Author: Joel Schofer, MD, MBA, CPE
O5+ in DC Area – 2017-18 MIT Seminar XXI: Foreign Politics, International Relations, and the National Interest
The program described in this NAVADMIN sounds pretty interesting if you are an O5 or above in the Washington, DC area:
UNCLASSIFIED
ROUTINE
R 070101Z FEB 17
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 028/17
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N3N5/FEB//
SUBJ/SEMINAR XXI CLASS OF ACADEMIC YEAR (AY) 2017-2018 CALL FOR
APPLICATIONS//
Rmks/1. This is a call for applications for the Academic Year 2017-2018
(AY17-18) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI: Foreign
Politics, International Relations, and the National Interest. This CNO-
sponsored education program is managed by OPNAV N3N5. Seminar XXI represents
a unique opportunity for future policy leaders to share perspectives while
cultivating their understanding of the intricate relationships among economy,
society, and culture in the international environment. Seminar Fellows
develop broad perspectives and analytical skills that enable them to evaluate
and formulate national policy.
2. Seminar XXI is an educational program for current and future leaders in
the U.S. national security and foreign policy communities. Administered by
MIT’s Center for International Studies, the program is intended for
professionals with significant potential to move into key decision-making
roles in the next 5-10 years. Program participants, known as Fellows, come
from a wide range of sponsoring organizations including the armed forces,
Federal agencies, NGO’s, and private companies. The overriding goal of
Seminar XXI is to equip rising military officials and civilian executives
with the multidimensional analytic skills needed to understand foreign
relations and shape effective policy options for the United States.
3. Course Schedule: Participants will meet after core work hours, once a
month in the evenings and for three weekends in the DC area during the 2017-
2018 academic year, beginning 6 September 2017 and ending 6 May 2018.
4. Eligibility. The course is designed for senior officers (O-5 and above)
and civilians with clear promotion potential who will have the opportunity to
apply these skills in their respective fields in the Navy. This application
process applies only for individuals currently serving in Navy staff
organizations within the Washington, D.C. area. Those Navy personnel in OSD,
Defense Agencies, or the Joint Staff have separate paths for application.
5. Program specifics. Thirteen Navy staff officers and civilians will be
selected for the AY17-18 Seminar XXI fellowships. Applicants must be able to
commit to attending every class with the full support of their command.
There is no cost to the participants or their commands.
6. Admission process: For academic year 2017-2018, MIT plans to select a
total of 75 personnel across the entire Federal Government. Of these, 13 will
be Washington, D.C. area Navy staff nominees. Navy’s screening and selection
process will chose those individuals with the best combination of experience,
accomplishments, and clear potential for significant future advancement and
leadership positions.
7. Nomination package: Each nomination package must include the following:
Seminar XXI application form (Adobe); Sponsor endorsement form from the
individual’s reporting senior (Adobe); and a Curriculum Vitae (CV) form
(Word). All forms will be forwarded to the applicant by email. Deadline for
application submission is 15 March 2017. OPNAV N3/N5 will forward a list of
13 finalists to the MIT Seminar XXI Admissions Board NLT 15 April. Accepted
Fellows will be notifed by mid-June 2017.
8. Application forms and OPNAV N3N5 POCs: Send all requests for forms to
the OPNAV N3/N5 POCs:
a. LCDR Kori Levy-Minzie (N515); DSN 260-4781 or COMM 571-256-4781;
Email: kori.levyminzie(at)navy.mil
b. David Loneman (N515): DSN 225-5461 or COMM 703-695-5461;
Email: david.r.loneman.ctr(at)navy.mil
9. Released by VADM J. C. Aquilino, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for
Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5)//
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UNCLASSIFIED//
Households Goods Move Timelines Compressed Due to FY17 Continuing Resolution
From Naval Supply Systems Command Global Logistics Support Office of Corporate Communications
SAN DIEGO (NNS) — The Navy Household Goods (HHG) global team announced Feb. 8 Sailors should expect a compressed timeline for planning and scheduling military moves through the end of the Continuing Resolution (CR) for fiscal year 2017.
As a result, once Sailors are in receipt of orders from their detailers, they should submit those orders to the HHG website within 72 hours to initiate the HHG shipment process. The website for submitting orders is www.navsup.navy.mil/household.
The consequence of the CR is service members will receive their orders only approximately two months prior to their expected move timeframe. Due to the way resources are phased and allocated under a CR, the Navy currently does not have sufficient funds in its manpower accounts to allow for the normal three to four month lead times for Sailors’ PCS orders.
Besides the time constraints, the impact of the CR will be exasperated by the usual annual peak season challenge of private-sector capacity limitations across the industry; shipping, packing, and transportation.
“We are operating under a compressed timeline due to the current CR, and our personnel working at Navy Household Goods are doing everything in their power to facilitate PCS moves once Sailors provide their official orders online,” said Rear Adm. James McNeal, commander, Naval Supply Systems Command Global Logistics Support.
Navy HHG is providing scheduled, live webinars in an effort to help educate Sailors and their families on the HHG moving process. The schedule for the webinars is available on the www.navsup.navy.mil/household website.
“We are making extra effort to ensure our Sailors and their families are taken care of during the PCS move process; however, I cannot stress how critical it is that the service member follow the guideline to submit their official orders to our website online as soon as possible once in receipt,” said Deborah McGlennon, HHG program manager.
“PCS moves are always a team effort between the Sailor, the family members, and the Navy HHG team, but they begin with that first action — submitting the official orders online,” said McGlennon. “That must be initiated by the Sailor.”
FY18 Medical Corps Promotion Opportunity 80%
Here are the just released FY18 Staff Corps promotion board members and convening order, which states that the promotion opportunity is 80%. Below is the section of my Promo Prep document that explains how promotion board math works, because this does not mean you have an 80% chance of promoting. That said, it is the highest its been in a long time:
WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF PROMOTING?
See the tables below for the actual promotion statistics.
| FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | |
| LCDR | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
| CDR | 80% | 80% | 70% | 70% | 65% | |
| CAPT | 60% | 60% | 60% | 50% | 70% | 80% |
Promotion opportunity. This percentage is multiplied by the zone size to give the number of officers to be selected for promotion. For example, if the promotion opportunity is 60% and there are 100 officers in-zone, then 60 will be selected for promotion. This 60, however, may come from officers who are below-zone, in-zone, or above-zone. For example, maybe 50 of the 60 are in-zone, and 10 are above-zone. That is why the percentage of people in-zone who are selected for promotion is always lower than the promotion opportunity. See below…
| FY13 | FY14 | FY15 | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | |
| LCDR | 97% | 89% | 90% | 93% | 88% | |
| CDR | 58% | 66% | 49% | 53% | 44% | |
| CAPT | 55% | 43% | 47% | 39% | 34% |
Actual percentage of in-zone candidates selected for promotion.
Reimbursement for Board Certification Exams & Maintenance of Certification
This is a process that physicians mess up all the time, leading to much frustration. Here are the key points to note from the explanation below:
- You must submit the request 6 weeks before you need to leave for the exam.
- You must have 1 year of active duty service left following the exam date.
- You must request the travel ahead of time. You can’t do it after the fact.
- You have to request the reimbursement request in the same fiscal year as the test.
This is straight from the Medical Corps Funding website, which is where you should go for the most up-to-date information on this topic:
In accordance with BUMEDINST 1500.20, Navy Medicine Professional Development Center may provide funding to Medical Corps Officers for certification examinations, recertification examinations, maintenance of certification (MOC) examinations and MOC fees. Only funding requests for Medical Specialty Board Examinations approved by American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) are authorized to be considered for funding.
Funding requests must be submitted to the funding group email address usn.bethesda.navmedprodevctrmd.list.nmpdc-cme-funding@mail.mil at least six weeks prior to the member’s travel or examination. Members requesting certification funding must have at least one year of active duty service following their examination date. Examinations must be taken at the closest available testing center.
Travel must be requested in advance; it cannot be funded after the fact. Only MOC fees paid during the current fiscal year will be considered for reimbursement.
To create your funding request, view the document MC Board Funding Request Checklist. Use the other documents, as required by the checklist, to complete your request:
Obligated Service Date Statement
Sample Endorsement for MC Board Certification
Sample Request for MC Board Certification
Should you need it, detailed information regarding the funding process can be found in the last document titled MC Funding Guidance.
FY17 Senior Executive Medicine Slate Released
Congrats to all the officers who were slated to these senior leadership positions:
CNO’s Navy Leader Development Framework 2017
Here is the CNO’s Navy Leader Development Framework 2017. The most relevant portion for us is Appendix 2, found on page 12, as it highlights some things you should try to do as you progress in your career, like advanced degrees (Naval Postgraduate School, War College) and JPME I.
Blended Retirement System Opt-in Course Now On-Line
By Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) — Tuesday, the Navy released NAVADMIN 020/17 announcing the release and availability of the Blended Retirement System (BRS) Opt-In course.
The decision to stay in the current retirement system or opt-in to BRS is an important and irrevocable decision that eligible Sailors must make based on their own individual circumstances. This course aims to help eligible service members make that decision.
All service members who are opt-in eligible must complete the Blended Retirement System training, now available on Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) at: http://jkodirect.jten.mil/html/COI.xhtml?course_prefix=J3O&course_number=P-US1332 (course #: J3O P-US1332). The training will be available soon on Navy e-Learning.
Active Component (AC) members are eligible to opt-in if they entered military service on or before Dec. 31, 2017, and have less than 12 years of service.
Reserve Component (RC) members, including Full Time Support (FTS) members, can opt-in if they entered military service on or before Dec. 31, 2017, and they have accumulated fewer than 4,320 retirement points as of Dec. 31, 2017.
United States Naval Academy and Reserve Officer Training Corps Midshipmen as well as Delayed Entry Program service members are opt-in eligible if they entered the military on or before Dec. 31, 2017.
Eligible Sailors should have received notification of their opt-in eligibility via email (sent to the email address registered to an individual’s Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) account). Command administration departments must contact their personnel support divisions to access a list of all opt-in eligible members within their command and then notify all opt-in eligible members within their units.
In order to ensure opt-in eligible Sailors are making the most informed decision possible, a few additional tools have been developed for use. Additionally, an on-line calculator is expected to be released in March to aid eligible members in their decision making process.
The Navy has also developed the Navy Financial Literacy app that is designed to provide Sailors with access to both training and resources, which is especially critical during the transition to BRS. The free app is available for download now at the Google Play and iTunes app stores. To find the app, search “Navy Financial Literacy” in the app stores or in your web browser.
For the most up-to-date information on BRS and links to training go to the Uniform Services Blended Retirement web page at http://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement/.
For complete information on BRS opt-in training requirements and availability see NAVADMIN 020/16 at http://www.npc.navy.mil.
For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.
For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnp/.
Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep
Thousands of times a year Navy physicians struggle to do something that no one really ever teaches them how to do…write their fitrep. I have read the Navy fitrep instruction, taken guidance I’ve received from senior Navy leaders and classes I’ve attended, and consolidated it into one document that you can read from start to finish when you need to write your fitrep. Click here for the latest version of Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep:
Changes Ahead for Navy Personnel System
Here is a link to a Navy Times article from the Chief of Naval Personnel. In it, he discusses some changes coming our way. In my opinion, the ones most likely to affect physicians include:
- Updated and modern personnel systems – He says, “We are in the process of modernizing our IT infrastructure in preparation for transition to a modern, cloud-based integrated pay and personnel system. This will allow Sailors to conduct all manner of personnel issues, from pay and leave, to interactions with detailers, via modern, easily-accessible and simple to use programs that work on a personal mobile device.”
- A Detailing Marketplace – The CNP says, “In the coming years, we’re working to implement our “Detailing Marketplace” Fleet-wide, which will allow Sailors to negotiate job assignments directly with gaining commands.” We actually did a pilot Detailing Marketplace for all 2017 physician assignments in Emergency Medicine. Will this effort expand beyond our one-time trial/pilot in 2017? I think that is yet to be determined, but when the CNP is discussing a Detailing Marketplace, it is my opinion that some changes will be coming our way in how physicians are assigned in the Navy.
The CNP wants your feedback on these and other Sailor 2025 initiatives:
“As we go forward, we want Sailors’ input on additional ideas to pursue as part of Sailor 2025. Hearing from you is the best way we can make our policies and systems even better. You have a direct line to me in order to make sure your ideas are heard – send them to: usnpeople.fct@navy.mil.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 