Reservist

ISS2 2016

Reservist Magazine is the award-winning official publication of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. Quarterly issues include news and feature articles about the men and women who comprise America's premier national maritime safety and security

Issue link: https://uscgreservist.epubxp.com/i/674506

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ReseRvist Magazine HeadquaRteRs update From the Offce of Boat Forces Submitted by Mr. Donald P. Hartmayer, Program Analyst, CG-731 Setting the Record Straight… The last edition of the Reservist magazine (Vol. LXIII, Issue 1 - 2016) ran an article from the Office of Boat Forces titled "Building Blocks for Success". The story discussed the thirteen items in Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success and how they can be applied to; a boat crew, civilian/military profession, and everyday life. Boat crew certification metrics for 2014 and 2015 were also provided. The certification data generated a letter to the editor from BM1 Kenneth Cleveland from Station Philadelphia. BM1 Cleveland felt the number of certifications reported in the article for 2014 are lower than the actual number of certifications held by Boat Forces Reserve crews. The Office of Boat Forces responded to the BM1's letter (see below) and wants to share the methodology for reporting the data with the entire community as we move into the 2016 boating season. The number of boat crew qualifications and certifications in the Boat Forces Reserve continue to increase and Stations are relying on Reserve boat crews to assist with CG missions and respond to crises. Each Station Senior Enlisted Reserve Advisor (SERA) and Reserve Training Petty Office (RTPO) should review each crew member's "position required competency". If the competency is incorrect, report it up the chain of command to have the proper competency assigned. Also, the SERA & RTPO need to ensure training and certification information is entered into AOPS/TMT. Having accurate and up to date data is what keeps "Boat Forces Reserve – Ready to Respond." The following is BM1 Cleveland's original letter and the Office of Boat Forces response. Dear Sir, Thank you for all your efforts and those of your staff in publishing the Reservist. I am writing to request that you correct the information regarding the number of reserve coxswains and boat crew members that is contained in the office of boat forces "Building Blocks for Success" article on pages 54-55 (Issue 1, 2016). While I can't tell you exactly how many USCG reservists were certified as coxswains or boat crew members, in December of 2014, I know it was more than 30 and 98, respectively. I believe a contributing factor to the error may be a lack of understanding that prior to January 2014, there was no "Reserve" boat crew member or coxswain, but rather you could be certified as either a coxswain/crewman, a contingency coxswain/crewman and/or in many cases both. At my unit, Station Philadelphia, we had 6 coxswains and 15 crewmen in December 2014, all of whom previously held both standard and contingency competencies in addition to the new reserve competencies. I'm pretty sure that station Philadelphia didn't have 20% of all the reservists certified as coxswains in the entire USCG. Based on these numbers and the prerequisite of "making" coxswain in order to advance to BM2, 99% of all reserve BMs in 2014 were E-4 or lower, which we all know is not accurate. I applaud the intent of this report to show that the increased training/school opportunities and the focused establishment of the "reserve competencies" are having a positive impact in the boat forces community but it is important that the numbers, which are reported as fact, be indeed accurate so as not to mislead us in evaluating our increased level of proficiency. Thank you for your continuing efforts, BM1 Kenneth S. Cleveland, USCGR Station Philadelphia Hello, BM1 Cleveland! Thank you for your letter and comments regarding the boat crew certification data in the "Building Blocks for Success" article in the most recent edition of the Reservist magazine. It is good to hear that someone read the story. Determining the "real" number of certified coxswains and boat crew members in the Reserve Force is challenging. There are several reasons why it is difficult to arrive at the true number as there is not a single report that captures all boat crew certification aspects in the Reserve Component. The source of the data used in the article is the CGBI TMT Competencies report, since TMT is the repository of training and certifications and is the official training record. Also, this report is consistent in the way the data is collected and presented. This allows for an "apples to apples" comparison over the two year time frame. Links to the 2014 and 2015 reports are provided below. Since you are very familiar with certifications at Station Philadelphia, let's take a look at your unit. The following certifications are reported in TMT for 2014: Competency No. Initial Qualification Boarding Officer 01 Initial Qualification BTM 01 Boarding Officer 01 Boarding Team Member 06 Initial Qualification Reserve Coxswain (RB-S) 02 Initial Qualification Reserve BCM 05 Initial Qualification Reserve Coxswain 01 Initial Qualification RB-S BCM 01 50 RESERVIST � Issue 2 • 2016

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