What would you think of "cashing in" medals and award points toward advancement on a one-time basis?
Essentially we have people cashing in on award points every single advancement. My suggestion would be you get to cash in those points once. Once you've advanced to the next grade the only medal/award points counted toward the next advancement are those newly earned.
Example: PO3 earns an achievement medal. That medal is worth 2 points on the SWE for the rest of PO3's career.
We've all heard the mantra that medals are watered down and some units hand them out like candy or as end-of-tour "going away" presents. Okay, this system would help, keyword "help," level the playing field.
That is not even true Doc. You were allowed to use ALL of your sea time (after Feb 94) as long as you served at least one day (PCS) in your current grade. It never got cashed in. It was an on/off switch. If you got advanced while afloat, you got to use it for that advancement and the next one. If you got advanced ashore - after serving afloat, the switch was turned off. As long as you had served PCS in your current grade, the switch was on and you used all of your sea time since Feb 1, regardless of grade, and how many advancements since.
Your only allowed 10 points for awards, and I wouldnt see where it would really matter considering all the other factors. I did hear a rumor once that only awards received at E6 and after should be considered for E7-E9, and it seemed to make a little sense. Usually most are maxed out on award points by the time they make E6.
While we're here... You get SWE points for sea time...a good majority of aviation never set foot on a boat. Why not give SWE points for Flight time? It would give the guys that are flying and taking up the slack for all of the sick bay commandos a little compensation....
Originally posted by militia1: Your only allowed 10 points for awards, and I wouldnt see where it would really matter considering all the other factors. I did hear a rumor once that only awards received at E6 and after should be considered for E7-E9, and it seemed to make a little sense. Usually most are maxed out on award points by the time they make E6.
T
Actually - if you take a look at the SWE stats, noone show a maxed out average even at E8. (That would mean E-7s competing for E-8). Only about a third of the ratings even show a maxed avg for E-9 SWE.
Tests scores, marks, time in service. Advancement should be knowledge and performance based. To me that's all that should be considered for advancement. With the combining of rates, the forming of more LE land base units, which effect so many rates, the odds of a sea billet has decreased so why have it as a deciding factor? Time in rank: Why give points for NOT advancing? Award points: If any I think Good Conduct points should be the only ones used for advancement.
Guns; Yes, for some ratings, the odds of a sea billet has decreased. So - the average in those ratings will also decrease. In other ratings, the odds of going to sea has INCREASED. No harm, no foul either way. TIS and TIR are both capped at fairly reasonable numbers, so their really isn't that much of a dinosaur factor. In reality, a huge chunk of the final multiple really is in the things you are asking for.
Chewy, Great idea. We could also give points for station folks and the hours they spend on the smallboat. I find it only fair that those of us on a particular assignment not be penalized because a detailer has put us in an assignment that fit the needs of the coast guard. When it comes time to be advanced, so many push and beg for the assignments to get there sea time but there are only so many billets. We should be able to keep those points (sea, flight,boat) for that reason. The award points are different and it should be a matter of "what have you done for me lately". We can't/shouldn't rest on our past behavior to excuse our current situation. IMO this will insure that the "Old Guard" still stay on their toes and continue to be an asset to the USCG, even if only to be recognized for awards and award points toward SWE (not the most ideal reason, but still gets the job done). We will not rest. We will not faulter. We will drive on... (no matter how old, bitter or disallusioned we may become.)
Being in my job, I have heard an aweful lot of cries "But MC, I have been trying to get to sea and the AO won't send me" In almost every case for me, and several of the RFMCs who sit close to me, that member has been full of it. Pretty simple little thing for us to pull up the last half a dozen years worth of E-resumes and see that the member was not trying to get sea time.
I have always been a proponent of dropping the bottom 20% of test takers before adding in the final multiples. Another thing I learned from being in this job is the complexities that adds. We all know (or should know) that the SWE serves one purpose and one purpose only. That purpose is to rank order every person who is 100% qualified and ready to advance. Where dropping the bottom 20% comes up to bite you in the butt is when a rate needs to advance more than 80% of the qualified people to the next higher rate.
A lot of times a member's idea of "trying to get to sea" is asking for a 65' tug or the tender that never gets underway. They convieniently forget that the detailor offered them the 210' or 378'..... it can't work both ways. If you really need sea time for advancement, I guerentee you there is something afloat somewhere for you.
As far as points for aviatiors....it's all relative depending on the rate as MC alluded to above. I have 4 years sea time, that's somewhat respectable for an HS but dismal for an MK or FS. So you can't really say the aviators are at a disadvantage when no one has any rated sea time.
I was never able to use my sea time from my first unit (oh well) since it was well before the policy came out in 94. My thought was what happened to all the folks that were at isolated units? No, I was never at one but the folks at the Loran Stations didn't get jack for the SWE.
Chris; Here is something funny - the avg AST2 trying to make AST1 has more sea time than the avg YN1 trying to make YNC! That is messed up.
Beege; You can look at that multiple ways. The person coming off a LORSTA, if they used their Assignment Priority wisely, got a lot out of it, which could have included sea time.
ET's at isolated LORANs can get waivers for sea time and I believe it only applies to ET's and only isolated. Could be mistaken. I used my #1 pick wisely and got the afloat unit I wanted. I needed and wanted more sea time and wanted a different experience than another 378.
Cashing in awards would not be a good idea. By far, the only way you can increase your advantage to the next level is study, study, study... With all this surf/sea points, EER's for people that are well above what they should be, I think some people lost the real value of advancing. Know your rate, become proficient in your job and study.
