Flag FITREPs - gmarkhardy.com

1 Flag FITREPsCAPT G. Mark Hardy III, USNR, National VP for professional Development10 NRA NEWS/MARCH 2005 professional DevelopmentCOMING YOUR WAYTwo Ninth District professional development Seminars for Junior and Mid-Grade NR OfficersOMAHA AREAKANSAS CITY AREASATURDAY, 16 APR 2005, 0830-1600 hoursSUNDAY, 17 APR 2005, 0830-1600 hoursNaval and Marine Corps Reserve Center (UIC: 61998)Naval Reserve Center (UIC: 62054)5808 No. 30th St.; Omaha, NE 681113100 E. Brush Creek Blvd.; Kansas City, MO 64130 These two professional development Seminars will focus on the review of Junior and Mid-Grade Naval Reserve officers' recommended career paths. The importanceof billet selection, Selection Boards, and Fitness Report preparation will be viewed as building blocks to a successful Naval Reserve career.

2 Sit in on a mock SelectionBoard. Attendees will have an opportunity for one-on-one counseling with an experienced senior Naval Reserve officer. For further details, contact: CDR William Lear, CO; NMCRC; Omaha, NE 1-877-451-2098; CDR John Rohan, CO; NRC; Kansas City, MO 1-866-813-0498; or, CAPT John Hayden, USNR (Ret), Ninth District Vice President, professional development 303-388-5906. Make plans now to attend. Brought to you by your Naval Reserve Association. Did you ever wonder if flag officers getFITREPs? After all, the NAVPERS1616/26 FITREP form says FitnessReport & Counseling Record (E7-O6). Whathappens when someone makes O7?The Navy has an Executive DevelopmentProgram that is designed to mentor and developofficers selected for flag rank.

3 It was based onresearching corporate executive developmentmodels at Sara Lee Corporation, the City ofChesapeake, Anteon, and flag officers are paired up with a mentor,who provides ongoing advice on executivedevelopment and career planning. Each officerhas a personalized United States Navy SeniorLeader development Plan. This plan includes aCompetence Level Assessment, which is thekey document for exchanging career informationbetween prot g es and their mentors, and foraggregating data on skill areas across the URLand NON-URL flag communities to assistCommander, Navy Reserve Force (CNRF) indeveloping training and education are nine identified competencies forflag officers.

4 - Leadership- Change management- Human capital management- IT management- Financial management- Joint operations- Fleet / staff operations- OPNAV- Reserve affairsA new flag officer considers previousexperiences, civilian or military, as it pertains toeach competency, and provides a frank andaccurate account to the mentor. To encouragehonest self-assessments, this remains a privatedocument between the two officers. Afterdiscussing the skill and knowledge indicatorswith one's mentor and reviewing carefully thecompetency definitions, the flag officer estimatesa current competency level for each category:basic, intermediate, or advanced. This provides astarting point for executive career example, in the Reserve affairs competency,progressive indicators are as :- Understands framework for Naval Reserve- Multiple unit CO or OIC- Understands policies and procedures for Reserve Component at the Unit :- Has worked with each echelon of the Naval Reserve- Has held a position (acting or otherwise) in one of theFTS echelons ( , attached to REDCOM Staff)- Worked with CNRFC staff- Served on Reserve Policy Board- Exposed to a wide variety of Reserve units and theirmissions (MIUW, ELSF, Fleet, Joint, NATO, etc.)

5 Advanced:- All of the above plus:- Held REDCOM CO or Deputy position- High degree of knowledge of policy and procedures atforce-wide level- Stood in as CNRFC or CNRF DCOS- Understands differences between Reserve Componentsin each branch- Served on SECNAV Policy Board- Experience creating NR POM and the practices andprocedures associated with Reserve funding- Understands all requirements associated with the Air,Surface, and Staff communities CNR ownsThose who think just because they've held anumber of CO billets qualifies them for flagrank should reconsider the depth and breadth ofknowledge and skills demanded of our flagofficers. After climbing to the top of the careerladder and being selected for O7, one discoversthe ladder was merely leaning up against acareer mountain that must be scaled as g es provide mentors with a list ofcareer goals, including aspirations, interests,constraints, and obstacles.

6 Additional inputincludes professional goals (military and civilian),personal goals (short and long term), anddesired development areas or all this information is assimilated, thementor and prot g create a multiyear developmentplan based on this self-assessment and review,plus feedback from bosses and colleagues. Witha five-year planning horizon, this plan is updatedannually, and lists choices for primary (ActiveComponent) and collateral (Reserve Component)billet assignments, on-the-job training or specialprojects for both military and civilian careers,and schools or special training to enhance one scompetency in areas evaluated as basic or intermediate. With only ten or so Reserve Component flagofficers selected annually, and less than 50 Reserve Component flag officers total, thisprogram works well on this small , couldn t this also serve as a templatefor mentoring within your own command?

7 If you are in a leadership position, when wasthe last time you sat down with your Sailors ina structured, formal manner to help them plantheir lives and careers? Do your people see anEVAL or FITREP form only twice a year atmidterm counseling and report time, or is thereongoing, steady feedback going on? Everymonth, can you honestly say that you've helpedSailors along in their career journey? RADMR obert Clark spearheaded the SWO MentoringProgram a couple of years ago, which is maturinginto a force-wide mentoring program. Considergetting involved and sharing your expertisewith others. The beauty of a properly runmentoring program is that everyone grows andbenefits from it.

8 Start making a difference insomeone s life today.