In terms of making a splash, the Coast Guard members who ensure we all get our paychecks and benefits will never compete with, say, a HITRON squad pulling off a $63 million drug interdiction.
That’s why CDR William K. Haywood was so surprised when he won a Coast Guard Human Resources Management (HRM) Achievement Award last year. “The fact that the award existed at all is something – since it’s not operational,” said Haywood, who was honored for managing the launch of the Interactive Personnel Electronic Records Management System (iPERMS), which gives members direct online access to their military records.
The awards program will accept nominations for this year’s award through this Friday, April 4. Please consider nominating someone who demonstrated exceptional HR leadership and achievement – either at an individual unit or across the organization.
Haywood said he never used to give a lot of thought to those working behind the scenes to support field operations. That changed when he came shoreside in 2022, as capability branch chief of the Personnel Service Center’s (PSC) Business Operations Division.
“These awards are recognizing the people who are making sure you’re getting your benefits, that your paycheck is on time,” he said. “If you’re out in the fleet, what you think is, ‘Oh, there they go changing everything again.’ But on the other side, our HR people are constantly scrambling to coordinate these changes that are out of their control and make them work for the people in the field.”
In addition to CDR Haywood, last year’s recipients included:
- OPM-1 for spearheading workforce transformation, which led to a 300% increase in extended active-duty agreements to address critical officer shortages, joint hiring with the U.S. Public Health Service for the Chief Medical Officer position, and a consolidation of the post-graduate selection processes.
- A team that conducted a comprehensive EPM-3 audit of over 58,000 enlisted employee reviews (EERs), which ensured accuracy and fairness in performance evaluations.
- Base Cleveland for facilitating improvements and maintenance of government-leased housing that significantly enhanced the quality of life for all personnel in District 9.
How to submit nominations
The Coast Guard will recognize HR professionals for remarkable achievements that happened between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.
Nominations should highlight outstanding leadership in delivering exceptional care, service, problem solving, and innovative approaches to human resources management that have significantly enhanced our total workforce experience and effectiveness.
Nominations will be accepted in the following categories:
Individuals
- Active Duty Officers (Commissioned Officer/Chief Warrant Officer)
- Civilian Employees (General Schedule/Federal Wage Schedule)
- Non appropriated Fund (NAF) Employees
- Active Duty Enlisted Personnel
- Reserve Personnel (Officer/Enlisted)
Teams
- Teams of 4-20 personnel from Headquarters and Pay Personnel Center (PPC)
- Teams of 4-20 personnel from all other units
Instructions for submissions can be found here. Please use Form CG-5374, writing the award explanation on the second page.
All nominations must be submitted electronically by email to COMDT-DCMS-DPR-21-HRM-Awards@uscg.mil. Please ensure that files are saved in the following format: Rank.Last Name.HRM Award 2023.PDF.
Hard copies of nomination submissions will not be accepted.
All nominations must be received by COMDT (DPR-21) prior to 4 p.m. EST on Apr. 4 to be considered.
Team award submissions should be a PDF that includes a list of team members, identifying the team leader and each team member citing first name, middle initial, last name, position, title, rank, unit address and unit phone/fax number.
If you aren’t sure whether someone’s effort might be eligible for the Human Resources award, please email the program manager, CWO3 M. J. Espinoza, Martin.J.Espinoza@uscg.mil. This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the exceptional HRM professionals within our ranks. Let's celebrate their dedication and the positive impact they have on the Coast Guard!
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