Shipmates,
It gives me great pleasure to announce the promotion of the following officers:
TO BE CAPTAIN
TO BE COMMANDER
TO BE LIEUTENANT COMMANDER
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TO BE LIEUTENANT
TO BE LIEUTENANT (JUNIOR GRADE)
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Congratulations! I wish to remind the selectees of the duty to observe the manners and traditions of our profession and arrange for a suitable wetting down for their shipmates to celebrate their advancement to the next rank. To assist in your planning, CPC expects to effect these promotions (with the exception of a handful of LTJGs…sorry) on September 1, 2016. National Capitol Region area officers – I look forward to an invite, recommend you pool resources, and use your wetting down to socialize and network with your shipmates. Remember, the term "shipmates" includes those folks you work with who don't wear a uniform.
The officers who were not selected for promotion are highly encouraged to contact CPC for board feedback and career counseling. Non-selected officers in the grade of commander are encouraged to contact me, and lieutenant commanders and below are encouraged to contact CDR Brakob.
I wish to remind all officers that the time to prepare for promotion is not when you find yourself in zone. The time to prepare for promotion is ongoing and continuous. At this point in my message I usually pull out a salty metaphor to reinforce the point I'm trying to convey, but instead I'm borrowing an agriculturally themed one, poorly paraphrased from Scott Tessmer, OMAO's Chief Learning Officer: "You're either green and growing, or ripe and rotting." CPC's Officer Career Management Division (OCMD) exists to provide fertilizer in the form of career counseling to help you grow your career. Don't wait until autumn to plant seed and fertilize, consult with OCMD early and often!
Semper serviens,
CAPT Jeremy Adams, NOAA
Director, CPC
| 14 July 2016 | Thomas Jefferson Change of Command |
| 25 July 2016 | BOTC 128 Commences |
| 21 July 2016 | Ferdinand Hassler Change of Command |
| 01 to 05 August 2016 | Marine Ops PCO/PXO Immersion |
| 11 August 2016 | BOTC 129 Selection Board |
| 26 August 2016 |
RDML Gerd Glang Retirement Ceremony
RDML(Select) Shepard Smith Promotion Ceremony Office of Coast Survey Change of Command |
| 2017 | NOAA Corps Centennial Events |
| LTJG Jason Wilson | 01 Sep 2016 |
| RDML Gerd Glang | 01 Sep 2016 |
| CAPT Wade Blake | 01 Sep 2016 |
| LT Charlene Felkley | 01 Sep 2016 |
| LTJG Eileen Pye | 02 Sep 2016 |
| CAPT Eric Berkowitz | 01 Oct 2016 |
| CAPT Adam Dunbar | 01 Oct 2016 |
| CAPT John Caskey | 01 Oct 2016 |
In preparation for the NOAA Corps' "Century of Service" centennial year celebrations CPC, in cooperation with NOAA Librarian and retired NOAA Corps Captain Skip Theberge, will be launching a series of historical vignettes, tales, fun facts, and various accomplishments that highlight the heritage, culture, and contributions of the NOAA Corps to NOAA and the Nation. Stories will run the gamut from the strange but true, to the amazing, to the humorous, to the revolutionary and significant achievements accomplished by the NOAA Corps and our ancestor organizations. Everyone receiving this message will be automatically included in the inaugural installment of this "warm up act" for the 2017 festivities. If you would like to contribute or have a suggestion for this effort, please contact LCDR Fionna Matheson via NOAACorps100th@noaa.gov.
Recently, an officer provided an original work of artistic expression to CPC in the form of proposed lyrics to the NOAA Corps song (shared below.) The submission was not received in time to be considered in the effort to revise the song, but the originality and creativity of the lyrics was impressive. As a scientific service, it is rare to encounter creativity and unsolicited initiative in the arts. It is striking how other services have entire programs devoted to artistic pursuits – who hasn't seen the Air Force Band flash mob at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum ? Granted, I'm not able to make the programmatic connection between an Air Force member's pride in service and a flash mob at the Air & Space museum, but it illustrates the emphasis placed on artistic expression by the military services.
The arts make people feel emotions, believe in a purpose, connect with abstract concepts, and give a sense of pride in belonging to a group with common values. It is for this reason, the impending 100th Anniversary of the NOAA Corps, and the fact that even Semper Paratus went through several revisions over several decades during it's creation, that CPC is willing to share other examples of pride in service through artistic expression and welcomes the submission of original works of art, poetry, photography, music, metal work, needlepoint, etc. to noaacorps100th@noaa.gov. (The Director, CPC is planning to create a beer and smoke salmon to commemorate the impeding 100th Anniversary. It will be shared with shipmates at a suitable venue at a later date. )
With service to commerce
We are the NOAA Corps
From boots to cover
We are laced and ready to soar
Through excellence we beckon the uncharted
By our fleet we explore
"Forward with NOAA"
Is the cry of the Corps
Commander Don Rice crossed the bar on February 1, 2016. Yesterday, the CPC was notified that a funeral service with military honors will be held for Commander Rice on Friday, August 19, 2016 at 10:45 am at Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery, 11501 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117 in the chapel. The internment ceremony will involve burial of Commander Rice's ashes in Section Q with military honors provided by the Coast Guard. Commander Rice's widow Lydia and his family would be honored to have fellow NOAA Corps Officer's present to pay their respects to our shipmate. Uniform of the day is Service Dress Blue.
Commander Rice's began his career in the NOAA Corps on October 7, 1975 and served aboard NOAA Ship Mt. Mitchell as Junior Officer and returned to Mt Mitchell as Operations Officer, and NOAA Ship Malcolm Baldridge as Executive Officer. He retired from active service on October 1, 1996. Commander Rice was awarded the Atlantic Service Ribbon, Pacific Service Ribbon, International Service Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (2x), NOAA Corps Directors Ribbon (2x), NOAA Special Achievement Award (4x), and NOAA Corps Commendation Medal.
Recently, improvements have been made to the awards processing procedures. CPC has seen a large number of awards go directly to the Uniform and Awards Board (UAB) via email at noaacorps.uab@noaa.gov; thank you for your continued submissions of the Recommendation for Award Form (NF56-63). On the horizon, the UAB will be revising NF56-63 to allow for digital signatures in turn allowing for more timely submission process. Please note, all awards go through an UAB approval (once a month), CPC Processing (1-2 weeks), and signature phase (2 weeks). Additionally some awards require a signature from the Under Secretary (2 weeks); these processing times are to serve as a reminder that submitting an award early is your best bet for a timely turn around. CPC will continue to strive to decrease the processing time when possible.
Although the end of an officer's tour may provide a good opportunity for rewarding a job well done, awards are in recognition of achievements and success of individuals as well as the NOAA Corps. Take this as a reminder that all NOAA Corps officers are held to a higher standard of excellence, and not every completion of an officer's tour warrants an award, as there is no mention of an "end-of-tour" award within the NOAA Corps Directives. Awards should be provided to the UAB with thoughtful justification for achievement and not just an "at-a-boy" or "at-a-girl" stamp of approval. The UAB looks at these recommendations very closely and will continue to vote in accordance with the award criteria listed in the NCDs.
Below is the order of precedence for those officers who have recently received the Department of Commerce Organizational Awards or will receive in the future. The example is for an officer who has now received a 5TH DOC Organizational Award; please note the placement of the stars for each subsequent award. For further clarification regarding award regulations please refer to the DOC Organizational Award Manner of Wear Memorandum on the CPC website.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE- Organizational Bronze Medal
(5th Award Received) |
An Aviation Advisory Board conducted in June resulted in the following officers being selected for NOAA Aviation and eventual assignment to NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center:
A Heavy Aircraft selection board was also held resulting in the following officers being selected for upgrade to these specific platforms:
Congratulations to these officers for achieving a significant milestone in their careers. Best of luck to each of them in their new endeavors.
The Office of Coast Survey is seeking applicants for hydrographic training billet #7206 located at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. The successful applicant will begin training in the fall of 2017 for a three year assignment. This is a rigorous technical program and undergraduate level courses in calculus and physics are required. Admission to the program also requires completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and a successful application for admission to the university. Successful completion of the billet assignment will result in independent, novel research benefiting Coast Survey mission and leading to a master's degree in Ocean Engineering or Earth Science. This program is one of only two Category A educational programs in the United States certified by the International Federation of Surveyors / International Hydrographic Organization / International Cartographic Association (FIG/IHO/ICA). A strong background in hydrography or seafloor mapping is beneficial but not required. This billet is excellent preparation for operational and management roles in the hydrographic and ocean mapping communities.
Additional information on the program and admission requirements can be found at: https://ccom.unh.edu/degree-programs
If you are interested in this opportunity, submit the following to LT Matthew Forney (matthew.forney@noaa.gov) by COB, July 29, 2016. Applications will be reviewed by the Coast Survey Board of Hydrographers.
The Office of Coast Survey is seeking applicants for hydrographic training billet #7208 located at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. The successful applicant will first complete approximately one year as 4th officer on the NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler, and then begin training in the fall of 2018 for a total of a four -year assignment. This opportunity is intended for officers currently in their first sea tour, qualification as an OOD is a prerequisite. This is a rigorous technical program and undergraduate level courses in calculus and physics are required. Admission to the program also requires completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and a successful application for admission to the university. Successful completion of the billet assignment will result in independent, novel research benefiting Coast Survey mission and leading to a master's degree in Ocean Engineering or Earth Science. This program is one of only two Category A educational programs in the United States certified by the International Federation of Surveyors / International Hydrographic Organization / International Cartographic Association (FIG/IHO/ICA). A strong background in hydrography or seafloor mapping is beneficial but not required. This billet is excellent preparation for operational and management roles in the hydrographic and ocean mapping communities.
Additional information on the program and admission requirements can be found at: https://ccom.unh.edu/degree-programs
If you are interested in this opportunity, submit the following to LT Matthew Forney (matthew.forney@noaa.gov) by COB, July 29, 2016. Applications will be reviewed by the Coast Survey Board of Hydrographers.