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:
Director for Education, Training, and Research at Walter Reed – 05/06
All of the details are in this announcement. In brief, you need to:
- Be an O5/O6.
- Be able to report in JUL 2018.
- Submit the requested documents by 14 APR 2018 to the POC in the announcement.
Happy 147th Medical Corps Birthday from the Corps Chief, the SG, and Me
Today is the 147th Medical Corp birthday. Happy birthday!
The Surgeon General’s birthday messages are here:
Medical Corps Birthday from SG (PDF)
A Message from the Navy Surgeon General – Celebrating 147 years of the Medical Corps
The Medical Corps Chief’s message is here:
Medical Corps Birthday from Corps Chief (PDF)
Happy birthday from me! Here’s my present to you:
- Read this post and do what it says.
- Tell American Express that you are Active Duty.
- A few weeks later (assuming you have an AMEX card), you might get some money credited to you.
Just by doing this, I got $213 back from them. Happy birthday!
End-of-the-Month Personal Finance Summary
We started two new features on the financial blog. The first is a Critical Action you can review every Saturday. After a year, you’ll have your act together! Here they are:
The second is a Sunday AAR (After Action Report) that points you to some other good articles on the web. Here they are:
Here are all of the other articles:
- Another Way to Build Wealth – Use a Veterans Entrepreneur Program
- How to Get Hundreds or Thousands of Dollars Back from American Express
- Lessons to Learn from the Recent 10% Stock Market Decline
- Military Death Benefits – Beyond SGLI
- My Guest Post on Humble Dollar – The $121,500 Guestroom (this has been posted on MCCareer.org before)
- Recent Changes in the Thrift Savings Plan
- Simple Steps I Take to Protect My Credit and Identity
- Why are the TSP Investment Expenses So Low?
Navy Times Article – Navy Looking at Radical New Career Paths
Here’s the link:
SGLI Beneficiaries Remain in Place as Navy Transitions to New Online System
“Your SGLI coverage is still in place,” said Ann Stewart, director, Pay and Personnel Department, Navy Personnel Command. “Sailors who log into SOES for the first time will have to input their beneficiary information manually. That is why there is no information the first time you use the system. But rest assured, that that form you previously filled out to designate your SGLI beneficiaries remains valid, until you register with the SOES.”
The Navy announced the launch of online SGLI enrollment in NAVADMIN 085/17 in April 2017 as part of a Department of Defense and Veterans Administration joint effort, to allow active duty and eligible reserve and National Guard members to review their group and family coverage online. SOES is the online replacement for the paper form SGLI Election and Certificate, SGLV 8286. The new system eliminates unclear designations and missing or incomplete forms — problems identified with the paper-based system — and ensures all insurance holders receive the latest information about changes affecting their coverage.
The goal is for all Navy members to provide beneficiary name(s), share(s) of proceeds and certify their record with a digital signature by April 2018.
While the SOES enables active duty and eligible reserve members to manage their group and family coverage online, there are some Sailors who shouldn’t use the system. Sailors who already have a testamentary trust or a testamentary custodial account created by a Regional Legal Service Office (RLSO) attorney should not use SOES to update their SGLI designations. Sailors with a testamentary trust or a testamentary custodial account who have registered with SOES should see their RLSO to reinstate their trust and/or account. Sailors interested in creating a testamentary trust or a testamentary custodial account should also see their RLSO and not use the SOES.
Here’s how to input beneficiary information in SOES:
1. Visit www.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect.
2, Sign into milConnect on this page with your command access card (CAC). The green button is located in the upper right corner.
3. After signing in, you will be sent back to the milConnect front page. The menu bar will now display multiple options, one of which is ‘BENEFITS.’
4. Click on the ‘BENEFITS’ drop-down menu and click on ‘LIFE INSURANCE (SOES-SGLI Online Enrollment System).’
5. On the following page, scroll down to the blue continue button and click it (you may have to do so twice).
6. The following page provides you with your current Defense Eligibility Enrollment System (DEERS) information that must be verified. When finished reviewing, click continue.
7. The following page is where you can make your beneficiary selections. If this is your first time logging in, you will not see any beneficiary information listed. This does not mean you are not covered. You remain covered if you have previously filled out and signed an SGLI paper form. Please input your beneficiary selections into SOES.
8. After making your selections, click on the ‘YOUR COVERAGE’ tab and select the blue ‘CONFIRM AND CERTIFY’ button in the bottom right.
9. The next screen will ask you to make some legal declarations. Review and check the appropriate boxes and click ‘CONTINUE.’
10. You will be asked if you want to print a preview of the document. This is an uncertified copy for review. A certified copy is available at the end of the process. Click to continue.
11. Next, you will be asked for an electronic signature. Provide your full name and email address and click to continue.
12. The system will provide you an effective date for your SGLI election.
13. Print or email your certified document by navigating to the “Print/Save Certificate” tab.
For more information, take the online training course available at: www.benefits.va.gov/INSURANCE/training/SOES/SOES.htm
More information about SGLI can be found at the following links: www.npc.navy.mil/support/casualty/fsgli/Pages/default.aspx.
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2017/NAV17085.txt
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/.
Military Times Article – Personnel Bosses are Latest to Weigh in on Limiting Military Moves
Here’s the link to an interesting article on Military Times:
Personnel Bosses are Latest to Weigh in on Limiting Military Moves
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 