Vol. 17 Winter - U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

The JOAG JournalPage 16Letter from the Chair (continued)Continued from Page 1In an effort to ensure junior officers had a voice in this process,JOAG nominated six junior officers for these workgroups.As previously mentioned, four were selected to representJOAG on four of the ten workgroups. Although six workgroupsdo not have JOAG nominated officers, each of theworkgroups do include junior officers as part of their membership.These ten workgroups are: 1) Division of Civilian MedicalReserve Corps; 2) Division of Science and Communications;3) Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel andReadiness; 4) Division of Systems Integration; 5) RecruitmentBranch; 6) Assignments and Career Management Branch; 7)Assignment Team; 8) Training Team; 9) Personnel ManagementSupport Team; and 10) Readiness, Deployment andReady Reserve Branch.Additionally, the Corps continues to move forward with thefollowing initiatives:Billet Transformation: categories are at various stagesof completion at this time.Ready Reserve Implementation: current efforts are directedat determining the size, skills, employment, etc. forReady Reserve officers.GI Transferability Bill: ongoing discussions continue atthe Department level to get the details of the Post-9/11Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of2010 completed. This Bill will allow PHS CommissionedCorps officers to transfer educational benefits providedby the Post 9/11 GI Bill to dependent family members. Inorder for the Post 9/11 GI Bill transferability to be effectivefor the Commissioned Corps, transferability must bein the interest of national security and be approved by theHHS Secretary. Specific details on what this means arestill being discussed.The lifting of the pause and the pending reorganization of theCorps brought about many questions from junior officers.This is why I felt it essential to have Commissioned Corpsleadership come address JOAG during the February 11, 2011JOAG General Meeting. We were honored to have RADMBoris Lushniak, Deputy Surgeon General, and RADM ChristopherHalliday, OSG Chief of Staff, address JOAG members.The Admirals started off by acknowledging the important roleJOAG plays within the Corps. They also stated that the SurgeonGeneral appreciates junior officers‘ enthusiasm duringthese difficult times, our insight on what is important for thefuture of the Corps, and our leadership, as demonstrated bybeing part of an organization like JOAG.The meeting allowed an opportunity for frank, candid discussionsbetween Corps leadership and junior officers present atthe meeting. I believe this session was tremendously helpful inreducing any anxiety surrounding many of the unknownscoming from the passage of the PPACA, and will undoubtedlylead to improved future communication between Corps leadershipand JOAG.As we move from focusing on activities related to the overallCorps, I would now like to recognize some of the great workbeing done by the JOAG committees:The Policy and Procedures Committee and the ProfessionalDevelopment Committee will soon distribute the MembershipSurvey to junior officers via the JOAG listserv. This surveywill help JOAG identify gaps in our organization as perceivedby our general membership.The Professional Development Committee is currently workingon finalizing the JOAG Career Pyramid. The career pyramidwas designed with the intent to assist junior officers betterunderstand the requirements expected of them during thecourse of their careers. In addition, the pyramid serves as aPHS career development tool for mentors to guide their protégés.The JOAG Strategic Plan is currently being reviewed andupdated to help JOAG align its priority and mission into thenext 5 years.The Recruitment and Retention Committee’s COSTEP ConnectionProgram have developed the COSTEP Non-Select RecruitmentProgram in collaboration with the CommissionedCorps Recruitment Branch (formerly known as Div. of CommissionedCorps Recruitment).Although in very early stages, JOAG is currently looking intohow we can assist the Surgeon General with the First Lady'sLet’s Move Initiative.These are just some of the exciting projects that we have beeninvolved in for the last several months. As you can see, thereis plenty to do, and we are always looking for enthusiastic participantsto assist within our ten JOAG Committees.I would also like to remind and encourage all junior officersthat the Membership Committee is now accepting nominationsfor JOAG Voting Membership. For more informationon how to apply, please visit the About JOAG – Membershipwebpage of the JOAG website. Additionally, the JOAGAwards Committee is also accepting nominations for thethree JOAG Awards that will be presented during this year‘sCOF; The JOAG Excellence Award, The Junior Officer of theYear Award, and the VADM Richard H. Carmona InspirationalAward. Application and instructions can be found underthe Awards section of the JOAG website.Lastly, I want to end by thanking all of our active JOAG participants.It is through you that JOAG continues to thrive andhave a direct impact in the future of our Corps. As always, ifyou want to get involved and be part of this historical time inour Corps, I encourage you to become active by joining one ofour many JOAG committees.With Warm Regards,LCDR Carlos BellChair, Junior Officer Advisory Group