACC working with the entire CPC staff on identifying requirements, mapping out processes, and designing/implementing tools and other IT solutions. I’ve asked them to provide an article which you’ll see in this edition to shed light on some internal gears/systems that keep the CPC engine running, all ultimately working towards our perpetual goal to improve the NOAA Corps customer experience. And while you’re thinking about it, yes, the new CPC website is coming soon (stay tuned…)!
So with that, and on behalf of my entire staff, kudos go out to the CPC MACC team, and I hope you can join me in expressing our gratitude for their ongoing critical and significant contributions! Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other.
Best Regards,
Captain Chris van Westendorp, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
P.S. For those active duty officers and their colleagues who are interested, don’t forget to tune in to our April CPC Webinar at noon EDT on Wednesday, 4/24. The topic will be PCS Tips & Tricks with CPC’s Officer Personnel Management Division, and the webinar will be recorded for posting to the CPC website at a date/time to be determined. Hope to see you then!
| 24 Apr 2024 | Initial Flight AAB |
| 10-16 May 2024 | Direct Access NO ACCESS starting 8pm EDT May 10, 2024 to 6am EDT May 16, 2024 |
| LCDR Nicholas Toth | 01 May 2024 |
| CAPT Nicholas Chrobak | 01 Jun 2024 |
| CDR Briana Hillstrom | 01 Jun 2024 |
| LTJG Brianna Villalon | 01 Jun 2024 |
| LCDR David Wang | 30 Jun 2024 |
| LT Kyle Cosentino | 30 Jun 2024 |
| LT Jacquelyn Putnam | 01 Jul 2024 |
| LT Julia Waldsmith | 01 Aug 2024 |
BOTC 143 Graduates with Dr. Spinrad and RADM Hann. PC: LT Levano |
Congratulations to the members of BOTC 143 on graduating from BOTC on Friday, April 5th, 2024! The class would like to thank keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and class sponsor, RADM Nancy Hann, for attending and participating in the ceremony.
Congratulations to the following students on their exceptional performance in various aspects of the program:
The five aviators of BOTC 143 are off to AOC, while the remaining 16 mariners will continue their maritime education at USMRC for four weeks before departing for their initial sea assignments.
The week after graduation, BOTC 143 mariners learned RADAR, and this week the students will learn Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA), training adjacent to the Spring 2024 REFTRA class. The mariner class will conclude with a Capstone Week of Navigation Briefs and simulated transits, ending May 3rd.
The latest series of updates and improvements to CPC’s OPFOnline and Human Resource Management System (HRMS) back-end is scheduled for release on Monday afternoon (4/22/2024).
While many of the improvements are not necessarily used directly by or immediately visible to CPC customers, they will help to more efficiently streamline and solidify numerous processes CPC uses and improve services provided to the NOAA Corps workforce. The following are included in the 4/22 release:
Thanks to the continuing work of our OPMD and CPC MACC staff, there is now a new, more effective way to submit your Refusal of Quarters Memos and Responsibility Pay requests via OPFOnline. You can find this function by opening an Action Request, selecting “Payroll” under Area/Category of Request, and both options are found under the Subcategory drop down menu.
NOAA Corps Recruiting is looking for motivated Officers (O2-O4) who are willing to complete interviews for BOTC 145. To ensure consistency, Recruiting Branch is asking each interviewer to conduct a minimum of four interviews. (Don’t forget that each completed interview with a NOAA Corps applicant counts toward the 8-events in 365-days eligibility criteria for the NOAA Corps Recruiting Achievement Ribbon, per NCD 12705(E)!)
Officers will conduct all interviews virtually via Google Meet. Interviews can be scheduled as early as the second week of May, with all interviews completed by June 17th.
This interview process is your chance to have a direct hand in shaping the future of the NOAA Corps. Please email LT Ryan A Musick at apply.noaacorps@noaa.gov if you are interested. Thank you for your consideration!
In collaboration with our Marine Operations Center partners, we are pleased to share with all active duty NOAA Corps officers the DPA Quarterly Update linked here. This newsletter is developed to broadcast Designated Person Ashore (DPA) information for the NOAA Fleet, and this edition includes such topics as the "Transparency Project", Safety Culture, Galley Concerns and Food Choices, Passdown, and updates to the Safety Management System. Please view and enjoy!
On March 1, Datileya McBride joined CPC in support of the Officer Personnel Management Division. Datileya is working specifically with PCS orders so if you have a PCS coming up, chances are you will have some interaction with her. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Datileya!
In the upcoming update to OPF Online (mentioned in the above MACC article), you will notice the renaming of certain documents. Several documents previously identified as "Qualifications", including Acting CO, XO and OPS designation memos, will now be appropriately labeled "Designations". This change has no effect on the documented achievements of officers or the Officer Personnel Folders.
In September of 2022, RADM Hann distributed an updated memorandum regarding special leave accrual. In that memo, RADM Hann directed that NOAA Corps officers were authorized to accumulate leave in excess of 60 days, not to exceed 70 days, as shown on the end of month September 2023 pay slip. However, the leave balances of many officers were not adjusted appropriately at the end of September 2023, and they have been carrying leave balances in excess of what's authorized. Those officers affected will receive information in the coming weeks with details on corrections to leave balances. Please direct any questions to the NOAA Corps Payroll Unit email account noaacorps.payrollunit@noaa.gov.
The Commissioned Personnel Center (CPC) is looking for a motivated officer to lead the Officer Career Management Division (OCMD) starting in the summer of 2025. Command-at-Sea or seasoned Aircraft Commander is desirable. The officer will need a broad understanding of the myriad of NOAA programs, missions, and directives, and be able to keep a long range organizational (strategic) view in decision making. Additionally, they must have exceptional ethics, integrity, and adherence to core values as they will be involved in sensitive personnel matters. Solid interpersonal skills and customer service acumen are imperative for career counseling, briefing senior leadership, and representing CPC and the NOAA Corps.
The billet is highly rewarding, as the officer has the potential to develop the professional capability of the entire Corps. OCMD focuses on recruitment and training, management of the officer assignment process, and career counseling. As such, the Chief is responsible for the NOAA Corps Officer Training Center (NCOTC), Officer Recruiting Branch, Officer Assignment Branch, and various CPC staff positions. As needed, they also provide career guidance to officers of all ranks, review Officer Personnel Files, and serve as Acting Director, CPC in the absence of the Director and Deputy Director.
For more information on this billet, please contact CDR Andrew Colegrove at andrew.colegrove@noaa.gov