Shipmates, when I prepared to leave Coast Guard Personnel Command (opm-2) last time I was assigned there, Assignments Branch covered the career management and advice missions that are now performed by (opm-4). I recall thinking that I frequently answered the same questions over and over again, and even the road shows didn't necessarily achieve a critical mass in communicating the ins-and-outs of officer assignment and career management. I thought, "what I need is a combination web bulletin board and chat room". Of course, that was before blogs were big and the Coast Guard was a little slow coming to the social networking table. I'm convinced that there is still a market for this sort of thing, and that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of officers and prospective officers looking for advice or the answer to their questions, often at critical junctures in their careers. I didn't plan to come back to Ballston, to opm. It truly was needs of the service, and while there are other things I may have preferred to do, I do have a passionate desire to help others navigate the system. So, while I didn't have the time and energy to start this up before I left last time, and am just now getting done with more urgent tasking and requirements in opm-1 this time around, I am now making the inaugural entry in what I hope will be a useful forum to share professional thoughts about officer personnel management, career paths, critical decision points and planning points. I have some awareness about most aspects of officer career management, to include accession, assignment and separation as well as advanced education, selection (promotion) boards, special (where special means "not good") boards and separations.
So it is the confluence of need, opportunity and a more fecund social networking culture in the Coast Guard that has brought me here. I'll try to share some anecdotes of scenarios and questions, what people are doing well and not so well. I'll change the names to protect the innocent, and unless you introduce a matter of your record, I will not discuss matters of record of any officers in this blog. I would ask you for your leadership and professionalism. If you don't like the Coast Guard or the Coast Guard's officer management system, please keep your mind open if possible, and try to refrain from flaming me out of mere boredom or malevolence. It is worth remembering that the system is not personal - and nor should you be. I have found by trial and error (mostly error) that emotion and the personnel system do not mix well, and thus I try to remain emotionless where the system is concerned.
Thanks and I look forward to serving you in this new way. ~jea
4 comments:
Sir, thanks for the blog. It is very commendable of you to provide such a forum for officer to freely communicate.
What are the most prominent pit falls for Junior Officers during transfer season?
Also, what are the best options for an officer such as myself, after completing an Ops Afloat tour if I don't successfully screen for command?
cwoodsonfan, Thanks for your note! I think there are a number of items a JO needs to have in mind as he/she enters assignment season. I'm going to talk about a few particulars for promotion in my next blog entry...but for now think about these things:
- what is your primary operational specialty? Have you established yourself in one of the major career paths (ops ashore-response, ops ashore-prevention, afloat ops, aviation) or one of what I call "stand-alone" specialties like naval engineering, law, civil engineering (maybe), and C4IT?
- specialize versus broaden? Meaning are you asking for more of what you are already good at, or are you looking to branch out into other areas?
- what do you like to do? if you like working with people - maybe take a tour in training or human resources. If machinery is more your bag, maybe a staff job in naval engineering, inspections, or another engineering field. If you prefer math or money, look for OR or finance options.
You led on that you are currently in cutter operations, and looking to stay in the afloat realm next. Request to screen as you say - but if you don't screen, consider an XO or an OPS gig. Serving as XO or OPS in a bigger cutter may bring you less autonomy, but it will almost certainly give you stronger "skills" in that field, and opportunity to widen your mentoring net, plus gain you opportunities to learn more from more people. Also, mark for mark, comment for comment, all other things being equal, boards respect when officers take the "harder" road and succeed: ie- OPS of a 378 versus CO of a 110.
I guess the best guidance I could offer is to know yourself, what you are good at, and what value you offer the Coast Guard, and then go out and do the best job you can. I can't stress enough to send a clear message to the detailer on what you want to do...and above all, if you change your mind and eresume, let your detailer know that. If you don't tell him/her, they may not know until too late!
Throw it back to me if I didn't give you enough detail or answer your questions. Thanks for your leadership and service! ~jea
Thank you for having/providing such a thorough understanding of the OER process. What do you think of this comment "Will likely recommend promotion ahead of peers...if you continue on present track; be mindful that pregnancy and return to work can pull you off track." This comment was made during a mid-eval. I appreciate her honesty, but it hasn't done much for my morale since I rushed back to work, maybe a bit sooner than I liked. V/R
Dear Anonymous (30 March), Since CDR Andrews has left his post, I'll weigh in for what it's worth. I use midperiod evals as a bare bones, no inflation, flat-out assessment of where my subordinates are performing for the first half of the period. It's quite a sobering experience on some occasions, but I've only seen positive results. While I doubt your supervisor would ever mention pregnancy in a real eval (in fact, I believe such a remark would be rejected during the review process), take it for what it's worth and understand that (I think) the message on your performance and potential is positive. We all face challenges throughout our careers and growing a family is one of them. It, by no means, is an indicator that you are off track or will get off track.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and good luck!
CDR Mike Staier
Post a Comment