BOTC 137 Graduation

BOTC 137, along with USCG OCS class 2-21 and 5 officers from international partners Lebanon, Liberia, Malta and Sao Tome and Principe, graduated on Monday, May 3 in an outdoor ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. The class is currently in training at the United States Maritime Resource Center in Middletown, RI until May 19th.

Award winners for BOTC 137 are:

• Distinguished Honor Graduate Award: ENS Caroline Jahn
• Professional Mariner Award: ENS Caroline Jahn
• Academic Award: ENS Caroline Jahn
• Leadership in Communications Award: ENS Sarah Cozart
• Health and Physical Readiness Award: ENS Daniel Lucas

BOTC 137 and OCS 2-21 at their graduation ceremony at the United States Coast Guard Academy.

BOTC 137 waits to be told to take their seats at the beginning of the graduation ceremony on May 3.

USCG Vice Commandant ADM Ray and RDML Hann preside over the graduation ceremony of BOTC 137 and OCS 2-21.

Call for Volunteers: BOTC 139 Interviews

NOAA Corps Recruiting is looking for 20 motivated Officers (O2-O4) who are willing to complete interviews for BOTC 139. To improve consistency, Recruiting is asking each interviewer to conduct a minimum of 3-5 interviews.

Officers will conduct all interviews virtually via Google Meet. Interviews can be scheduled as early as the last week of May, with all interviews completed by June 25th.

This interview process is your chance to have a direct hand in shaping the future of the NOAA Corps. Please email LT Picard at noaacorps.recruiting@noaa.gov if you are interested. Thank you for the consideration!

Routing of Leave Slips - Convalescent Leave

As a reminder, the policies and procedures surrounding Convalescent Leave can be found in NCD Chapter 6, Part 4, Section 4. To ensure all officers are routing their slips in the same manner for Convalescent Leave, please adhere to the following protocols. The officer requesting the Convalescent Leave should:

• Complete sections 1 through 10 of noaaform 56-12
• Route to immediate supervisor, who will complete section 11, and sign therein.
• Route to Medical Affairs through LT MacGregor; helen.macgregor@noaa.gov, who will add comments (sect. 16)
• Route to Director, NOAA Corps though CPC Director: director.cpc@noaa.gov who will review and route for final approval (section 12)
• The approved Convalescent Leave slip will be returned to the officer and the immediate supervisor will serve as the Departure Authority (sections 13, 14, and 15); submission is the same as regular leave slips

Please know that because Convalescent Leave is for those individuals ill or injured, there are mechanisms in place for the slips to be retroactive. They are also only intended for officers who are currently Temporary Not Fit for Duty (TNFFD), as opposed to Limited Duty(LIMDU). If you are placed on LIMDU you are still engaging in duty. If you are TNFFD in excess of 7 days, you must confer with the Director, OHS, and seek approval for Convalescent Leave.

Communication Plan for Officers in Remote Locations

Medical Affairs would like to encourage ALL officers, but especially those in remote locations, to establish a communication plan in the event of an illness or injury. It may be the case that as an officer you are incapacitated and need assistance with communicating your needs. We encourage officers to share the following contact information with their immediate supervisor, or another person they interact with regularly, so that they have a resource for guidance and support in the instance that you are ill or injured.

Email: noaacorps.medical@noaa.gov
For guidance by phone: 202-657-8416

NOAA Corps Retention/DE&I Report

Back in December, 2020 a call was put out seeking volunteers to support a D&I working group focused on developing strategies to improve retention of underrepresented service members in the NOAA Corps. Over thirty volunteers from the NOAA Corps, Commissioned Personnel Center, and Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs volunteered for this effort and despite flight schedules, sea days, PCS's, training and multiple time zones the group has accomplished a great deal over the last five months. We are pleased to share a draft report with you on why organizations struggle with the retention of underrepresented service members and how we might make some improvements in the NOAA Corps. This is a grassroots effort where information was collected from literature and experiences. The findings and recommendations were peer reviewed by two DE&I experts in the field and a general counsel lawyer from DOC. Now we would like to hear from you on how we did. Please read the report posted here and if you have any comments, edits, or feedback please share them here. We will be accepting comments until COB, Friday, May 28^th. Thank you and we look forward to working with you when it comes time to roll up our sleeves and begin implementing positive change

NJAC Liaisons to the Commissioned Personnel Center

The NOAA Corps Junior Officer Advisory Committee (NJAC) Executive Board is looking for two junior officers (O1-O3) to serve as NJAC Liaisons to CPC. All eligible officers are encouraged to apply regardless of duty station, however the Board is seeking at least one junior officer (O1-O3) located in the National Capital Region (NCR). Officers will meet once a month with the CPC Director to discuss NJAC business -- the NCR officer will meet the CPC Director in-person (pending COVID-19 mitigation protocols), while the outside Liaison will attend in a virtual capacity. The NJAC CPC Liaison position is a 2.5-hour commitment per month (1.5 hour NJAC meeting, 30 minute CPC Director meeting, and 30 minutes of meeting preparation) and will need supervisory approval. This opportunity will allow you to show your dedication to the Service, engage in important conversations with Senior Leadership, and be the change you want to see in the NOAA Corps! Please email the NJAC Executive Board at njac.execboard@noaa.gov for more information.

N45RF Farewell Water Arch

NOAA's Gulfstream Turbo Commander (N45RF, NOAA45) returned to the Aircraft Operations Center from its last mission flight on Friday May 7th and was honored with a water arch by the Lakeland Fire Department. After 16 years of quality scientific service, NOAA45 finished her sundown season flying snow survey missions alongside NOAA's new Beechcraft King Air (N67RF, NOAA67). These joint-calibration flights helped ensure the torch was successfully passed from NOAA45 to NOAA67 to ensure we continue to collect this important data into the future. For a short description of the Snow Survey mission, visit - https://www.weather.gov/news/162602-airborne

NOAA Behavioral Health and Wellness

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In May, the Office of Health Services (OHS) joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Year-round, OHS fights stigma, provides support, educates NOAA, and advocates for policies that support the mental health of people and their families throughout our agency. These past 14 months have been difficult for us all and for many of us, the past several weeks have seen the great loss of friends and colleagues.

Now, more than ever, it is critical to reduce the stigma around mental health struggles, because that stigma often prevents individuals from seeking help. Attached is a two-page flyer with resourceful mental health information for you and your team. If you are working on an NOAA worksite, consider posting the information on a wall so people might have access to information when needed.

You are not alone. If you are not sure if you or someone you care about needs help, reach out and ask. Links to resources and contact information are on the attached flyer. Later this month, look for a short video introducing you to the entire NOAA Behavioral Health Team and a timely discussion about mental health.

Please take care of yourself while taking care of others.

Travel Advisory 21-4 - Department of Defense (DOD) - Transportation Security Administration (TSA)Precheck Program

The purpose of this advisory is to notify travelers that DOD’s “TSA PreCheck Program” is now available to all NOAA employees, free of charge. DOD’s TSA Precheck Program is a voluntary, expedited security screening process offered at over 180 domestic airports that allows participants to keep on their shoes, belt, and light jacket, and leave laptops and 3-1-1 compliant liquids in their carry-on bags. This is an incredible benefit that will allow employees to move through airports with greater ease. Another great perk about the program is that employees may use the program for both their official as well as their personal travel.

Please note that NOAA Corps officers were automatically enrolled into the program and therefore should not use the following enrollment process that NOAA civilian employees will use. NOAA civilian employees have not been automatically enrolled, and if interested in enrollment, will need to enroll in the program using their Common Access Card (CAC).

DOD’s TSA PRECHECK ENROLLMENT FOR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES:
To enroll, NOAA civilian employees must have an unexpired, and valid CAC, and will use DOD’s milConnect website to “opt in” to the program using their DoD ID number located on the back of their CAC. Please use the following link (#19) for step by step instructions on how to “opt in’:
https://sites.google.com/noaa.gov/tsaprecheck/table-of-contents

UTILIZING DOD’s TSA PRECHECK FOR FUTURE AIRLINE RESERVATIONS:
Employees who have successfully enrolled in DOD’s TSA Precheck program for official TDY travel will need to update their Travel Management Company (TMC) profile within the E2 system. Employees who wish to have their DoD ID number (also referred to as their Known Traveler Number (KTN)), populate automatically for each trip, will need to save their DoD ID number/KTN in their TMC Profile under the “Known Traveler” field.

PRECHECK INFORMATION/RESOURCES:
DOD’s TSA PreCheck Program Frequently Asked Questions - Please visit the following website, created by OCAO, for a list of frequently asked questions regarding the DOD TSA PreCheck Program: https://sites.google.com/noaa.gov/tsaprecheck/table-of-contents.

Support
System Support: DOD TSA PreCheck Program: https://www.tsa.gov/precheck/(866) 289-9673;
NOAA DOD TSA PreCheck: tsaprecheck4feds.help@noaa.gov/(301) 628-0917;
E2 Support: clientservices@noaa.gov/(301) 444-3400; or
Travel Policy Questions: chasity.n.grimm@noaa.gov/(301) 444-2129 or
rachael.s.wivell@noaa.gov/(301) 444-2136.