Fellow NOAA Corps officers,
Next week I will be giving a presentation about the NOAA Corps at the Washington State Annual Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission (MIC3) Annual Conference. The MIC3 is a compact between the Council of State Governments and the Department of Defense, started in 2006 to address some of the educational challenges children of military families face when transitioning between schools. Since then the MIC3 has gone about establishing compacts with all 50 states, a goal they achieved in 2016. The MIC3 includes all uniformed services and reached out to me in 2016 while serving as the Officer Career Management Division Chief as they had never engaged with the NOAA Corps. I spoke at their National Convention last year and received a warm welcome and a commitment to move forward in supporting the NOAA Corps.
CPC is currently working with the MIC3 to develop a regional model for NOAA Corps. The Washington State MIC3 Commissioner has invited the Oregon, California, and Hawaii commissioners to also attend the Washington conference next week to establish the Western region for the NOAA Corps, with the Washington State Commission to be lead. Our intent is to do the same for a Southeast Region and Northeast Region, with Florida and Virginia being the lead commissions respectively.
Until we get this regional model in place, I have a direct line to the MIC3 Executive Director and Executive Committee Chairperson. I have also had many state level commissioners and state level School Liaison Officers (SLO) offer support if needed. The MIC3 website has valuable information for NOAA Corps officers with children and a link to find a local SLO if needed. Most likely many local SLOs will not know who we are but you can refer them to the MIC3 website to show that we are covered in order to use their services. Please reach out to me if you need additional assistance.
CAPT Devin Brakob, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| Late Sep 2020 | Aviation Advisory Board |
| 07 Oct 2020 | O-4/O-5 Shore Assignments - Officer Assignment Board |
| 08 Oct 2020 | BOTC 136 Billet Night |
| CDR Mark Blankenship | 01 Oct 2020 |
| CAPT Devin Brakob | 01 Dec 2020 |
| LTJG Sara Wood | 01 Dec 2020 |
| LCDR Ryan Wartick | 01 Jan 2021 |
BOTC 136 has made it to the halfway point of the program. The class has wrapped up the first part of the program with electronic navigation and fast rescue boat training. On September 20th, the class will join their USCG shipmates and set sail on the USCGC Eagle. Upon their return from underway training, the class will begin their hardest week yet, studying Rules of the Road. Additionally, on October 8th, the students will be receiving their first ship assignment at billet night. Billet night will be livestreamed and the link will be sent out as we get closer to the event.
OC Menniti works on righting the overturned life raft during pool exercises at the USCGA pool.
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CAPT Levine watches on as an OC practices an immersion suit entry into the water from a raised platform.
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OCs practice swimming in their immersion suits and come together to "raft."
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For all O-4s, O-5s and O-6s - the OMAO Training Division is excited to announce an outstanding education opportunity. OMAO leadership will sponsor one officer in the one-year Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) program for the 2021-2022 school year. Requirements, schedule, and process for application are available on the HKS website and all application and admission questions should be directed to HKS.
All accepted officers should provide their letter (email) of acceptance to the OMAO Training Division to be considered for the one sponsorship slot. Officers who submit proof of acceptance will be provided further guidance for OMAO requirements including future career goals. The officer will be selected from a pool of combined applicants from all three grades.
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/admissions-aid/masters-program-admissions/how-apply/degree-program-prerequisites
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/educational-programs/masters-programs/mid-career-master-public-administration
Please review the above links and consider competing for the OMAO nomination. If you have any questions please contact CAPT Zegowitz at kurt.zegowitz@noaa.gov.
The following information is provided for your awareness.
CPC will once again be authorizing debris pickup following the shipment of HHG. This means if you choose to unpack your HHG yourself, we will authorize the pickup of the used boxes and packing materials. Request approval through your Human Resources Specialist.
OMAO Resource Management Division is requesting an officer at the O-3 / O-4 level for a 6-month detail within the OMAO Resource Management Division (RMD) as a Budget Formulation Analyst. The timeframe for this detail would be roughly from October 2020 to April 2021. The officer would gain significant experience and insight into OMAO's high-level budget processes, providing budgetary materials and advice for OMAO leadership, including the OMAO CFO, to ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of OMAO programs. In this role, the officer will develop formal budget requests to Congress, in consultation with OMAO programs, NOAA, the Department of Commerce, and OMB. This includes clearly communicating the impact of budgeting decisions on OMAO's operations through materials like the President's annual budget request, briefing materials, and responses to Congressional staff. In addition, the officer would provide analysis and justification of OMAO's budgetary requirements and interpret budget-related congressional actions for OMAO leadership and programs. Because this is an election year, the officer may also assist in developing briefing materials about OMAO programs for newly elected and/or politically appointed officials.
Though this opportunity is not limited to officers in the National Capital Region, if an officer outside the DC area were selected for this detail they would be required to travel to the DC area for much, if not all, of this time period. Any associated travel costs would be covered by OMAO.
If you are interested in this detail opportunity, please contact CDR Ryan Wattam at chief.careermgmt.cpc@onaa.gov or 301-713-7748.
An Aviation Advisory Board (AAB) will convene at the end of September to make recommendations for AOC's next G-IV and P-3 pilots. This AAB will not have minimum Total Flight Time and Aircraft Commander experience requirements, however, these factors will be taken into consideration. Selections will be made for one G-IV pilot and one P-3 pilot. Rank and time in service, while not limited, will also be factors in the selection process.
By COB, September 23, 2020, all interested officers should submit a one-page document to CDR Stephen Kuzirian at assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov, with the following detailed information:
Please note, for official boards convened by the Director, NOAA Corps, members will have access to Official Personnel Files. Please ensure that your file and assignment preferences are up to date. Inter-service candidates can submit prior personnel records to CDR Stephen Kuzirian.
There have been several inquiries regarding when there may be a selection from the Fleet for NOAA aviators. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Air Force had previously suspended scheduling AFOQT and TBAS testing, which are requirements for our aviator candidates. Subsequently, an Aviation Advisor Board (AAB) for these selections was put on hold. However, some locations are now starting to allow testing again. If you are interested in applying, please reach out to your local Air Force recruiter to see if you are able to schedule an appointment and inform CDR Brad Fritzler of that capability. Once testing is widely available, we will schedule an AAB for initial flight training in the coming months.
Officers with specific questions regarding these positions may contact CDR Brad Fritzler at bradley.fritzler@noaa.gov.
An Officer Assignment Board (OAB) for O-4/O-5 shore assignments will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 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 assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov or by phone at 301-713-7694.
The National Center for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) is seeking an O-2 to serve as Scientific Support Specialist in Silver Spring, Maryland. NCCOS's Biogeography Branch is actively engaged in conducting comprehensive seafloor mapping to provide products to inform coastal management and decision making. The officer would support multiple seafloor mapping projects throughout the U.S. and U.S. Caribbean. The officer should have a hydrographic background and technical expertise in bathymetric data acquisition, post-processing, and collection standards. The officer should also have experience with ESRI® ArcGIS™ software.
The officer will provide data management support to projects conducting ecological assessments of marine ecosystems and coordinating with partners to prioritize mapping efforts. This includes: assist with field mission preparation and planning; perform quality assurance and control (QA/QC) on collected data to meet specifications; and identify and compile available datasets. The officer will also provide GIS and remote sensing support to projects developing habitat maps of marine ecosystems. This includes: the development of cartographic products and metadata; processing and archival of remotely sensed data (e.g. satellite imagery, lidar, multibeam, backscatter, field observations); and assistance with the acquisition of data or samples in the field.
This billet is scheduled to be available in January 2022. If interested, please refer to the billet description and contact the NOS Liaison Officer, CAPT Benjamin Evans (benjamin.k.evans@noaa.gov), or the current NCCOS Scientific Support Specialist LTJG Jennifer Kraus (jennifer.kraus@noaa.gov).