NOAA Corps Officers -
Happy New Year! 2023 is gearing up to be full of promise, important initiatives, and progress towards our OMAO strategic goals. In December, Congress passed an Omnibus Appropriations bill which provided $62.5M for the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps funding line. This is a welcome budget increase of $8.3M that will allow us to grow the NOAA Corps and better resource the CPC to support you. This budget increase is a direct reflection of your professionalism, the importance of your work, and your commitment to the nation. BZ, NOAA Corps and the CPC Team!
The FY 2023 budget also allowed us to complete the 2023 Officer Corps Management Plan, which is included below. I encourage everyone to read the plan here or you will find it posted to the CPC homepage. There are many other important announcements in this cyberflash so please continue reading for guidance on the end of year package, a welcome introduction, and even a request to the retired community.
Warm Regards,
RDML Chad Cary, NOAA
Deputy Director for OMAO Operations
Deputy Director for the NOAA Corps
Acting Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| 01 Feb 2023 | Officer Assignment Board |
| ENS Ian Searles | 20 Jan 2023 |
| LT Lydia Ames | 26 Jan 2023 |
| LTJG Gregory Friedman | 31 Jan 2023 |
| CAPT Philip Hall | 01 Feb 2023 |
| CAPT Jeffrey Taylor | 01 Feb 2023 |
| CDR Olivia Hauser | 01 Feb 2023 |
| LTJG Jeffrey Calderon | 01 May 2023 |
 LCDR Beth Zalno, PHS |
LCDR Beth Zalno is a USPHS officer and physician assistant. Her previous assignment was with the US Coast Guard at Base Cape Cod. At Base Cape Cod, she provided direct patient care as an aeromedical physician assistant. She routinely participated in flights as an aircrew member and spent time underway providing medical support. LCDR Zalno has had an interest in NOAA since learning about the organization's missions and operations.
LCDR Zalno was born and raised in central Pennsylvania. She completed her Masters of Health Science degree from Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania and continued her education by completing a Master of Public Health Degree and Doctorate of Medical Science degree. Upon completing her physician assistant certification, she was commissioned into the USPHS. Her first assignment was with the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Complex Allenwood, Pennsylvania. While at this assignment she was also a member of Rapid Deployment Force 3 which increased her interest in operational medicine. She is looking forward to using her clinical knowledge and operational experience in her role as the Deputy Chief, Medical Affairs Branch, a position previously held by LCDR Helen MacGregor. Please join me in welcoming LCDR Zalno to OMAO!
BOTC 141 with CDR Wattam, LCDR Reynaga and LT Picard.
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On Friday, January 13th, BOTC 141 took the oath of office at the NOAA Corps Officer Training Center at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. Over 70 friends and family virtually attended the ceremony for the 10 new officers. The new officers officially start BOTC on Tuesday, January 17th and are expected to graduate in May. Thank you to all who had a hand in facilitating BOTC 141!
| Name | Hometown |
| Felipe Almodovar | Rio Grande, PR |
| Preston Ancello | Fayetteville, NC |
| Ashley Black | Windsor, VA |
| Riley Black | Winder, GA |
| Nicholas Foster | Carrollton, GA |
| Edward Harris | Yuma, AZ |
| Elle Parks | Groton, CT |
| Danielle Remigio | Pottstown, PA |
| Melissa Rivera | Orlando, FL |
| Christina Starsinic | Hummelstown, PA |
The 2023 Officer Corps Management Plan (OCMP) is an annual plan that assists with the management of the NOAA Corps workforce by identifying officers within each grade that are eligible for promotion. The fiscal year 2023 (FY23) OCMP provides officer promotion recommendations based on a projection of planned officer accessions and attritions, as well as current NOAA-wide service needs. The OCMP serves as an execution plan to initiate the NOAA Corps promotion process. Special thank you to Michale McCarthy, CPC Workforce Planner, for his work on this important planning document.
The 2022 End of Year Package (EOYP) will be open for business on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. Access to and tracking the EOYP is ongoing through the NOAA Corps Official Personnel Files (OPF). CPC expects all officers to complete the EOYP by COB March 17, 2023. The responsibilities and features of the EOYP are very similar to last year's, with a few improvements based on feedback from the 2021 Survey. Please take some time to familiarize CPC's new HRMS interface and organize any files or discrepancies which are now more easily identified in the new layout.
CPC is actively shipping out the National Response Deployment Medals for those who were deployed on a ship or aircraft during COVID. If you have qualified for the medal and have not received it by the end of January, please contact LCDR Adrienne Hopper adrienne.hopper@noaa.gov. There is a memo authorizing you to wear either the award in your OPF which will be accompanied by the award certificates soon.
CPC and OMAO SMD will be hosting a webinar on January 25, 2023 to train officers on the contents of the new NOAA Corps Directives Chapter 16 "Physical Fitness and Body Composition" that RDML Cary sent out on 10 January. This webinar will be recorded and available on the CPC website following the webinar.
Please submit any questions you have using the following Google Form link so that we can ensure we answer them.
The webinar info is below:
Each quarter theNOAA Corps Junior Officer Advisory Committee (NJAC) will be hosing a webinar focused on the issues directed related to junior officers or other topical subjects. Topics in the past have ranged from the awards and promotion processes to aviation applications and NOAA Corps medical standards. If you have any questions about the webinar below, or have suggestions for future webinars please direct all comments to njac.execboard@noaa.gov.
Fleet Allocation Plan (FAP)
This session will expose the officers to the fleet planning process, the MO Planning,
Performance and Services Branch (PPSB) and the Fleet Allocation Plan process from start to
finish. You will learn how the FAP is developed including an understanding of the fleet council
and fleet working group stakeholders, the budget modeling process, and how ships schedules
are built. This webinar will also include a look into initiatives to improve the process for the
future.
Mark Your Calendars
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 2023/2024 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). Completed application packages should be sent to the corporation’s post office address (on the application form) and should be postmarked no later than Friday, April 21, 2023.
In addition, the ACO Scholarship team is looking for a new volunteer to support the scholarship process. This role has been generously filled by CAPT (Ret) Dave Peterson since 2003 (wow!) and he is ready to pass the baton. CAPT (Ret) Peterson has offered to stay on for another cycle to help train his replacement and I’m also willing to bet there is some delicious food somewhere in the mix as Dave is well known for his skills in the kitchen. The scholarship also recently received a generous donation from one of our retired officers which makes the offering even more exciting in 2023 as the ACO works to support America’s future leaders. Please reach out to CAPT(Ret) Peterson directly if you are interested (kmpdhp@comcast.net)