Happy Thanksgiving Eve, NOAA Corps,
In this relatively abbreviated holiday edition of the Cyberflash, I wanted to take a moment to seasonally reflect on being thankful. I have long stood by the idea that through gratitude we can discover our best selves and live our best lives. For example, this year I am thankful for my colleagues and coworkers for their dedication and resilience, as well as my friends and family for their love and compassion, in working together to keep us all balanced through the inevitable churn that comes from working and growing in our dynamic organization. I am also thankful for the strength and unity of our leadership teams within OMAO and NOAA overall, as their steadfast support and vision has enabled all of us to not only do the jobs assigned to us, but innovate and grow through our people, platforms, and culture as we serve NOAA and the Nation.
That said, I’ve read that an overabundance of gratitude could actually become counterproductive, as being blindly grateful could mentally shield an individual from understanding and realizing things that may be harmful, and prevent them from gaining the necessary awareness required to learn lessons and develop in a healthy way. In that regard, I do tend to agree because the process of practicing gratitude includes a realization of when things may not be going well and at the very least an acknowledgment of situations we do not necessarily want to experience. It is through those realizations and getting through and learning from the tough times that we truly increase our resilience and our appreciation of when things are going well. And therefore in coming full circle, it is persevering with the support of our friends, family, and coworkers that allows us to succeed, and that truly fills me with gratitude.
I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Please don’t try to deep fry any frozen turkeys, and continue to take care of yourselves and each other.
Best Regards,
Captain Chris van Westendorp, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| 04 Dec 2024 | Officer Assignment Board (OAB) |
| 11 Dec 2024 | Fleet Aviation Advisory Board (AAB) |
| CAPT Daniel Simon | 01 Jan 2025 Terminal leave: 25 Oct 2024 |
| LTJG Kyle Vincent | 02 Jan 2025 |
| LCDR Steven Solari | 01 Feb 2025 |
| CDR Stephen Kuzirian | 01 Mar 2025 |
| LT Matthew Sharr | 31 Mar 2025 |
It is with heavy hearts that we share Lieutenant Commander Michael Meyer, NOAA (Ret.), passed away on October 27, 2024, at the age of 75. Born on November 6, 1948, in Columbus, Ohio, LCDR Meyer grew up in Dayton and attended Ohio State University before transferring to the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College in Bronx, New York. He graduated in 1971 with a bachelor of science degree in meteorology and oceanography, as well as earned his third mate's license. LCDR Meyer received a commission from the then newly-established National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Corps in 1971, attending the 38th BOTC class. During his career he served on several ships in the NOAA fleet, including tours as Executive Officer of NOAA Ships Ferrel and Mt. Mitchell, and he received numerous service awards and accolades, including two NOAA Corps Achievement Medals. LCDR Meyer taught seamanship and navigation at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, and held numerous shore assignments, his favorite being Anchorage, Alaska. LCDR Meyer was widely known for his sense of humor and plays on words, and he often provided sage and witty advice such as, "Assumptions based on scanty information may be dangerous and should be avoided." He retired in 1992 in Norfolk, Virginia, after an active duty career of more than 21 years of service, and returned to Ohio for the rest of his days, devoting his non-work life to his family and community volunteer organizations. We honor and remember LCDR Meyer for his life and service. We have the watch, sir.
Advance Preparations for Upcoming Limited Availability to Direct Access (DA)
At 0600 EST, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, availability to DA will be limited to only those users performing tasks associated with 2025 payroll and regulatory changes. DA will be reactivated at 0600 EST, Friday, January 3, 2025. This limited availability is necessary to prevent the submission of self-service, unit P&A and SPO transactions that could potentially conflict with legislative and regulatory changes. The limited availability period will impact all active duty, USCG reservists, retirees, annuitants, and civilian supervisors of military members, and prevent login access, submission of absence requests, pay or separation transaction processing, and orders processing including Reserve IDT, ADT, etc. Promotions and advancements with an effective date of January 1, 2025 will be processed after full system availability is restored on January 3, 2025. Members should expect their pay to reflect entitlements earned beginning January 1, 2025 in their new pay grades.
Password Reset
Members whose email address is NOT present or is incorrect, will not be able to use the self-service password reset feature, and a valid business email address in DA must be added to the system or otherwise corrected. NOAA Corps officers must contact NOAA Corps Payroll for assistance to update.
Guide: Passwords and Set up/Update Security Questions
Direct Access Challenges
The USCG Pay and Personnel Center (PPC) team members are users of DA –just like you– and are similarly impacted by challenges with the system. Though PPC does not own or control repairs to DA, they continue to advocate with the Program Office to prioritize repairs and the USCG C5I Service Center to conduct those repairs. In essence, Direct Access is our ship . . . and our ship is damaged and undergoing depot-level repairs. The PPC and Payroll crew are just as eager as you for DA to come back to fully mission capable status, so they can better serve USCG, NOAA, and USPHS families. We appreciate your patience and grace during this time period.
Retired Pay
At present, for temporary, permanent, VA offset, AEW’s, CRDP, and CRSC disability, USCG PPC is encountering a processing delay due to systematic issues and a shortage of personnel. Members remain their primary concern, and please be assured that PPC staff are fully committed to resolving any and all issues promptly and handling cases with the utmost proficiency.
Effective December 1, 2024, all NOAA Corps Officers who request pet expense reimbursement in conjunction with a PCS move will be required to acknowledge this move entitlement either in their travel request form or in the associated HR ticket. Officers must provide the type of pet and what the requested reimbursement is for. As a reminder:
For more information on PCS pet reimbursement, please refer to the FAQs linked here and/or Joint Travel Regulations section 050107.
For any additional questions, please contact Jerrard Baker at 301-713-7728 or jerrard.baker@noaa.gov
We are pleased to announce the Director’s approval and release of the 2024 NOAA Corps Leadership Development Framework (LDF)! The first revision of the LDF since 2008, it reflects required competencies and developmental needs of the next generation of NOAA Corps leaders. A living framework, it will be updated over time as our environment changes and we face new associated leadership challenges.
Guided by our Core Values and the Office of Personnel Management Senior Executive Service Competencies, along with competencies found in other military services, the private sector, and academia, the LDF is designed to provide NOAA Corps officers a road map to success, enabled through career planning, formal training as funding allows, challenging assignments, and opportunities to lead. Each officer is expected to take responsibility for their development, and we are committed to supporting officers on their respective journeys.
All officers are encouraged to take a moment to read through the framework, and consult with OMAO Training Division and CPC Career Management staff on any questions.