Happy 1st Week of May, NOAA Corps,
I’m happy to report that the future of our service is both now and in progress! Random thought? Maybe. Exciting thought? Yes, absolutely.
At a recent OMAO leadership meeting, there was an overview discussion that covered the past 5-10 years, including the progress within our service, and how that will feed into our next 5-10 years and beyond. As I reflected on all of the then vs. now challenges vs. accomplishments, it occurred to me that 10 years ago, we may have postulated on what the future would hold, but ultimately knew that advancement and improvement would only come with vision, hard work, and positive, influential leadership and culture. Today, we are continuing to build on the vision of a growing, healthy, sustainable and critically valuable NOAA Corps, still knowing that it will come only with that same hard work and positive, influential leadership and culture. A few current CPC data points illustrate this reality compared with historical averages: over six times as many interested prospective applicants have resulted from our improved outreach and organizational cultural efforts; we have more than doubled our officer accessions; CPC processes over 25% more personnel and career management actions; and NOAA Corps budget requests have grown by the $10s of millions.
All of these realities are nice success/challenge combinations to have, and prove that our past visionary future really is now; our still-to-come vision is well on its way. This is truly an exciting time filled with strategic and tactical problems that OMAO leadership and the entire body of CPC work and think through everyday. And the best part is that although there may be some nervousness about the magnitude of changes that we are negotiating, we are all doing it together, focused on common organizational goals, and bought-in to a culture of being an employer of choice. Thank you to all who reach out and provide us constructive feedback and kudos when they are due; we appreciate you and look forward to continuing our service in pursuit of progress!
Be Well,
Captain Chris van Westendorp, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| 6 May 2024 | Initial Flight AAB (Rescheduled) |
| 10-16 May 2024 | Direct Access 100% Availability Outage |
| 5 Jun 2024 | Officer Assignment Board |
| 5-30 Aug 2024 | Summer REFTRA |
| 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 |
| CAPT Daniel Simon | 01 Sep 2024 |
| CDR Paul Hemmick | 01 Sep 2024 |
| LT Brandon Tao | 01 Sep 2024 |
| LTJG Kevin Tarazona | 01 Sep 2024 |
BOTC 143 on Graduation Day. PC ENS Mitchell |
PC: Survival Systems USA |
This Friday marks the conclusion of the post graduation training for BOTC 143. The mariners of the class spent 4 weeks at USMRC learning RADAR, ARPA and ECDIS, and creating routes, passage plans and navigation briefs for the inbound transit to their new home port. As a capstone project in the final week of training, the group is presenting their brief to a selected bridge team, then executed their plan in the simulators.
Fair winds and following seas to 143 as they begin this first step in their careers.
The Sea Services Leadership Association (SSLA) Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium (JWLS) is being held June 25-28, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA. The annual symposium is the largest gathering of U.S. uniformed service women worldwide. The four day event is focused on providing an opportunity for service members to focus on leadership and mentorship development and provides unique access for networking with fellow service women and their service leaders. Additionally, the symposium provides an unparalleled opportunity for service leaders by affording them access to and feedback from women in the uniformed services in both joint and service specific settings.
The Commissioned Personnel Center is excited to announce the availability of registration cost funding for a limited number individuals to attend on a first come, first served basis (travel funds are not provided). Women and men in the uniformed services and federal civilians dedicated to SSLA’s mission are invited to attend. This year's theme is "Strength Through Service," and the last day to register is June 20, 2024. If interested, please contact LCDR Cherisa Friedlander (cherisa.l.friedlander@noaa.gov) and LCDR Andy Reynaga (chief.noaacorps.recruiting@noaa.gov) for additional information on the symposium and registration funding.
NOAA Corps Officers who are enrolled in the Blended Retirement System (BRS) and approaching 12 years from their Pay Entry Base Date (PEBD) will receive an email from USCG Pay & Personnel Center (PPC) Customer Care six (6) months prior to their 12-year anniversary. All officers should log into Direct Access and verify their correct contact information, specifically their email address(es), to ensure that they receive email notification(s) from the USCG PPC. Additionally, and independent of 12-year notifications, it is each eligible officer’s responsibility to submit a CP request prior to reaching their 12-year from PEBD mark. For details on how to submit a CP request, please refer to the Entitlement to Continuation Pay handout, and for additional assistance or questions, please submit a HR Action Request to Payroll (Subcategory: Allotments or Deductions).
When submitting leave forms to NOAA Corps Payroll in OPF Online, please ensure the NF 56-12 is complete, including all required information in blocks 1 through 13 and 15 (block 14, if an extension is applicable). In particular, the leave address in block 5 must be a valid address including zip code, and each NF 56-12 must be fully endorsed with a signed departure (block 13) and return (block 15). Any incomplete leave forms submitted to NOAA Corps Payroll will be returned to the member for completion.
From 2000 EDT, Friday, May 10, 2024, to 0600 EDT, Thursday, May 16, 2024, Direct Access will be completely unavailable to all users due to a scheduled Direct Access Cloud Migration. This complex project will involve substantial data transfer and critical interface connections with multiple government partners, and impact all Active Duty, Reservists, Retirees, Annuitants, and civilian supervisors of military members. During the migration period, all user login access will be disabled, preventing submission and/or processing of absence request, pay, separation, or any other transactions. This outage period was selected to minimize impacts to normal Mid-Month and End-Month payroll processing. If you have any questions, please contact Sherrita Irby at Sherrita.irby@noaa.gov.
The NOAA Corps Recruiting Branch seeks a proactive and driven O2-O3 to step into the upcoming vacancy for the Field Recruiting Officer (Billet #0524). This position, stationed in Silver Spring, MD at CPC, involves frequent travel to career fairs and branding events nationwide. As a vital member of the recruiting team, the officer will play a crucial role in guiding prospective candidates from application to the beginning of their Basic Officer Training Course (BOTC) journey. If you're keen on this opportunity, please contact the current incumbent, LT Ryan A. Musick at ryan.musick@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