Navy Times Article – Lawmakers Criticize Navy’s Plan to Retire One of Two Hospital Ships
The Navy has been talking about this for years. Here’s an article from Navy Times about recent discussions:
Lawmakers Criticize Navy’s Plan to Retire One of Two Hospital Ships
Director of Professional Education at NMCP – O5/O6
Director, Professional Education (DPE) is responsible for oversight of:
- Graduate Medical and Dental Education (GMDE)
- Clinical Investigation Department (CID)
- Staff Education and Training (SEAT)
- Visual Information Department
- Healthcare Simulation & Bioskills Training Center
- Nursing Research
- Health Sciences Library.
The position is open to Navy Medical Corps officers at the O-5/O-6 level. Interested candidates should submit (preferably via e-mail) a letter of interest, a short bio, copies of their 3 most recent FITREPs, a CV (templates here) and Specialty Leader concurrence no later than 21 March 2018 to: CAPT Will Beckman, MC USN (contact info is in the global address book).
Junior Officers Sought to be White House Aides
WASHINGTON (NNS) — Navy junior officers interested in serving as White House social aides are invited to apply for acceptance into the program through April 9.
White House social aides have supported presidents and first ladies since the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt and are represented by all branches of the military. They help manage guests who attend social functions at the White House, facilitate interactions with the president and first lady and escort dignitaries.
Unmarried naval officers in the paygrades of O-2 through O-4 who are currently stationed in the National Capital Region are eligible to apply to the program, which is a collateral duty, not a permanent change of station. Due to a lengthy clearance process, applicants must have 18-24 months remaining on current orders within the National Capital Region. The program also requires the signed endorsement of an applicant’s commanding officer articulating support for participation in the program to include a time commitment of one full morning, afternoon or evening per week.
Selected aides in good standing are eligible to remain in the program until they are no longer assigned to a command in the National Capital Region, become married or promote to O-5.
Applicants interested in this program must be comfortable interacting with the public, possess the highest levels of tact and discretion, and have demonstrated sustained superior performance in their careers as naval officers. Those selected represent the Navy, and must possess impeccable appearance and military bearing.
Applications must be requested via email from the navy service program manager, Lt. John Harry, at john.harry@navy.mil.
Scanned applications must be emailed to john.harry@navy.mil no later than April 13. Selected officers will be invited to interview at the Pentagon, April 26. Each interview will last approximately 15 minutes. The selection results will be available no later than May 4.
Director of Primary Care at NMC Portsmouth – O5/O6
The details of this position are in this document:
DPC Vacancy Announcement MAR18
Applications are due 31 MAR. CV, Bio, and Letter of Intent templates can be found here.
If you are not already at NMCP or destined to go there, you’ll need to check with your Detailer and Specialty Leader if you want to apply.
Getting Retirement Credit for HPSP in the Reserves
In the recently released Winter Medical Corps Newsletter, I noticed this paragraph in the “Readiness in the Reserves” article:
Shipmates,
I have just returned from PERS-9 (Reserves), reviewing important administrative processes. Here is the gouge…
HPSP Credit: Jeanitta Edwards verifies that the member was a HPSP participant and that the member is in a critical wartime skill (defined by DOD each year). Once she verifies this information, she sends it to another individual to load in the points for the year as credit towards retirement. The instruction requires a full year of service to receive credit for 1 year and caps the credit at 4 years. Unfortunately, because many medical schools start in July and graduate in May, the 4th year does not qualify. Some may have earned other points that year which can carry over for credit towards a good year. The 15 gratuity points are allocated on a pro rata basis so you will only get half those points for a half a year of participation. We will post the guiding documents to the Medical Corps Homepage. Please note that the actual HPSP policy is currently being rewritten.
A reader asked, “What are the official critical wartime specialties?”
Here is the portion of the document that lists them:
So what do those mysterious codes mean? They are defined in the Promo Prep, but since I’m such a nice guy here is the translation. The CWS include:
- General Surgery (15C)
- Neurosurgery (15D)
- Orthopedics (15H)
- Radiology (16Y)
- Anesthesia (15B)
- Internal Medicine Subspecialties (16R1)
- Emergency Medicine (16P)
- Flight Surgery (15A)
- OB/GYN (15E)
- GMO (15F)
- Family Medicine (16Q)
- General Internal Medicine (16R)
- UMO (16U)
- Psychiatry (16X)
Update just prior to publication – My wife (a Reservist) was sent this chart in the Health Professions Officer Special and Incentive Pay Plan, and the specialties under “USNR” match the list above:
If you are in one of these specialties, you can get retirement credit for your time in HPSP (or at least 3 years of the 4). In addition to the info above, here is what else I could find about this program:
Army Policy – Guidance on Reserve Service Credit for Participation in DOD HPSP and FAP
Recruiting and Retention Incentives for Reserve Component Health Professions Officers
Director of Medical Services at NMC Camp Lejeune – O5/O6
The details of this position are in this document.
Applications can go directly to the command, as indicated. Anyone not already at NMC Camp Lejeune will need to coordinate with their Detailer prior to their application.
If you need CV, Letter of Intent, or Military Bio templates you can find them here or here.
Navy Announces Targeted Reentry Program
MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) — In support of Sailor 2025’s goal to retain and reward the Navy’s best and brightest, the Navy announced Feb. 27 the Targeted Reentry Program (TRP) and associated program guidelines to expedite reentry into the Navy in NAVADMIN 047/18.
The TRP is designed to benefit both the Sailor and the Navy by allowing a return to service for those who are well trained leaders with valuable and needed skills and will be offered to selected Sailors prior to their departure from the Navy.
The TRP empowers Commanding Officer’s (COs) to identify Active Component and Full Time Support officer and enlisted personnel who have elected to leave active duty (AD) service and do not desire to affiliate with the Ready Reserve and recommend them to be awarded a “Golden Ticket” or “Silver Ticket,” giving them the option for expedited reentry to AD if they decide to return to the Navy.
“Talent is tough to draw in and even tougher to keep,” said Vice Adm. Robert Burke, Chief of Naval Personnel. “Just like corporate businesses are adapting, the Navy must adapt to modern personnel policies as well. These changes are designed to maximize opportunities for command triads to advance their best Sailors while managing community and individual rates’ health.”
O-3 and O-4 officers and E-4 to E-6 enlisted, who have completed their Minimum Service Requirement (MSR), but not yet reached 14 years of active service are eligible for consideration for TRP. Also, an officer’s or enlisted’ s community qualifications must be obtained, superior performance annotated in Fitness Reports or Evaluations, and have passed their most recent Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA). Officers who have failed to select for promotion are not eligible. Prospective participants must meet character standards, i.e. no record of civil arrest/NJP, court-martials, failed drug screenings, etc.
The Golden Ticket recipients are guaranteed a quota and an expedited return to AD within one year of release as long as they remain fully qualified. Silver Ticket recipients are afforded an expedited return to AD within two years of release, subject to the needs of the Navy and that they remain fully qualified. Golden Tickets, if not used within one year, will convert to Silver Tickets for an additional year. Silver Tickets not used within two years of release from AD expire.
Sailors who accept a Golden or Silver Ticket prior to release from active duty will go into a minimum reserve status, known as Standby Reserve- Inactive (USNR-S2) status. In this reserve status, Sailors will have no participation requirement and will not be eligible for promotion or advancement or be eligible for health care, retirement points, Servicemembers Group Life Insurance and other benefits. The Date of Rank of officers and Time in Rate of enlisted TRP participants will be adjusted upon returning to AD. Sailors who return to active duty using TRP will maintain the last rating and paygrade held at the time of separation.
BUPERS-3 is the approving authority for all TRP ticket request and will make determinations based on overall performance, community health, and needs of the Navy. Once approved for a Golden or Silver Ticket, officer and enlisted personnel will have the option to accept or reject participation in the TRP prior to their release from AD.
Sailor 2025 is comprised of nearly 45 initiatives to improve and modernize personnel management and training systems to more effectively recruit, develop, manage, reward, and retain the force of tomorrow. It is focused on empowering Sailors, updating policies, procedures, and operating systems, and providing the right training at the right time in the right way to ensure Sailors are ready for the Fleet. Sailor 2025 is organized into three main lines of effort, specifically Personnel System Modernization, Ready Relevant Learning and Career Readiness.
For more information on the TRP, see NAVADMIN 047/18 at www.npc.navy.mil.
Humanitarian Service Medal for Hurricane Relief
If you contributed at all to recent hurricane relief efforts, you might have qualified for the Humanitarian Service Medal. Here is a Navy Times article about it. Here is the NAVADMIN:
UNCLASSIFIED
ROUTINE
R 202219Z FEB 18
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC
TO NAVADMIN
INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC
CNO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 039/18
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//DNS//
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/DNS/FEB//
SUBJ/ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPROVAL OF HUMANITARIAN SERVICE MEDAL (HSM) FOR
HURRICANES MATTHEW, HARVEY, IRMA, AND MARIA//
REF/A/DOC/DOD/21DEC2016//
REF/B/DOC/SECNAV/22AUG2006//
REF/C/DOC/JCS/16FEB2018//
REF/D/DOC/JCS/14FEB2018//
REF/E/DOC/JCS/28APR17//
NARR/REF A IS DOD 1348.33 VOL2, SECDEF MANUAL OF MILITARY DECORATIONS AND
AWARDS.
REF B IS SECNAVINST 1650.1H, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS MANUAL.
REF C ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF THE HSM FOR HURRICANE IRMA AND MARIA.
REF D ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF THE HSM FOR HURRICANE HARVEY.
REF E ANNOUNCES APPROVAL OF THE HSM FOR HURRICANE MATTHEW.//
RMKS/1. The following guidance is provided for awarding of the HSM.
2. Eligibility Criteria:
a. Per references (a) and (b) the HSM is an individual service medal
awarded to members who, after 1 April 1975, distinguish themselves as
individuals or members of U.S. military units by meritorious, direct,
non-routine participation in a significant military act or operation of a
humanitarian nature.
b. The recipient must have been physically present at the designated
location, having directly contributed to and influenced the action. The
designated location is the immediate site(s) of the humanitarian operation(s)
as defined by the Presidential or Department of State request for assistance.
Specifically excluded from eligibility are Service members or elements that
remain entirely outside of the Area of Eligibility (AOE), or who were
assigned to the AOE but were not directly supporting the humanitarian
operation.
c. Specific AOE and dates follow:
(1) The HSM has been approved by the award authority for Hurricane
Matthew for those Service members who were physically present in the vicinity
of Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands, to include the air and sea
space, and provided humanitarian assistance during the period 4-19 October
2016.
(2) The HSM has been approved by the award authority for Hurricane
Harvey for U.S. Service members, Coast Guardsmen, and the Reserve Components
(to include the National Guard), who were physically present in the following
Texas counties: Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers,
Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Hardin,
Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty,
Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San
Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties;
or in the following Louisiana parishes: Acadia, Allen, Beauregard,
Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine,
Vermilion, and Vernon; and provided humanitarian assistance during the period
23 August 2017 to 31 October 2017.
(3) The HSM has been approved by the award authority for Hurricanes
Irma and Maria for U.S. Service members, Coast Guardsmen, and the Reserve
Components (to include the National Guard), who were physically present in
the State of Florida or the Caribbean Islands, and adjacent waters, from
Barbados northward to Anguilla, and then westward to the Florida Straits and
provided humanitarian assistance during the period 8 September 2017 to 20
October 2017.
3. Awarding Authority:
a. Active/Reserve personnel. Determination of individual eligibility is
delegated to the command level of O-6/civilian equivalent or above. Awarding
authorities must confirm individual participation by verifying assignment via
orders or evaluations/fitness reports. Once verified, commands shall submit
the appropriate service record documentation via their personnel office.
b. Navy veterans. For Navy personnel honorably discharged or retired
after the stated time periods of these awards who meet the criteria in
paragraphs 2.a. and 2.b. above and who are requesting the HSM can submit a
written request indicating their unit and dates assigned and a copy of the
undeleted version of the DD-214 to: Navy Personnel Command (PERS 312), 5720
Integrity Drive, Millington, TN 38055. If available, supporting
documentation showing service with a qualifying unit (Eval, FITREP, orders)
shall be included.
4. Participating Units and Personnel:
a. Per reference (b), Commanding Officers whose units meet the criteria
must submit a completed OPNAV Form 1650/14 and include a list of qualified
personnel to DNS-35 via cno_awards.fct@navy.mil. These units will be entered
into the awards database and will be viewable via a unit awards search at
https://awards.navy.mil. This is to facilitate documentation only and does
not imply unit-wide HSM approval. Individual service record documentation
remains a command responsibility.
b. Navy personnel attached to DoD, Joint or other non-Navy commands who
meet the criteria outlined above should have the appropriate DoD or Joint
command confirm their eligibility and submit the required service record
documentation.
5. Released by Vice Admiral K. M. Donegan, Director, Navy Staff.//
BT
#0001
NNNN
UNCLASSIFIED//
Naval Postgraduate School Distance Learning MBA Program NAVADMIN
This is how I got my MBA:
UNCLASSIFIED ROUTINE R 161750Z FEB 18 FM CNO WASHINGTON DC TO NAVADMIN INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC BT UNCLAS NAVADMIN 035/18 PASS TO OFFICE CODES: FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1// MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/FEB// SUBJ/EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISTANCE LEARNING DEGREE PROGRAM FOR SEPTEMBER 2018// REF/A/MSG/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/061710ZAUG07// AMPN/REF A IS NAVADMIN 195/07, OFFICER GRADUATE EDUCATION SERVICE OBLIGATION.// RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces application procedures for the September 2018 Distance Learning Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program. 2. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) defense-focused EMBA is a 24 month, fully-funded, part-time graduate program focused on resource management. The program targets middle to senior grade active-duty officers, lieutenant commander (select) and above (lieutenant by waiver). Classes are delivered via online technologies with synchronous interaction between faculty and students. 3. The EMBA program begins with a required one-week Temporary Additional Duty (TAD) in-residence session at NPS in Monterey, CA. The week of 10-14 September 2018 includes an orientation and a graduate level course on management of teams. A second week of required TAD in-residence instruction will be scheduled during the second year of the EMBA program. Other than these two visits to NPS Monterey, students complete all instruction from their home locations. A block of rooms will be reserved in Monterey, CA for attendees during orientation. All efforts will be made to minimize TAD costs. 4. The parent command of the student will provide official travel orders and funding for TAD travel. If command funding is not available, students may fund their own travel and utilize no-cost TAD orders from their commands. 5. Active duty Naval officers accepted into the EMBA program are integrated into cohorts with civilian students. Typically, a cohort is comprised of about 25 students from which student teams are formed. Cohorts take all classes together during the 24 months of instruction. Students will receive instruction via online, synchronous educational software, with faculty teaching every session in real time, 1 day per week for approximately 6 to 7 hours per day during regular continental United States duty hours. Admission to the EMBA program is available to applicants in any geographic location, regardless of the number of applicants in a location. Since courses are delivered via online learning technologies, students must have access to a computer with high- speed internet and audio-video capabilities suitable for web-enabled interactions with instructors and students. A computer camera or webcam is required. 6. Eligibility requirements include an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited 4 year college or university, 2.6 grade point average or higher on a 4 point scale, and at least one college-level mathematics course. A commanding officer endorsement letter is required to participate in the program. Department head or similar mid-level management experience and strong potential for promotion are preferred. Participants must have a projected rotation date no earlier than September 2020. The Graduate Management Admission Test is not required. 7. Graduates will be awarded an EMBA degree from NPS and the Navy subspecialty code 3100P, Financial Management-Defense Focus. Graduates will also earn Defense Acquisition University Level II equivalencies for all program management functional equivalencies. As directed by reference (a), officers participating in this program must agree to remain on active duty following completion of graduate studies for a period of 3 years. This obligation is discharged concurrently with any other service obligation already incurred. This agreement does not obligate the Navy to retain the officer on active duty. 8. Officers interested in the EMBA program can visit the NPS EMBA home page at www.nps.edu/emba for detailed eligibility and application process information. Deadline for the application process is no later than 15 June 2018. Online instruction begins 26 September 2018. 9. Point of contact is the NPS EMBA program office, at (831) 656- 2562/DSN 756, fax at (831) 656-3630, or via e-mail at emba(at)nps.edu. 10. This NAVADMIN will remain in effect until superseded or 31 December 2018, whichever occurs first. 11. Released by Vice Admiral R. P. Burke, N1.// BT #0001 NNNN UNCLASSIFIED//
DoD Physician Shortage May Cause Lapse in Patient Access to Care
This is certainly an interesting article to read:
DoD Physician Shortage May Cause Lapse in Patient Access to Care
Here’s the page with the full GAO report available:
MILITARY PERSONNEL: Additional Actions Needed to Address Gaps in Military Physician Specialties
Here’s the one page PDF summary:
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 