DC area ACO event

Save the Date!
The DC Association of Commissioned Officers Dining Out will be held on the evening of Saturday, November 05, 2022 at the Top of the Hill Banquet Center in Downtown DC
Uniforms: O1-O3: Dinner Dress Blue (SDB optional), O4 and above: Dinner Dress Blue Jacket, Civilian: Black tie optional

A Dining Out is a great opportunity to spend time with colleagues and their loved ones outside of work, especially after these tough few years. You do not need to be stationed in the area to join, all officers are welcome to attend. Email noaacorpsdcaco@gmail.com for more information if you are out of the DC area.

The Planning committee has been working hard to make this a wonderful event. Please reach out to noaacorpsdcaco@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering as well.

NOAA Corps Recommended Reading List

The recommended leadership reading list on the CPC website has not been updated in quite some time, and was located in a non-intuitive space on the CPC website.

LTJG Ryan Musick put in a substantial amount of effort to overhaul and update the reading list. Working closely with CPC, he solicited reading list recommendations from RADM Hann and other NOAA Corps senior leaders, OMAO’s DE&I Program Manager, and conducted a survey of the JO Fleet via the NJAC. Results were collated and analyzed from across all the various responses based on the number of times each individual book was recommended, along with its alignment to the NOAA Corps’ leadership development framework. Special attention was also given to ensure a diversity of authorship. The result is a more modern and relevant reading list for NOAA Corps’ future leaders, and a framework that allows officers to hone-in on books that address competencies they are looking to develop. Additionally, there were enough books specifically targeted to diversity issues that CPC has created a separate DE&I reading list. Both reading lists can now be accessed in the Career Management / Training section of the CPC website, and are individually linked below.

Bravo Zulu, LTJG Musick!

NOAA Corps Recommended Leadership Reading List
OMAO Diversity and Inclusion Recommended Reading

NOAA Corps Policy Development

In case you missed it, OMAO's Strategic Management Division (SMD) distributes quarterly newsletters about progress to date in implementing important provisions of the NOAA Corps Amendments Act of 2020. All NOAA Corps officers are encouraged to read these newsletters to understand what has been done so far and what it means for you. You can find these newsletters on the OMAO Intranet site under 'Newsletters.'

CPC, SMD, and DOC Office of General Counsel are working together as a tiger team to revise and refresh NOAA Corps Directives for compliance with current law and policy, to improve clarity, and to establish revision schedules for the future. The tiger team is first revising NOAA Corps Directive Chapter 1 for compliance and Chapter 8 to incorporate the Disability Evaluation System policy and procedures for medical separations among other updates. The team is also working to draft Chapter 2 and to significantly revise Chapter 7.

New Uniform and Changes

Hello from the UAB. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has announced its intent to replace its Operational Dress Uniform (ODU) with the Coast Guard Working Uniform (CGWU). The USCG is expecting this new uniform to be available for purchase online and will start a new phase-out procedure until the “old” ODUs are no longer available. Elements of the phase-out period will be based on the acquisition and distribution of the new working uniforms to all service members and the authorization to continue use of the ODU until the uniform is no longer serviceable and or a mandatory date to switch over, usually after reasonable assurance that all members have the new uniform. The NOAA Corps will follow the USCG in this phased approach and has been working the last few years to acquire the small details that will be required for NOAA Corps’ use. Most of the aspects of the NOAA Corps and USCG uniform will be the same with the exception of the “NOAA Corps” name tape and the velcro service Patch. There will be an update provided when the NOAA service patches will be available and the associated cost to officers.

Per the latest updates from the USCG Uniform Distribution Center this September 2022, Defense Logistics Agency is planning to roll out the first of these new uniforms in Q4 of FY23 with increased distribution throughout FY24. This new version of the uniform is expected to completely replace the ODU in FY25. The uniform will come in two different materials including a lighter fabric for tropical climates. With distribution for current NOAA Corps ODU’s winding down and new working uniform’s ramping up there might be a gap between uniform availability. Khaki uniforms may be the most appropriate uniform during this interim period depending on the occasion or activity. These new uniforms and patches will be available by placing an order at ShopCGX.
There are a number of benefits to the new Type III uniform:

• The Mandarin collar – allows for quick assimilation to General Quarters/Emergency conditions;
• Rank tab – allows for easy replacement of rank upon promotion/advancement without requiring uniform replacement or tailoring;
• Additional pocket; and
• Self-blousing trousers

Manner of wear guidance is being developed and will be released soon.

The new authorized ball cap to be used with this uniform will be similar to the current “NOAA Corps” cap. The small metal rank insignia is authorized and shall be affixed to the cap. The single gold oak leaves on the visor of the ball cap for Commanders and Captains are being phased out and will not be authorized for wear with the new working uniforms. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the UAB (noaacorps.uab@noaa.gov).

New ECDIS Training Requirement

As a result of the ongoing cancellation of paper charts, Marine Operations issued a bulletin on September 7th requiring all NOAA ships to switch to fully electronic navigation by the end of the year. The bulletin can be found in AODocs and is linked here. In short, all maritime officers are required to complete a USCG-approved STCW Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) course. A large portion of sea-going NOAA Corps officers have already completed this course. If you have previously completed the course, you do not have to take it again. CPC is working to verify which officers still need to take this course, and we will reach out to officers directly in the coming weeks in order to verify our list is accurate. Once we know who still needs this training, we will work closely with Marine Operations to develop a plan to get 100% of sea-going officers this required training. Please contact CDR Bill Winner at william.winner@noaa.gov or LT Diane Perry at Diane.M.Perry@noaa.gov if you have questions.

Basic Allowance for Housing

This is beyond CPC's authority, but the CPC team is always advocating for NOAA Corps Officers to be included in pay and benefit increases. As a result of this advocacy, the recent BAH increase approved by DOD Military Personnel will go into effect on October 1, 2022 for NOAA Corps officers assigned in the following duty stations in advance of the CY2023 increases: San Diego, CA, Miami, FL, Maui County, HI, Cape Cod/Plymouth, MA, and Newport, RI.

For more information on the Basic Allowance for Housing, visit https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for-Housing/. For a list of the increased rates in the 28 MHAs, visit https://www.travel.dod.mil/Portals/119/Documents/BAH/BAH_Rates_All_Locations_All_Pay_Grades/PDF-Excel/2022_Automatic_BAH_Rate_Increases.pdf or access the BAH calculator at https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/Basic-Allowance-for- Housing/BAH-Rate-Lookup/