R 061802Z NOV 09

ALCOAST 636/09
COMDTNOTE 1650
SUBJ: SOLICITATION FOR THE 2009 RADM BENNETT "BUD" SPARKS AWARD
A. MEDALS AND AWARDS MANUAL, COMDTINST M1650.25 (SERIES)
B. COAST GUARD RESERVE AWARDS PANEL, COMDTINST 1650.12 (SERIES)
1. NOMINATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE FY09 SPARKS
AWARD. THIS AWARD IS PRESENTED ANNUALLY BY THE RESERVE OFFICERS
ASSOCIATION (ROA) TO THE COAST GUARD UNIT JUDGED TO BE THE MOST
SUPPORTIVE OF A TOTALLY INTEGRATED COAST GUARD FORCE AS
DEMONSTRATED BY ITS EFFECTIVE USE OF COAST GUARD RESERVISTS.  THE
SPARKS AWARD WAS TRADITIONALLY PRESENTED AT THE ROA SUMMER
NATIONAL CONFERENCE.  HOWEVER, ROA WILL NO LONGER CONVENE ITS
SUMMER NATIONAL CONFERENCE; THEREFORE, BEGINNING WITH THIS AWARD
CYCLE THE SPARKS AWARD WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE ROA NATIONAL
CONVENTIONS HELD IN FEBRUARY.
2. THE CRITERIA LISTED IN REF A ARE SUPERSEDED BY THIS MESSAGE.
CRITERIA AND ELIGIBILITY FOR NEXT YEARS (2010) SPARKS AWARD ARE
CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW AND WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN A FORTHCOMING
INSTRUCTION AND REFLECTED IN CHANGES TO REF A.
3. NOMINATION PROCEDURES:
 A. NOMINATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED FROM UNITS POSSESSING A VALID
OPFAC AND MUST BE ROUTED THROUGH THE FIRST FLAG-LEVEL COMMANDER IN
THE CHAIN OF COMMAND. AREA AND DISTRICT COMMANDERS COAST GUARD
PERSONNEL SERVICE CENTER, ASSISTANT COMMANDANTS FOR DIRECTORATES,
SPECIAL STAFF OFFICES AT HEADQUARTERS, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE COAST
GUARD ACADEMY, COAST GUARD FORCE READINESS COMMAND AND DEPLOYABLE
OPERATIONS GROUP MAY SUBMIT ONE NOMINATION EACH.  SUBMIT NOMINATION
PACKAGES IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT ONLY BY COB 14 DEC 09 TO POC BELOW.
 B. NOMINATION PACKAGES SHALL INCLUDE A ONE-PAGE COVER MEMO AND A
ONE-PAGE SUMMARY OF ACTION IN 12-POINT TYPE WITH ONE INCH MARGINS.
 C. THE SUMMARY OF ACTION MAY BE IN NARRATIVE OR BULLET FORMAT AND
SHOULD ADDRESS HOW THE UNIT OPTIMIZED RESERVE READINESS DURING
FY09, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HOW THE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN
PARAGRAPH FOUR BELOW WERE ADDRESSED AND IMPROVED. EXPLANATION OF
EXCEPTIONAL READINESS MEASURES AND BEST PRACTICES AND/OR LESSONS
LEARNED IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED AS WELL AS A DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS
TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN PERSONNEL RELEASED FROM ACTIVE DUTY.
4. AS PART OF THE SELECTION PROCESS, STATISTICAL DATA FROM THE
ENTERPRISE DATA WAREHOUSE WILL BE CONSIDERED IN ADDITION TO THE
NARRATIVES SUBMITTED. COMMANDS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VISIT THE RESERVE
COMMUNITY ON CG-PORTAL.  NAVIGATE TO THE "PERFORMANCE REPORTS"
SECTION AND THE FOLDER TITLED "INACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING (IDT) AND
ACTIVE DUTY FOR TRAINING (ADT) REPORTS - FY09".  LOOK FOR THE "FY09
IDT-ADT END FY.XLS" REPORT WHICH WILL CONTAIN THE COMPILATION OF
FY09 DATA. THE FOLLOWING PERFORMANCE MEASURES WILL BE USED FOR
FY09:
 A. PERCENT OF SELRES MEETING SATISFACTORY ADT AND IDT
PARTICIPATION STANDARDS,
 B. PERCENT OF SELRES WITH CURRENT MEDICAL EXAMS,
 C. PERCENT OF SELRES WITH CURRENT DENTAL EXAMS,
 D. PERCENT OF SELRES THAT HAVE COMPLETED THE ANNUAL SCREENING
QUESTIONNAIRE, AND
 E. PERCENT OF SELRES WITH DATA ENTERED IN TMT.
5. PER REF B, THE COAST GUARD RESERVE AWARDS PANEL WILL DELIBERATE
AND ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS VIA ALCOAST.
6. THE AWARD WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE ROA NATIONAL CONVENTION IN
WASHINGTON, DC, 7-10 FEB 2010.  THE SELECTED UNIT WILL BE INVITED
TO SEND TWO REPRESENTATIVES, ONE ACTIVE COMPONENT MEMBER AND ONE
RESERVE COMPONENT MEMBER, TO RECEIVE THE AWARD. COMMANDANT (CG-131)
WILL FUND TRAVEL AND ADOS-RC ORDERS, IF NECESSARY, FOR THE UNIT
REPRESENTATIVES. ROA WILL FUND APPROPRIATE CONVENTION FEES.
7. COMMANDANT (CG-131) POC IS CWO GREG HUNTON, PHONE:202-475-5461,
E-MAIL: GREG.P.HUNTON(AT)USCG.MIL.
8. CAPT S.E. VANDERPLAS, ACTING DIRECTOR OF RESERVE AND TRAINING
SENDS.
9. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.