Good afternoon, fellow officers,
I am honored and humbled to be sitting in this chair right now and hope this note finds you all well. Now, before I get started on my Director's note, I must give a shout out (and hearty thanks) to outgoing CPC Director, RDML(sel) Chad Cary. While his time at CPC may have been shorter than he had hoped, he has passed along a superb team that is already hard at work implementing the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2020, referred to often as our reauthorization or simply, the reauth. I feel set up for success with my new coworkers at CPC and thank him for his service along with wishing him well as he assumes his new role as Deputy Director of OMAO and the NOAA Corps. He is no doubt going to succeed; thank you, RDML(sel) Cary!
As for me, my road to CPC wasn't exactly a road when I think about it: starting out to sea as an ensign on NOAA Ships McArthur and McArthur II, transitioning to the skies in our Twin Otters and G-IV, and more recently at OMAO Operations HQ supporting the Deputy Director. All the while, smiling at every turn, assignment, and adventure. We are a unique cadre of officers and each of us can truly make an impact on our organization if we are willing to show up. And that is the guiding principle I would like to share today.
Show up.
I know I have seen and heard previous leaders of our organization talk about punctuality, and yes that is important, however I am referring to simply being available to your supervisors, coworkers, and, perhaps most importantly, opportunity. You will find that it is of vital importance to your own personal growth and development as well as that of NOAA as a whole. This principle is a variant of the old adage "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" and I hope that it resonates well with you out there on shore, out to sea, or up in the air. Remember, all they can say is no but they will remember you showed up and tried. So with the ringing in of a new year, I am optimistic and empowered to be the change I want to see in the world. And in order to do that, I had best show up.
Thank you for reading and I'm going to take a page from our acting Administrator, Mr. Ben Friedman, as I sign off.
It's a new day, OMAO.
Stay healthy,
CDR Douglas MacIntyre, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| 25 Mar 2021 | OCS 2-21/BOTC 137 Billet Night |
| LTJG Brian Caldwell | 01 Feb 2021 |
| CDR Sean Cimilluca | 01 Mar 2021 |
| LTJG Tyler Fifield | 22 Mar 2021 |
| RADM Michael Silah | 01 Apr 2021 |
| CDR Paul Kunicki | 01 May 2021 |
CDR Rebecca Waddington and LCDR Danielle Varwig brief BOTC 137 on NOAA Aviation and the Aircraft Operations Center during the Restriction of Movement (ROM) phase of the program
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BOTC 137 is nearing the final stages of the Restriction of Movement (ROM) phase of the program. The class has completed all of the required administrative briefings and has moved on to classwork in Basic Seamanship and Basic Safety Training. In addition to their required classwork, throughout BOTC the students sit through briefings on the various possibilities that are open to them during their career. The first one for this class was a briefing from the Aircraft Operations Center.
The Executive Committee of National ACO Scholarships, Inc. has issued its annual call to high school seniors and college undergrads for applications for scholarship awards for the 2021/2022 academic year. The two-page application form is available on the "Resources" page of the NOAA Officer Family Association website (www.nofaweb.org), under the heading "National ACO Scholarships, Inc." Application forms may also be obtained by contacting Secretary/Treasurer Captain Dave Peterson, NOAA (Ret), by phone (301-233-8090) or email (kmpdhp@comcast.net). Complete application packages should be sent to the corporation's post office address (on the application form) and should be postmarked this year no later than Thursday, April 15, 2021.
Given the severity of the pandemic, Medical Affairs will continue the extension for officer medical readiness, given the reprioritization of routine and non-urgent medical appointments at military and non-military medical facilities.
Medical Affairs is currently recommending against any elective in-person medical procedures including those required for individual basic readiness. Medical Affairs is extending the date for all individual medical requirements until March 31, 2021.
It is important that all officers should continue to seek out necessary care for chronic, urgent, and emergent conditions.
If more than five years have lapsed since your last physical, or you have experienced a major change in your physical health and you are deploying in the next three months, please contact Medical Affairs to request a "pre-deployment screener".
Medical Affairs is standing by for further information regarding the implementation strategy for our NOAA Corps officers.
We will be closely following the DoD phased approach which is based on the CDC recommendations for prioritization. Here is how we interpret the DoD phases, at the current time of writing.
Most NOAA Corps officers will fall into four phases/sub-phases from 1b (critical workers) through phase 3 (healthy uniformed personnel).
| Phase 1b.2/1b.3: | Those preparing to deploy, who are considered mission-critical/ mission- essential support personnel will fall into phase 1b.2 or 1b.3. Those determinations are to be made by their line or staff offices and those individuals will be notified. |
| Phase 2: | Those who are considered high risk. This includes heart conditions, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, smoking, and obesity. Some of our officers fall into this category. Please discuss your eligibility for the vaccine with your Primary Care Provider at your MTF. |
| Phase 3: | The remainder of the NOAA Corps will fall into this phase. If you are not deploying, are not considered critical, and are not at greater risk of disease you will receive your vaccination during the third phase. |
Please be advised to remain flexible as many agencies to include DoD, will possibly have changes/updates in their guidelines due to a new Administration and vaccine availability.
Please note, if you are NOT currently assigned to an MTF because of your remote location, you will be following your state and local vaccine roll-out strategy. Contact your local Public Health Department for this information.
Medical Affairs highly recommends that if you have the opportunity to receive a vaccine through state and local health partners you accept it. Please know, however, that you do have the right to refuse a vaccine at this time. Please upload documentation to your eOPF once the series of two doses are completed. We do not endorse one vaccine over another; both vaccines approved for use (Moderna and Pfizer) are considered safe.
When a NOAA Corps officer is separated from the NOAA Corps for any reason, ie (Discharge, Resign, etc.), that officer is allowed LIMITED ACCESS to the Direct Access System for eighteen (18) months after that separation. The officer MUST submit a Customer Care Ticket to Coast Guard PPC to get this access. This access is to allow the officer to keep their address up to date and to be able to retrieve any documents and W2's they may need that they may not have had time to retrieve before separation.
The OAR Global Monitoring Laboratory is seeking an officer to serve as the South Pole Station Chief starting in July 2021. The Global Monitoring Laboratory 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 will train in Boulder, Colorado for three months before spending one year in Antarctica at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station operating atmospheric monitoring instruments, managing observatory facilities, coordinating shipping logistics, and assisting with other station duties. Upon returning to Boulder, the officer would conduct debriefs with NOAA scientists and help train the next officer deploying to the GML's observatories. This billet is approximately 18 months long.
This billet provides independent, self-starting, adventurous individuals with the opportunity to 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.
Interested officers should update their billet preferences and send their biographies and resumes to Christy Schultz at christine.schultz@noaa.gov.