From the Recruiter’s Desk: Administrative Absence

While the NOAA Corps Recruiting Branch typically funds recruiting events, sometimes officers find themselves in a situation to organically promote the organization. If one of these opportunities presents itself while you are otherwise on leave, there are a couple of options available.

As defined in the NOAA Corps Directives, Chapter 6, Section 06501.A.3, Administrative Absence, not changeable as leave, is authorized for specific circumstances to attend or participate in activities of an official or semi-official nature to the benefit of the NOAA Corps.

Officers may be permitted, with supervisory approval, to invoke Administrative Absence to support recruiting efforts. For example, if an officer plans Annual Leave to visit back home, he or she may be able to add a day of recruiting at their local high school, alma mater, or NOAA Corps sanctioned recruiting event. This day of recruiting could be considered for Administrative Absence.

Additionally, with supervisory approval, you may be able to structure your regular leave request to include a day of recruiting as a duty day.

The NOAA Corps Recruiting Branch is ready to support officer recruiting efforts with coaching, recruiting presentations, and outreach material. As a small division with a big responsibility, we appreciate officer support of NOAA Corps recruiting efforts.

Special Leave Accrual; 2022 Extension / Update

On April 16, 2020, the Department of Defense authorized the Special Leave Accrual (SLA) in recognition of the impact of the Department’s response to COVID-19 on service members' ability to take leave and properly manage their leave balances for the remainder of fiscal year 2020. On April 28, 2020, the Director of NOAA Corps issued a letter to authorize the same benefits for officers and retain such unused leave until the end of fiscal year 2023.

On September 01, 2022, RADM Hann signed the authorization to extend the SLA with an updated maximum carryover limits of 80 days as of September 30, 2022. The maximum carryover for fiscal year 2020 was set at 120 days. In general, no officer who was on active duty in the NOAA Corps had more than 90 days (3 years earned leave) as of September 30, 2020. Each officer that possessed more than 60 days of leave was allowed to retain those days up to September 30, 2023. This update allows officers to retain up to 80 days of earned leave up to September 30, 2024. Any days earned after September 30, 2022 are not protected by this authority and are subject to expire under the normal end of fiscal year 60-day rules.

There are few exceptions that include inter-service transfers from the Department of Defense that were commissioned during fiscal year 2022 and granted an authorization by their previous service. For planning purposes, NOAA Corps officers will also be allowed to accumulate leave in excess of 60 days (not to exceed 70 days) as shown on the end of month September 2023 CG-5209-ACT.

If an officer had a leave balance in excess of 60 days (e.g. 80 days; 20 days over annual carryover limit) on September 30, 2022, the SLA authority will allow the officer to carryover the 20 additional days until September 30, 2023. Those 20 days of earned leave will be marked as “carryover balance” on your payslip. If that same officer has 90 days of annual leave on September 30, 2022, the officer will lose 10 days of leave under this 2020 authorization.

Officers can view their SLA balance on their payslips (Leave & Earning Statement) in Direct Access (Peoplesoft) in the lower box of the leave summary section at the line titled, "End Special Leave Carryover Balance".

Please actively plan for and use your leave throughout each fiscal year to the extent that you are able to do so. While use of leave is highly encouraged, the granting of leave is still subject to supervisors’ approval and mission requirements. Therefore, please understand that a single last-minute request for excessive amounts of consecutive days may not be granted based on mission requirements.

Competitive Hiring Authority

In November 2021, the NOAA Office of Human Capital Services (OHCS) released H.R. Guidance Bulletin #1005; implementing NOAA’s new authority to allow active or former NOAA Corps officers, who have served at least three years, to compete for civilian positions which would otherwise only be open to internal NOAA candidates. Department of Commerce (DOC) policy generally required announcements to be DOC-wide however, not allowing for individual agencies to restrict the applicant pool to their agency.

WHAT’S NEW: On July 28, 2022, the DOC Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) approved a waiver to that DOC policy for the exclusive use of appointing an eligible NOAA Corps officer. This waiver allows NOAA to appoint qualified, active or retired NOAA Corps Officers to open civilian billets. In order to utilize the new authority and subsequent waiver, a NOAA hiring manager would need to know this in advance and ensure that the area of selection is limited to NOAA only. If you are interested in a civil service position within NOAA after your NOAA Corps career, make sure that the hiring managers you are interested in working with understand this authority and encourage them to reach out to their servicing HR Business Advisor to ensure they apply this authority correctly.

Changes to the All-Volunteer Educational Assistance Program, Montgomery GI Bill

To ensure awareness of changes concerning two provisions of the All-Volunteer Educational Assistance Program, Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), and key dates relevant to each change.

Section 1003 of the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of2020 (Public Law 116-315), amended 38 U.S.C. § 3011 by changing: (1) the period for election to receive benefits under the MGIB from the time of initial entry on active duty to a 90-day period following 180 days after the date on which the individual initially enters initial training; and (2) for basic pay reductions under this program to be for the first 12 months that begin after the date that is 270 days after entering initial training. These provisions take effect on January 5, 2023.

Section 1004 of the same act, phases out the All-Volunteer Educational Assistance Program (MGIB) beginning October 1, 2030. This means no new participants may enter the program after September 30, 2030. However, participants already enrolled as of September 30, 2030, will continue to be eligible to use the benefit past this date, subject to and within other limitations ( e.g., limitation of months of entitlement; time limitation; bar to duplication of benefits; limitations based on conversion to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, etc.).

Training Required for Promotion Course Updates in CLC

Expired NOAA Corps 3: LCDR Curriculum Course:

CDC Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication has been removed from CDC’s training website for content updates. CPC is working on generating a NOAA-specific course, but in the interim: IS-29.A: Public Information Officer Awareness offered by FEMA will fulfill this requirement. Please stand by while the NOAA Corps 3: LCDR curriculum is updated to reflect this new course. Updates will be complete NLT October 31, 2022. If you have completed CDC Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication prior to this change and have NOT yet completed the NOAA Corps 3: LCDR curriculum then please work with cpc.training@noaa.gov to receive proper credit.

CLC Updates On the Horizon:

October 31, 2022 CLC is releasing a new learning feature called Percipio. As a result, the Training Required for Promotion curricula will be getting updates. If your curriculum is in progress you will receive credit for the courses you have already completed. If you are in-progress in any courses, work to complete that course NLT 31 OCT 2022 to receive completion credit. Please contact cpc.training@noaa.gov with any questions.

Major changes to REFTRA

Over the past number of years, CPC has received feedback from REFTRA attendees, Marine Operations Leadership, officers afloat, and most recently from the JO Morale Survey that the practical shiphandling training provided to our seagoing officers is insufficient to adequately prepare them for piloting our ships. CPC has heard you. Coordinating closely with Marine Operations Leadership, OCMD has made some substantial changes to the 3 week REFTRA curriculum. Almost a full week of the historical curriculum was consolidated or removed in order to free up a full week for practical shiphandling training.

The first iteration of this new curriculum will be REFTRA class commencing next month in October. The first 2 weeks of REFTRA will be conducted at USMRC in RI and will focus on the more familiar and historical REFTRA curriculum. For the 3rd week, the class will fly to Covington, LA to partake in manned models and shiphandling simulator training at the Maritime Pilots Institute. NOAA Corps Officers who have attended manned models training have given the training rave reviews as some of the best shiphandling training they have had.

For those unfamiliar with manned models training, they are scale models of commercial ships with similar propulsion and displacement ratios to their real-world counterparts. The use of manned models allow for multiple officers to get hands-on shiphandling experience simultaneously, and individual maneuvering exercises can be conducted and cycled more rapidly than on large ships. There is also a greatly reduced risk of property damage if you run one into the dock.

The goal of providing more substantial practical shiphandling training to our incoming OPSs, XOs, and COs, is to dramatically increase the shiphandling proficiency in the fleet. We are excited to hear the feedback from the officers going through this new REFTRA curriculum, and will continue to evaluate the curriculum to ensure officers are well prepared to return to sea.

From the Assignments Desk: NOS - Billet #7198 - NGS Lidar and Hydrographic Survey Development Officer, Silver Spring, MD

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is looking for a motivated Junior Officer entering their first shore assignment to become the next NGS Lidar and Hydrographic Survey Developmental Officer. Assigned to the Remote Sensing Division (RSD), the officer will be expected to complete a Master of Science program in Hydrographic Sciences approved by the Chief, Remote Sensing Division. This will provide operational experience and contribute to NGS while also attaining academic and hands-on training that will prepare the officer for the follow on billet #7199. The advanced degree is fully funded by NOAA and officers assigned will be expected to complete a three service obligation upon completion of the training program.

Following training, this officer will be a member of a 3-person crew aboard the NOAA King Air and Twin Otter aircraft. Duties primarily focus on operating aerial camera equipment for coastal mapping and Emergency Response data collection. The officer also serves as the Liaison to the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX) coordinating hydrographic survey operations with partner agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. This is a mobile assignment, with approximately 40% of time spent in the field. While in the office, duties include data processing and other project completion tasks. The location of operations are nationwide based on survey requirements and driven by water levels and weather conditions. Assigned officers are eligible to receive the Mobile Duty Service Ribbon and can earn the qualification of Mission Commander.

The incumbent rotates out of billet #7198 in May, 2023. Interested officers are encouraged to contact LTJG Julia Waldsmith (julia.m.waldsmith@noaa.gov), or LCDR Brian Richards (brian.richards@noaa.gov), and the Assignment Coordinator at assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov to learn more.

From the assignments desk: Sea Time Credit While Sailing as Scientific Party

Time aboard ships in all capacities is vital to an officer’s career and an important part in bolstering the reputation of the NOAA Corps. Participation in a project as part of the science complement is an important part of an officer’s professional development because it helps build a foundation and understanding of the scientific processes OMAO supports through data collection. It is also an opportunity to impress a command and potentially receive an endorsement for future assignments.

Effective October 1, 2022, officers sailing as part of a scientific complement will be eligible for credit towards their total career sea time. To ensure it’s captured correctly, an officer will need to submit a copy of their endorsed travel orders through OPF. PCS and TDY orders in OPF are processed by the Assignments Branch and to ensure they make it to the right place, be sure to select “Endorsed PCS/PCA/Augmentation Orders” under document type before clicking submit. Contact assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov if there are discrepancies with the assignment or TDY history. Additionally, it is up to each officer to promptly submit endorsed orders to noaacorps.payrollunit@noaa.gov to avoid processing delays with sea pay entitlements.