Good afternoon, NOAA Corps,
Fall is now in full swing, the calendar year's end is right around the corner, and we find ourselves approaching the first federal holiday of November, Veterans Day, when we honor military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
In an office discussion the other day, a colleague challenged me with something I had never considered before: the phrase, “Thank you for your service,” may not necessarily be a welcome phrase for those who have donned a uniform. Taken aback at this idea, I curiously prodded a bit and learned that some may feel awkward or uncomfortable, simply because it has become commonplace for someone to say it when they find out another has served in the Armed Forces; and the individual being thanked may only view their service as volunteering to do a job, getting paid to do it, and then coming home. Other views may be considered slightly more pessimistic, where some believe that the thanks is a low-effort method to ease guilt of those who haven’t served, or even worse, a potentially passive-aggressive expression implying a member’s “service” to an individual.
While I can say that I consciously try to thank veterans for their service in a mindful and reverent manner whenever I get the chance, I also admit and appreciate that when something we say seems overused, it may lose its luster and/or value for the receiving individual(s). Therefore, on this Veterans Day weekend, I’m resolving to change up my “thanks” for veteran service. Rather than simply saying thank you, I intend to show my genuine appreciation for veterans by reaching out to at least one and asking them to share a part of their personal service journey. One of the most valuable assets we share with our fellow service members is our connection with each other through our commitment to the country and Constitution, and the relative sacrifices we make in that commitment with the support of our families and friends. Everyone has a story, and through that story we can all better understand, advocate for, and assist each other.
So in that vein, I am personally grateful for your uniformed service, for the service of all veterans, and I look forward to hearing about and sharing with others our stories in the coming days, weeks, and years.
Warmest Regards,
Captain Chris van Westendorp, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| 17 Nov 2023 | BOTC-142 Graduation, Radar training, Advanced Firefighting Training |
| 11 Dec 2023 | Officer Assignment Board |
| 16 Jan 2024 | Ops Working Group |
| Apr 2024 (tent.) | Initial Flight AAB |
| LCDR Richard DeTriquet | 30 Nov 2023 |
| LCDR Alan Hough | 30 Nov 2023 |
| LCDR Bryan Begun | 01 Dec 2023 |
| LT Lee Shoemaker | 01 Dec 2023 |
| LT Frank Centinello | 08 Dec 2023 |
| LTJG Samuel Umfress | 15 Dec 2023 |
| CDR Lindsay Kurelja | 01 Jan 2024 |
| LTJG Tyler Aldrich | 31 Jan 2024 |
| LTJG Gabriella McGann | 15 Feb 2024 |
| LTJG Katherine Mitchell | 20 Feb 2024 |
| ENS Norman Sween | 29 Feb 2024 |
| LTJG Cabot Zucker | 15 Mar 2024 |
REFTRA and BOTC 142 pose in front of USMRC. Photo Credit: Rick Comeau |
The past few weeks have been busy for BOTC 142 as things begin to wind down for graduation. BOTC split up into two groups with one spending the week conducting RADAR at USMRC in Rhode Island, while the other spent time working on navigation and time underway on Project Oceanology’s research vessel in Groton, CT.
This past week, BOTC 142 had the opportunity to prepare navigation briefs for their future ships’ transits into their respective homeports. This allowed officer candidates to put the skills that they have been learning these past few months at BOTC into practice in preparation for their futures as ensigns in the fleet. Flight school officer candidates also got to present briefs specific to their future aircraft. ENS Davis Benningfield and LT Parrish joined remotely from AOC to help mentor.
While at USMRC, BOTC 142 had the opportunity to meet and interact with the NOAA Corps Officers engaged in their REFTRA training at the same time, to include after hour social engagements as well as professional development interactions. There were also special appearances by Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Chad Cary and Captain Jeff Shoup, who took the time out of their schedules to meet with the class in person. This meant that over 10% of the NOAA Corps were together under the same roof!
Like all voyages, BOTC 142 is coming to its conclusion. With “Rules of the Road” and “RADAR” in the books, they inch ever closer toward graduation. Morale remains high, as BOTC 142 officer candidates enjoy their remaining days together before some of them depart for AOC after graduation on November 17, while the others move to Rhode Island to continue their training.
As a reminder, NOAA Corps Officers are not entitled to any portion of per diem (Meals or Incidental Expenses) while TDY aboard a government ship. This is addressed as an exception to Per Diem in the JTRs section 020315-F-1 "Per Diem While Aboard a Government Ship." From the JTRs: "A Service member TDY aboard a ship is provided meals with or without charge, and is ineligible for per diem beginning 0001 on the day after arrival through 2400 on the day before departing the ship." Travel Arrangers and Officers are required to zero the M&IE portion of travel authorization and vouchers each day once the officer arrives at the ship.
Several attentive officers noticed that the On The Horizon placeholder for the winter Initial Flight Aviation Advisory Board went missing in the last couple of Cyberflash messages. Rest assured that no one intended to cause concern or confusion; rather, CPC and AOC have been working together to determine requirements and timing. We are now announcing that an initial flight AAB will take place in April 2024, with current plans to select one officer. Further information will be provided once documentation deadlines and board dates have been finalized.
The system used to track training requirements for promotions will receive an update when the next version of OPF goes live. In the not-too-distant future, the system will be capable of reading an officer’s OPF and marking the status of their promotability on the OPF home page based on validated training certificates in the OPF. Both needed and received documents will be visible. This update may cause some discrepancies if any existing certificates weren't previously uploaded in recognized categories. CPC has a comparison list and will ensure accuracy case-by-case after the update.
**Note: For officers potentially in the April 2024 promotion zones, CPC staff will ensure records are prioritized and accurate before the boards. Please standby for more information on the release of the updated OPF/HRMS system.
Also, CPC has noted several courses in the LT and LCDR CLC promotion training that are marked as inactive. Know that we have contacted the training vendor and made selections for alternate courses. Once the courses are updated, those new ones will be made available. If an officer has already taken these courses before they were marked inactive, they should receive credit and shouldn't have to retake the new courses; please open an HR ticket if the system indicates a completed course must be retaken.
In a Cyberflash announcement earlier this year, we announced a new allowance in the FY23 NDAA for members with a permanent duty station in Alaska. The entitlement as described in the NDAA allows a one-time airfare reimbursement to a member who travels back to their home of record on approved leave during their assignment. After an extensive series of reviews over several months, it’s been determined that the FY23 NDAA authorizes this entitlement for Armed Forces members only.
The historical course of CPC business regarding Joint Travel Regulations updates (particularly those that include parts of the U.S. Code applicable to "uniformed" versus "armed” services) led us to preliminarily conclude that the Alaska entitlement would apply to NOAA Corps. However, follow-on Department of Defense interpretation of the FY23 NDAA language, as well as our own Office of General Counsel (OGC), does not support that conclusion.
We have informed the most immediately impacted officers of this development, and we fully understand and appreciate any frustration that it may cause. Please be assured that CPC is actively working with legislative affairs staff and OGC to determine potential solutions moving forward. We are also reviewing our internal processes for vetting future entitlement changes to help ensure this kind of administrative oversight does not reoccur. Unfortunately, unless the law changes as written, NOAA Corps and USPHS officers are not able to claim this reimbursement for 2023 and until further notice.
As always, please reach out to us at CPC with any questions or concerns.
The Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is seeking a highly motivated junior officer to support the Emergency Response Division (ERD) as the Regional Response Officer (RRO) Southeast. This billet is being relocated to the NOAA Disaster Response Center (DRC) in Mobile, AL to provide numerous benefits including increased collaborative work alongside multiple OR&R teams and professional career development in critical areas of expertise such as emergency response, training, safety, and disaster preparedness.
The RRO supports the Scientific Support Coordinators (SSC) in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast regions in emergency response efforts and operational support requests from the USCG, FEMA, and other response agencies. They provide scientific support to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator during the release of oil or hazardous materials. This officer is responsible for maintaining 24/7 operational preparedness and will gain Incident Command System (ICS) experience, progress to serving as a SSC, establish working relationships across the emergency response community and lead multidisciplinary scientific teams.
Ideally, the best qualified candidate would report to this assignment no later than February 2024, but any interested officer regardless of rotation date should contact the NOS Technical Assistant Liaison Officer for OR&R, CDR Faith Knighton at ssc.northwest@noaa.gov for more information. Please contact the Assignment Coordinator at assignmentbranch.cpc@noaa.gov if you would like this billet or have questions about your rotation.