Good afternoon, NOAA Corps,
You may have heard or seen me write about my “3 C’s,” referring to a common theme that has traversed my ever-evolving leadership philosophy and approach to career management: Core Values, Communication, and Curiosity. Of the three, I find Communication to be the most complex and often very challenging to successfully implement, and you would likely agree and recognize how important it is to get this one right. Communicate too much, and run the risk of saturating the receiver(s) so much that they don’t know what’s most important. Too little, and the vacuum/void of information could fill itself without regard to otherwise known facts or data. Communicate the wrong way, and information intended to be shared loses context, effectiveness, or appropriate emphasis.
So, there I was, in command of my ship and underway for the first time in many months following an extended alongside repair period (technically, only the second time overall in that role). My XO and Operations Officer were in my office, discussing the day’s operations, including available personnel, equipment, and a plan of action to practice deployment and recovery of our small boats as part of operational readiness training. Failing to fully appreciate the power of my words, I mused to myself out loud what it might be like to change the training plan while operating the ship’s survey systems (ah, the ongoing cycle of what-if’s in a CO’s mind…). A time later, I went up to the bridge to check on preparations to execute the plan my XO and Ops had so carefully briefed me earlier. Not only was no one ready for small boat operations, but we were more than a half hour away from the planned training location, now surveying with the ship's sonar systems. “XO, what’s happening?” I frustratedly asked after jogging down to her office. “You said to change the plan and start surveying!” she rightfully replied. As a result of my ineffective, ill-timed, and hypothetical communication, we lost several hours of much-needed training, the ship collected data that could have waited until later, and I unwittingly added confusion and frustration into the day of my officers and crew.
With that anecdote, I encourage us all to reflect, understand and practice the art of effective, appropriate, and timely communication. Without it, we run the risks of introducing inefficiency, confusion, and/or worse into our lives and those around us. With it, I’m certain that Safety Seagull will approve, particularly in this mid-/late-summer operational period. Sail and Fly safely out there, and please remember to take care of yourselves and each other.
Best Regards,
Captain Chris van Westendorp, NOAA
Director, Commissioned Personnel Center
| 04 Sep 2025 | NOAA Corps All Hands |
| 10 Sep 2025 | Command Advisory Board |
| LCDR Devin Schaefer | 08 Sep 2025 Terminal leave: 01 Jul 2025 |
| LCDR Bryan Brasher | 22 Sep 2025 |
We hope you were able to tune-in to the CPC Webinar this past Wednesday, August 20th. The Uniform and Awards Board (UAB) presentation provided both a great refresher as well as some new information for many about the process, timeline expectations and tricks for submitting awards. We also wanted to share with you another great UAB tool available to officers - the UAB Intranet Site. The UAB site has links to award nomination forms, information on the DOC and NOAA Unit Citation award processes, and criteria for each award. As a reminder, nominations must be submitted to noaacorps.uab@noaa.gov by the last calendar business day of the month in order to be considered at the next UAB meeting. For those of you who missed the webinar (or would like to review a past webinar), we invite you to view past CPC Webinar recordings which can be found here.
The Washington DC Association of Commissioned Officers (DC ACO), with the support of OMAO leadership, will be hosting a lunch and learn on Monday, August 25, 2025, with the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). MOAA has been a strong supporter of the NOAA Corps, and this will be a great opportunity to hear from their leadership on what some of their current activities include. Local DC area officers should have received a separate e-mail for in-person attendance. For those wishing to participate virtually, details are below:
Note: Active duty NOAA Corps officers who choose to contact an advocacy organization, do so in their personal capacity, and although they may use their rank/affiliation in such communications, they must clarify that they are speaking in their personal capacity. This information is provided for awareness and does not endorse any particular advocacy organization or convey a position on any particular legislative effort.