The Coast Guard is updating how it conducts its surge staffing processes with new resources that will help identify and fill gaps more efficiently and effectively. Surge Staffing allows the Coast Guard to temporarily assign active duty, reserve, civilian, and auxiliary members for up to 180 days.
A newly designed decision aid flow chart will help the field determine whether their needs are mission critical before requesting Surge Staffing. The business process rules revision “allows commands to make an honest assessment on where they are for mission capability given a personnel vacancy,” said Cmdr. Walter Krolman, Surge Staffing section chief at the Personnel Service Center’s Personnel Support Division (PSC-PSD-SSS). The updated process also incorporates definitions of four personnel need categories (in ascending order of importance): voluntary, mission supplemental, mission significant, and mission critical.
Together, these new resources offer a simple and direct series of questions and guidelines to help commands decide whether their needs rise to the level of requiring Surge Staff assignments.
PSC intends to use the new decision aid to streamline every step of the process so they can provide members and commands more time to prepare for assignments and requests. The updated process will improve “our response options for commands so that both member and command input can be fully expressed,” Krolman added. Ultimately, Surge Staffing plans to publish candidate slates three weeks in advance. Members will get about one week's notice before a report date, except for emergent or contingency requests.
The streamlined business rules update will reduce strain on the service, minimize non-critical requests, improve internal processes, and strengthen the Coast Guard’s ability to meet new challenges.
If you have any questions, please email the Surge Staffing Section (PSC-PSD-SSS).
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