Message from the Director

Fellow NOAA Corps officers,

One of CPC functions is to process documentation from the operational centers regarding qualifications and designations in order to document them in the officer's Official Personnel Folder. The safe and effective staffing of our platforms is critical to NOAA's mission and the Nation. The commitment exhibited when qualifying to operate our ships and aircraft is commendable and deserves recognition. I would like to acknowledge these significant and important operational milestones in the careers of our officers so every six months we will announce in the Cyberflash the names of those officers who have earned their qualification as either Officer of the Deck Underway, Senior Watch Officer, NOAA Diver, NOAA Aviator, or Aircraft Commander. For the first half of CY2018, according to the CPC database, the following officers have been awarded these operational qualifications for the first time:

OOD:

  • LTJG Lydia Ames
  • ENS Sydney Catoire
  • ENS Alexander Creed
  • ENS Hillary Fort
  • ENS Michael Fuller
  • ENS Garrison Grant
  • ENS Justin Miyano
  • ENS Vanessa Oquendo
  • ENS Jacquelyn Putnam
  • LTJG Matthew Sharr
  • ENS Sony Vang
  • ENS Collin Walker

NOAA Aviator:

  • LT Joshua Rannenberg
  • LTJG David Reymore
  • LT Brian Richards
  • LT James Rosenberg

SWO:

  • LT Scott Broo
  • LT Aaron Colohan
  • LT Brian Elliot
  • LT Justin Ellis
  • LT Anthony Klemm
  • LT Richard Park
  • LT Aras Zygas

NOAA Diver:

  • ENS Hillary Fort
  • ENS James Freed
  • ENS Anna Hallingstad
  • ENS Brianna Pacheco
  • ENS Chelsea Parrish

Aircraft Commander:

  • LCDR Nathan Kahn

Bravo Zulu!


CAPT Devin Brakob, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center

On the Horizon

03 Oct 2018 CO/XO Command Advisory Board
11 Oct 2018 BOTC 132 Billet Night
TBD Oct 2018 Officer Assignment Board
15 Oct - 02 Nov 2018 REFTRA 85
20 Nov 2018 BOTC 132 Graduation

Approved Resignations, Separations and Retirements

CAPT Robert Kamphaus 01 OCT 2018
LT Daniel Langis 01 OCT 2018
LCDR David Cowan 26 OCT 2018
LCDR Brian Prestcott 01 Nov 2018
LT Kyle Salling 11 Nov 2018
LT Adam Ruckman 15 Nov 2018
LT Steven Loy 15 Nov 2018
LT Carmen DeFazio 16 Nov 2018
LT Tanner Sims 19 Nov 2018
CAPT Scott Sirois 01 Dec 2018
LT Felicia Drummond 21 Dec 2018
LTJG Sarah Chappel 31 Jan 2019

History: Pioneers in NOAA

  • 1847 - Astronomer Maria Mitchell is hired by the Coast Survey to conduct astronomic latitude and longitude observations. She was the first of many women hired by the Coast Survey, a pioneer in recognizing women's capabilities and talents.
  • 1891 - Mrs. Margaret Conway appointed weather observer at Narragansett Pier and was the only woman observer in the Weather Bureau at the time of her death in 1918.
  • 1925 - Sarah Beall, chief computer of the Astronomy Branch, published "Astronomic determinations by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and Other Organizations", the first professional paper produced by a woman in the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
  • 1949 - Rachel Carson sails on the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Ship ALBATROSS III, the first woman to sail on a fisheries ship.
  • 1972 - Pamela Chelgren becomes the first female NOAA Corps Commissioned Officer.
  • 1989 - Commander Evelyn Fields becomes first woman to command a NOAA Ship, the NOAA Ship McARTHUR.
  • 1999 - Captain Evelyn Fields is confirmed by Senate as Rear Admiral and Director of NOAA Corps and OMAO, the first female officer to hold that position.

From the Assignments Desk: Billet #3446 – American Samoa/Antarctica Station Chief

The Earth System Research Laboratory's Global Monitoring Division (ESRL/GMD) is holding interviews for the 2020/2021 American Samoa/South Pole Station Chief in October. ESRL/GMD operates four remote Atmospheric Baseline Observatories strategically positioned around the globe. The long-term datasets collected at these observatories track atmospheric constituents that drive climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and baseline air quality.

The officer selected for this billet trains in Colorado for several months before spending one year in American Samoa running NOAA's atmospheric monitoring instruments, managing the observatory facilities, and completing administrative tasking necessary to operate the station. Officers then spend one year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica running a similar suite of instruments at NOAA's South Pole Observatory, coordinating shipping logistics, and assisting with other station duties.

This billet provides independent, self-starting, adventurous individuals with the opportunity to live in the tropical South Pacific, experience six months of light and six months of darkness in Antarctica, and earn the Chief of Party Pin, International Service Ribbon, and Antarctic Service Medal – all within one billet.

Interested officers should update their billet preferences and send their biographies and resumes to Christy Schultz at christine.schultz@noaa.gov by COB Friday, October 5, 2018. Recommendations will be made to the Officer Assignment Board in November.