Message from the Director

Fellow NOAA Corps officers,

Monday marks the beginning of the Atlantic and Central Pacific hurricane seasons. This is an annual reminder for us to revisit our family emergency action plans. Many citizens throughout the country are also dealing with tornados, flooding, wildfires, and a host of other weather conditions that threaten homes and families. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all to prepare for various types of weather events. Preparation, of course, begins at home by replenishing your emergency supplies, knowing your evacuation routes and plans, and learning what risks and hazards may impact your area before and after weather events. This year it is critically important we update our plans to account for the impacts the current pandemic has on our supply lines, safe havens, and other logistics during a crisis. Information to help prepare for numerous emergency conditions can be found at Ready.gov.

CPC is here to assist in the event of an evacuation. Active duty officers and their dependents residing at the permanent duty station, an alternate location due to assignment to unusually arduous duty, or an approved designated location as specified in a BAH waiver, are authorized travel reimbursement in the event of a mandatory evacuation. This authorization applies to officers on TDY orders as well, and dependents enroute to a new PCS location. More information on these entitlements is available in the Joint Travel Regulations - Chapter 6. When an evacuation is ordered for your area, follow instructions of your local emergency management authorities, and contact CPC as soon as possible with your planned evacuation information. To ensure this process runs smoothly, we ask that officers review and update contact information for themselves and their dependents within OPF Online.

Also, I highly encourage officers to login and review their NOAA Staff Directory (NSD) information, and update their personal contact information in the Emergency Notification System (ENS) located on the NSD site. To ensure your most recent permanent duty station is reflected in the NSD, submit endorsed PCS orders immediately upon arrival at your new duty station. The NSD is updated monthly with revised billet information once orders are processed, however, personal data provided by the user can be revised any time. Supervisors should occasionally review their "Direct Reports" list by clicking on the "My Reports" button in the upper right dropdown under their name while logged into the NSD. A list of all staff assigned to you will be provided. For help with the NOAA Staff Directory, contact noaa.staffdirectory@noaa.gov.

Directors signature
CAPT Devin Brakob, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center

On the Horizon

03 Jun 2020 Officer Assignment Board
19 Jul 2020 BOTC 136 commences

Approved Resignations, Separations and Retirements

LT David Reymore 31 May 2020
CAPT Elizabeth Kretovic 01 Jun 2020
CAPT David Zezula 01 Jul 2020
CDR Nicole Cabana 01 Jul 2020
CDR Justin Kibbey 01 Jul 2020
LT Nikita Manougian 01 Aug 2020

From the Uniform and Awards Board: Award Spotlight - NOAA Corps International Service Ribbon (NCIS)

Eligibility Requirements -

  • Any NOAA Corps officer, or member of another uniformed service assigned, detailed, or attached to NOAA, who serves aboard a United States vessel operating in foreign or international waters, with at least one foreign in-port call, and participating in a foreign or international project as part of the deployment after January 1, 1946, shall be eligible to receive this ribbon. Minimum time requirement is 21 consecutive days under competent orders. Time includes foreign port calls but excludes transit to and from the United States, its territories, or possessions.
  • Any NOAA Corps officer who serves aboard a foreign vessel or on operational duty, based in areas other than the United States, its territories, or possessions. Minimum time requirement is 21 consecutive days under competent orders.

Has your ship conducted international projects with foreign port calls or have you sailed aboard a foreign ship? Have you flown on an international project aboard a NOAA aircraft? Have you been assigned outside of the United States? Document your 21 consecutive days in foreign or international areas on the NOAA Corps Service Awards Authorization Worksheet and forward it through your chain of command to CPC.

Mandatory Training Playlist

The Officer Career Management Division often receives this question: Apart from required promotion training, what other training is necessary? There is a "Mandatory Training" spreadsheet on the CPC website but how do I confirm that is the most up-to-date source of information?

To solve this issue, three "playlists" have been created in the Commerce Learning Center. Each playlist contains the most recent training requirements, and will be managed and updated regularly by CLC staff.

You can always access the playlists through the CPC website. Once you click on the link and login to your CLC account, we recommend that you "follow" the playlist so that you can easily find them again.

Not all courses will apply to all employees! Read the details of each training before completing - you may not have to take it. Also note, it is not necessary to add training required of all NOAA employees to your Official Personnel File (OPF). CPC will not add this training to your OPF.

Please reach out the CPC Leadership Coordinator at cpc.training@noaa.gov if you have any questions.

Waiver of MMC Application Fees for Uniformed Service Members

On May 26, 2020, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a policy that waives fees associated with Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) applications for Active Duty members of the Uniformed Services. It specifically calls out NOAA Corps and USPHS as being eligible for this fee waiver.

To demonstrate eligibility, MMC applicants should provide with their application "A letter from their Command ... on official letterhead that states that the applicant is a current member of the uniformed services and indicating the dates the member served on active duty." The policy is linked below.
Coast Guard MMC Policy

Training Opportunities Spreadsheet

Recently, the Officer Career Management Division has noticed an uptick in training within the NOAA Corps community. This is an excellent use of time, especially when normal operations are curtailed. We would like to remind you of the Training Opportunities Spreadsheet, which is accessible from the CPC website under Career Management / Training. This sheet allows you to share and review your recent experience so that other officers can more easily identify quality training opportunities for themselves. Remember: it is only as useful as the input provided. We appreciate you taking the time to enter your positive or negative training reviews and details using the Training Opportunities Input Form.

Officer Assignment Board: O-4/O-5 Shore Assignments

An Officer Assignment Board (OAB) for O-4/O-5 shore assignments will be held on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. The OAB will be prepared to look at potential O-4/O-5 officers and assignments up to 18 months from now. If you are due to rotate to a shore/ground assignment in the next 18 months, please ensure your assignment preferences are up to date, discuss potential assignments with the appropriate liaison officer, and contact the assignment coordinator, CDR Stephen Kuzirian, with any questions at 301-713-7694 or assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov.