February 2005 Frontline - Commissioned Officers Association

“Three and Freeze”
By Jerry Farrell
The Executive Director’s
column in the last issue of
Frontline unintentionally
caused confusion about the “three
and freeze” promotion policy. Mea
culpa!
I wrote that the “three and
freeze” policy which was delayed
“last year” was scheduled to be
implemented “this year.” What I
did not grasp was that when I
wrote the column – in mid
December – “last year” was 2003
and “this year” was 2004; but that
when you read the piece in
January, “last year” was 2004 and
“this year” is…well you get the
idea.
To clarify, an officer eligible for
promotion who failed to promote
in PY2004 has one “strike.”
Officers who took advantage of the
one-time option to “opt out” of
consideration for promotion in
PY2004 do not have any “strikes.”
For those that wrote or called
to question if I knew what I was
writing about – thank you! As I
made some inquiries of my own to
make sure I had it right now, I did
learn that the “three and freeze”
may be getting another look in
OPHS.
We certainly hope this is the
case. COA would still like to know
exactly what problem it is that
“three and freeze” is intended to
fix. Until that can be explained, we
firmly believe and strongly recommend
that “three and freeze”
should not be implemented,
regardless of which year it is
supposed to go into effect.
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Call For COA Branch of the Year Nominations
The Commissioned Officers
Association (COA) Board of
Directors believes that it is appropriate
and desirable to recognize the
exceptional accomplishments of a COA
Branch each year. This award is called
the Branch of the Year Award. The
Atlanta Branch was the 2003/2004
award winner.
Eligibility for Consideration
Any branch that was not recognized
in the most recent year is eligible for
consideration for the Branch of the
Year Award.
Nominations
Nominations for the Branch of the
Year Award will be accepted from any
COA member in good standing. The
most likely sources of nominations will
be individuals most knowledgeable of
branch activities (e.g., COA Board
liaisons, branch officers and agency
managers). All nominations must be
transmitted in writing directly to COA.
Each shall consist of a transmittal
letter that summarizes the basis for
the nomination and such additional
material as is required to support the
nomination. The supporting material
should reflect activities and accomplishments
that are considered
deserving of special recognition, (e.g.,
notable community or facility-based
projects, unusual efforts to inform and
encourage branch member participation,
successful interactions with other
branches, effective advocacy for
commissioned officer interests, etc.).
Review Committee
The COA Board Awards Committee
will review the nominations presented
to the Board and will make recommendations
for the review of the entire
Board at least one month before the
Annual Meeting.
Selection Determinants
and Weighting
The Awards Committee will
consider all material provided with the
nomination transmittal letter. The
Committee will pay special attention to
the size of the branch relative to its
accomplishments. The Committee will
give additional weight to accomplishments
of branches that have been in
existence five years or less.
In considering the merits of the
respective nominees, the Awards
Committee will give about 50%
weighting to a global assessment of
Branch spirit, enthusiasm, and the
relative impact of Branch
activities/accomplishments as
described in the nomination.
Examples are: notable community or
facility-based projects, successful interfaces
with other Branches, effective
local and/or national advocacy for
commissioned officer interests. Note
that the emphasis should be on activities
that are completed or substantially
underway, rather than planned future
activities. Special consideration will
be given to Branches that have
improved dramatically over past years.
In addition, the Awards Committee
will give about 50% weighting cumulatively
to the following factors:
1. The percentage of officers in the
local area who are COA members.
2. The frequency of Branch meetings.
This may include other than face-toface
meetings with adequate
description.
3. The degree of participation and
scope of topics presented at general
meetings of the Branch.
4. The extent to which the national
COA Office has received positive
and/or negative feedback on Branch
activities from members or others.
5. The responsiveness of Branch officers/members
to requests for information,
administrative documentation,
etc. as requested by the
national COA Office or the Board of
Directors.
The due date for submission of
Branch of the Year nominations for the
2003/2004 year is February 28, 2005.
Please send nominations to Carrie
Bright at cbright@coausphs.org or
COA, 8201 Corporate Drive, Suite 200,
Landover, MD 20785. Email attachments
are preferred.
COA FRONTLINE • FEBRUARY 2005 5