Two fun things to bring to your attention with this edition of the Cyberflash:
On January 22, 2018, I had the honor of swearing in BOTC 131 in New London, CT. It was interesting to learn about the new members of our Corps and find out what motivated them to join NOAA. I was humbled and proud to listen to their interest and commitment to the mission; I am fairly certain I did not have their conviction when I joined NOAA, although I have obviously gotten on board (most days) since then! I hope their enthusiasm keeps them going through the next few weeks of indoctrination and for a long career after that!
Today, February 2, 2018, marks a special day in others' careers as well. Please join me in congratulating the officers who were promoted today:
| LCDR Laura Gibson |
| LT Laura Dwyer |
| LT Steven Wall |
| LTJG Sara Thompson |
| LTJG Laura Rock |
| LTJG Jennifer Kraus |
CAPT Anne K. Lynch, NOAA
Director, CPC
| RDML Anita Lopez | 01 Mar 2018 |
| LCDR Jennifer Pralgo | 01 Mar 2018 |
| CAPT Amilynn Adams | 01 Jun 2018 |
| CDR Nathan Hancock | 01 Jun 2018 |
| LCDR Lyndsey Davis | 01 Jun 2018 |
| CAPT Robert Kamphaus | 01 AUG 2018 |
| LT Jessica Senzer | 10 AUG 2018 |
On Monday, January 22, 2018 CAPT Lynch administered the NOAA Corps Oath of office to 14 new officers of Basic Officer Training Class 131. Congratulations to the following men and women on their Commission:
| William R. T. Abbott | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Tyler J. Aldrich | Mashpee, Massachusetts |
| Emily G. Bell | Coronado, California |
| Adam D. Boyette | Bay St. Louis, Mississippi |
| Stefanie L. Coxe | Bell, West Virginia |
| Luke M. Evancoe | Richmond, Virginia |
| Kermit R. Farrow | Clarksburg, Maryland |
| Samantha L. Flounders | Richmond, California |
| John A. Freutel | Carlsbad, California |
| Alexander F. Lee | New York, New York |
| Ryan A. Musick | San Antonio, Texas |
| Nathaniel Y. Park | Redondo Beach, California |
| Samuel H. Umfress | Pasadena, California |
| Cabot A. Zucker | Jupiter, Florida |
The class hails from all over the United States with diverse backgrounds in fields such as Wildlife Ecology, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Meteorology, Environmental Science, Marine Biology, and Chemical Oceanography, just to name a few.
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The students are underway in the intense Indoctrination phase of the program, where the staff will train them in such areas as self-discipline, officer bearing, time management, attention to detail, and proper wear of the uniform. They are looking forward to beginning the academic portion of the program, kicking off with Basic Seamanship next week, while simultaneously building upon their leadership and management skills.
Dates to look forward to include Billet Night on April 13, 2018 and Graduation on May 17, 2018.
Thanks to everyone for their assistance in processing these individuals. Welcome aboard BOTC 131!
In an odd precursor to the Second World War, then Lieutenant Eoline Hand was the first Coast and Geodetic Survey officer to participate in war games with the Navy, and almost became the first American casualty to aerial bombardment at Pearl Harbor in 1924. LT Hand wrote, "Along toward the end when the survey had reached the eastern part of the field [the Pearl Harbor defenses] some new hazards were added to our surf-dodging and whaleboat-upsetting experiences: for, though care was always taken to arrange with the officers in charge as to what locality would be out of the line of fire for the day orders sometimes miscarried, and so all hands frequently indulged in that most futile gesture of dodging bullets as they whistled by our ears from Fort Weaver and the Marine Corps rifle range. Too, it required no little faith in one's fellow man to proceed on a sounding line with solid shot from Fort Kamehameha raising the spray an ever-decreasing distance dead ahead, though it was a known certainty that fire would be withheld as we crossed the range. Aeroplanes almost daily peppered with machine guns at towed sleeve targets overhead. Once a plane, flying criminally low, passed but fifteen feet from the sounding boat, so close that the men instinctively ducked from its wheels. And to crown the season's experiences, on almost the last day an aeroplane dropped a live bomb but a scant seventy-five yards from the sounding launch. Pieces flew all about: the concussion was terrific: some men were knocked down. Speaking personally, my eardrums ached for days after." The results of Hand's survey of the Barber's Point - Pearl Harbor Entrance were commended by Major General E. M. Lewis of the United States Army as having "proved of great value in the organization of defenses. Naval officers who have seen the hydrographic maps since the joint exercises state that they would have been of great value in planning landing operations.
End of Year Package (EOYP) will close on Sunday, February 04, 2018. Currently CPC has submissions from over 85% of NOAA Corps officers; many updates and modifications to CPC systems have resulted from these officer reviews. It is your responsibility to ensure your records are accurate. Take advantage of this guided process to consider how you look on paper. Take advantage of time on Saturday to go through the checklist so we can report 100% compliance this year!
For any questions, please email LCDR Laura Gibson at laura.gibson@noaa.gov
The Director, NOAA Corps, has approved designation of the following ships for Unusually Arduous Sea Duty:
| NOAA Ship Fairweather |
| NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter |
| NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer |
| NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson |
| NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette |
| NOAA Ship Pisces |
| NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown |
| NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson |
For any questions, please email LCDR Laura Gibson at laura.gibson@noaa.gov
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 2017 awards are due by 06 April 2018.
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 NOAACorpsDCACO@gmail.com, by COB 06 April 2018. 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).
CPC is pleased to announce that the Joint Language University (JLU) has opened a selection of their catalog material to the members of the U.S. Government at the following link: https://jlu.wbtrain.com/sumtotal/jlu2.0/HOME/index.asp
Joint Language University is a training portal serving the U.S Government and its' members who have either a ".mil" or ".gov" email address. Moreover, Joint Language University has gone to great lengths to make learning a new language and using their site as simple as possible for all of users, regardless of their computer skills. Moreover, Joint Language University is offering the program materials completely "FREE" to current federal, DoD employees, Active and Reserve Military members; training is available "AT NO COST" to the various federal entities.
Explore your world and learn how NOAA takes the pulse of the planet every day and protects and manages ocean and coastal resources. Join us on NOAA's Silver Spring, Maryland, campus for a series of free activities, including engaging talks by NOAA experts, interactive exhibits, special tours, and hands-on activities for ages 5 and up. Meet and talk with scientists, weather forecasters, hurricane hunters, and others who work to understand our environment, protect life and property, and conserve and protect natural resources. Visit www.noaa.gov/openhouse for details or call 240-533-0710 for more information.
NOAA Open House
Saturday, February 10, 2018
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Located near Silver Spring Metro Station
Public parking available
Free and open to the public
Note: A government-issued photo ID is required for adults. Check www.noaa.gov/openhouse for a list of acceptable forms of ID.
CPC will be hosting an OMAO Budgeting webinar on 22 February at 1400. This webinar satisfies the Federal Budgeting Process requirement for promotion to LT. This will be a live webinar in which participants will be able to ask questions and participate. CPC is planning to record this for future use, if you are unable to attend, but it is highly recommended to call in for this live webinar hosted by OMAO's CFO.
The Webinar will be hosted at https://omao-cpc.webex.com/omao-cpc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e98ece1eef1bc29ac011c024d6ba00a7f
Please contact cpc.training@noaa.gov with any questions.
For those of you who are not able to participate in the Assignments Webinar, a recording of this presentation can be accessed via the CPC 'How to Guidance 'webpage at: https://www.corpscpc.noaa.gov/cpchome/howto_guidance.html
The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) hosts a NOAA Corps billet to build a sustainable career path and enhance the operations and management of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer (EX) at OERs partner facility at the University of Rhode Island. The objective is for this officer to integrate into the EX team and become familiar with all aspects of mission operations.
The officer will be working with engineers, technicians, scientists and other personnel who are tasked with meeting a variety of needs on board the EX as well as on shore. The ideal officer is a jack-of-all-trades, a self-starter who has the ability to recognize challenges and opportunities, especially in this pioneering technical environment.
This billet is currently vacant. A full billet description is posted at: https://www.corpscpc.noaa.gov/careermgmt/pdf/billets_n/3152_n.pdf
Interested officers should contact both the Assignment Coordinator at (301) 713-7694 and the OAR Liaison Officer, CAPT David Zezula, at david.j.zezula@noaa.gov or (303) 497-6088.