I want to start this editorial with a "HUGE" and very enthusiastic "CONGRATULATIONS" to all of our new selectees. I encourage all to attend the ceremonies in your area as it will show our Community’s unity, let the selectee know they have an entire professional support group behind them and your presence will assure the Officer’s family that their loved one made an excellent decision to become a "Mustang". If that last statement did not motivate you to attend the ceremony, then let me state it like this: put yourself in the selectee’s position and think about how you would feel not being supported by the Community you joined.

As I wrap up my first year in the job, I look back and realize what a wild ride it has been – probably my toughest year professionally. I thank my lucky stars I had Mitch here on the journey, and that Shane is now on board helping in so many ways (this newsletter lay out is one small example). It has been a year of unexpected events and direction, probably the most critical year since our inception. It is a mixture of good and bad, but mostly good. I think in the out years it will be looked at as a time that we got back to basics. These are tough days that we are living in, tough for our Nation, our Navy, and our community. We have survived similar events in the past and they have made us stronger. We will survive this, accentuate the positives, and be poised for future opportunities because you are a vital part of the Navy. It’s time to close ranks, roll up our sleeves, and get this Mustang train back on its track.

I would like to take this opportunity to applaud and thank the LDO/CWO Senior Leadership that came in full force to our Symposium this month.  A typical symposium attracts around 40 people – this year we reached 117!  It was clearly evident that you have all taken this difficult tasking very seriously.  Your hard work and passion for our community is apparent and the value gained in having your expertise on-hand for this granular community work will prove to be invaluable as we move ahead and look forward to a clear and bright future. I am very proud to be a part of such a professional cadre.  Thanks again!

I trust that everyone had a great Christmas and New Year Holiday break and are probably in the process of catching up.  We are very busy and have really never stopped with the billet reviews and gathering your inputs from the symposium as we look forward to meeting CNP’s February deadline on this initiative.  Again, your hard work and passion for our community is apparent and the value gained in having your expertise on-hand has proven invaluable as we move ahead and look forward to a clear and bright future.  We will do our best in the coming year to provide frequent communications via the NPC and NKO websites, as well as our Facebook page (Shane has done an awesome job of keeping it updated and generating discussions) and e-mail distribution messages to keep you up to date on any and all changes affecting our community.

25 February 2011 is a date that should go into our history book as a day of celebration.  It was the day we met with CNP and presented all of your hard work in outlining a new course proposal to manage our community in meeting Navy needs. It was also the date that we received approval to fix some of the long term problems our community has battled with for decades.   The work outlined was very complex and included your inputs, your community Flag Officer concerns, and guidance from our sponsor, Admiral Quinn.  It included great feedback from RDML Kurta (1110) and RDML Covell (1200) to ensure we could realistically achieve what we were asking for.  It was evident that the restructure of our billet base, making it viable and sustainable, was not enough.  There are some very necessary elements to ensure that these changes will have a long term lasting effect and that we don’t find ourselves doing annual deep dives to make course changes. In a nutshell, we need the supporting inventory to do the job in the long term – I am very happy to tell you that our chain of command supported that view and was accepted by CNP as a requirement.

 In March we had the opportunity to travel to the SE US and Guantanamo Bay to present our new brief in addition to our recruiting brief.  The community brief is  l-o-n-g but probably very little can be cut because it really lays out what was broken, what we have done to fix it, and what the future holds including initiatives to address some long standing problems.  I think the general mood in most audiences was, initially, anxious and possibly even hostile.  But the mood at the end of the brief can best be described as cautiously optimistic.  Quite honestly there is lots of good in this initiative with very few being disadvantaged (and even that is minimal because we will age any force changes).   It will take a couple of years to fully implement all of the changes and  I believe that all initiatives will be carried out because they are logical and best for the Navy and are supported by our chain of command (Flag and community).  The OCM team in place right now will be here for at least a year together, and any reliefs will be handpicked to ensure they share the same philosophies, vision, and fortitude to ensure completion.   This fits very well with our Flag Sponsor, Admiral Quinn, retaining leadership of our community as he transitions to NETC Pensacola – an incredible win for us as he greatly values what you do for our Navy.

Head OCM’s CORNER:  You should be in the final stages of having your Superstar enlisted applicant packages finalized and ready for mailing in order to meet the 1 October deadline.  I am hoping this is going to be a great and competitive year.  Mitch and I were able to reach every Fleet concentration and a number of outliers with the exception of Japan.  The audiences were engaged, motivated, and appeared to be our best and brightest – that is just the guys we need.  We thank you for participation this year and getting your people to the brief, and particularly those that sat through the brief as mentors.  This will stand out as a banner year, hopefully the first of many to follow. And speaking of banner years…

As we wrap‐up another month I must tell you about the excitement we have about the LDO &  CWO programs. The efforts that you have put forth as Leaders in our various Fleet concentration  areas to conduct a kickoff event in supporting the 2013 Mustang Roundup and OCM briefs is already  paying huge dividends and I believe we will realize how successful it has been once we receive the  packages for next year’s board. I want to personally thank everyone involved as the numbers were  reflective of the hard work you put in to setup such events.  Please stay in touch with those interested  in the programs and ensure continued mentorship is provided!  Thanks!!

We are headed into the dog days of summer throughout the Fleet as June is upon us and the PCS  season is in full swing.  After a very successful Mustang Roundup recruiting kickoff in late April and  throughout May, we need to maintain focus and ensure that those applying for our program remain  fully on track.  For those potential applicants that will be PCSing this summer, it is imperative that the  command forward a letter of recommendation from the losing Commanding Officer to the gaining  Commanding Officer for inclusion in the member’s package to the board.  This simple networking  provides both Commanding Officers an opportunity and a fair assessment of the individual’s potential  to serve as an LDO or CWO.  OPNAVINST 1420.1B, chapter 7, page 7‐18, paragraph 13.f. provides this  full policy guidance on application packages. 

Congratulations,  fair winds and following seas to Captain Gerry Slevin, Silver Eagle, who retired  in a 28 June ceremony in Tampa, Florida and handed off the honors of the Navy’s most senior Limited  Duty Officer (LDO) to Captain Richard Verbeke.  (see attached article) 

Please welcome LT Walker's relief as the Asst LDO/CWO OCM, LT Leo Peterson who has checked  onboard.  Shane will be in and out for the next couple months continuing to do turnover, pack‐out, and  some leave, and for continuity purposes I'd ask that if you send an email to us here in the OCM shop  please add LT Peterson to the addressees at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..   Leo is a great addition to the  team and brings a strong resume of sea duty, warfare qualification, education, Fleet Staff duty, and  sustained superior performance that will serve him well as he assumes the role as one of the faces and  voices speaking out for our community. 

Fresh off of our Tidewater Road trip.  Mitch and I were able to get out and provide some updated community information to over 200 Mustangs in Little Creek, Oceana and Norfolk. I’d like to personally thank all of you who came out and talked to us and a big BZ to those who hosted us in the three locations!  

The Active and Reserve Limited Duty Officer (LDO)  and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) In-Service Procurement NAVADMINs ( 176/13 and 177/13) have been released.  We continue to field questions daily concerning time in service (TIS) waivers for LDO and CWO.  I ask that all Mustangs review NAVADMIN 281/12, paragraph 4b and counsel applicants on eligibility and TIS waivers.

As stated in last month’s Lariat,” RADM Quinn, our Flag Sponsor, has deemed our travel Mission Essential to the LDO/CWO community.”   We have been offered the opportunity to travel to San Diego from August 12th thru the 16th to provide LDO/CWO Community Health and Applicant briefs.  Leo has just firmed up the itinerary.  A special thanks to LT Craig Leonard and LT Todd Lombard at COMTHIRDFLT for sponsoring the trip.   Below in the “2013 Road Show Fleet Engagement Schedule” column, you will find the schedule for our San Diego visit. We’ve also submitted travel requests for Jax, Mayport, Kings Bay, Pensacola and Newport in August.  Then hoping to get to Guam, Japan, Hawaii, PACNORWEST and possibly Newport in September.  So as our travel gets approved we’ll be reaching out for sponsors in those areas.  Email Leo directly with any questions:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 A great quote from our Flag Sponsor!   It proves that your mentorship does not go unnoticed.  Keep up the exceptional work in the wardroom and on the deckplates.         

Feels good to be back on the road again.   Appreciate your patience as we get caught up with your emails and phone calls.  Our trips to San Diego, Jacksonville, Mayport, Pensacola and Kings Bay (GA) were a huge success.  The opportunity to provide face-to-face LDO/CWO Officer Community Health and Applicant briefs in those Fleet concentration areas is absolutely critical in ensuring we keep our constituents up to speed on Sustainability Initiative/Community updates and imperative in attracting the requisite amount of qualified Sailors for our program. 

NEXT STOP:   Guam, Yokosuka and Atsugi Japan.  Below in the “2013 Road Show Fleet Engagement Schedule” column, you will find the schedule for that trip.   Email Leo directly with any questions:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

By the time you get this month’s Lariat, the 1 October application deadline will have passed.  Best of luck to all of your applicants, this is always an exciting time for our community.   

Fall is again upon us and for Officer Community Managers, the annual work of determining next year’s FY15 Promotion Plan, followed by the annual Accession Plan to support the January FY15 In-Service Procurement Board for LDOs and CWOs. Once we receive end-strength numbers from Big Navy, we can then start calculation of the zones based on our vacancy needs.  With that said, do not assume you will be In Zone, wait until the message is released, but get your records squared away.  QUESTION:  Is your record up to date?   Photos in current grade, last FITREP, qualifications and awards should all be up to date.  If not, http://www.public.navy.mil/bupersnpc/career/recordsmanagement/Pages/default.aspx  provides information on updating records.  I also strongly recommend sitting with your mentors, past board members and/or your chain of command to get a thorough review of your record.  

I just recently returned from consecutive Road trips to Guam, Yokosuka and Atsugi Japan.  Mitch accompanied me during the trips to Hawaii and PACNORWEST.  A brief synopsis of each trip is provided in the TRIP REPORT column.  To those of you that played a role in coordinating these trips with Leo, thank you very much.   As we get information on the FY-14 Road Show Trip schedule, we will share.