Venting - Pentagon Pet Peeves

Two things for my readers at the Pentagon.

First, I don't understand the people who go into the restroom to rinse out their leftover lunch dishes and leave scraps of food in the sink.

Shipmate, YOUR MOTHER DOESN'T WORK AT THE PENTAGON!

None of the rest of us want to look at your scraps of food laying in the sink, or watch the water level rising in the sink because it can't drain with your pieces of peas and bacon and pasta clogging the drain.

CLEAN IT UP!

Second, the turnstiles at the 2nd Corridor entrance and at the Pentagon Athletic Center (PAC) are designed for TWO-WAY FLOW of people into and out of the building.  You DON'T have to stop and wait for the people going the other direction to stop and let you through.  I have had many experiences where either (a) I had to wait for someone in front of me who was stopped because they thought they couldn't go out while someone was coming in, or (b) I get dirty looks from someone who was going to come in, but then stops to wait because I swipe my badge and start walking out.  They give me a look that calls me a cheater and line-cutter and asks why I didn't wait for my turn to go through the turnstile.

On each side of the turnstile, there is a badge-swiper and a light.  Pay attention to the light on YOUR side.  Swipe your badge, and if the light on YOUR side turns GREEN, WALK THROUGH THE TURNSTILE!  I see a lot of people who don't understand there are TWO signal lights - one for each direction.  Many people focus on the other light across the turnstile and think because it is green, they can go through, then the turnstile jams to a stop and that robotic voice says, "Unauthorized Entry, please exit the turnstile."  Focus on YOUR light on YOUR side.  If it's green, go.  If it's not, swipe your badge again!

Okay, I'm done ranting now.

Blog Celebrity and Defunct Blog Rolls

It doesn't happen often, but I am occasionally surprised to meet a stranger who says, "Hey, I read your blog!"  I recently had a fellow Navy officer come to my office for a meeting, and he recognized one of the framed pictures over my desk that was also posted on my blog.  He told me when he received orders to PCS to the Pentagon, one of the Navy officers in his new office sent him an email with a link to my "Pentagon Gouge."  Wow!  I'm honored to be included in the unofficial Pentagon welcome aboard packet, and glad to know some have found the information I've shared here to be useful. 

That gave me a nudge that I should get back in the habit of sharing things on my blog that may be of use to folks working in the Pentagon or the National Capital Region in general.

To that end, please tell me (comment or email), how do you keep up on your blog reading?  For me, I used to have a long list of blogs I read on Google Reader.  I was out at sea when Google Reader went away, and I just never recovered or reconstituted any means of keeping up to date on all the blogs I used to read.  How do you do it?  I know I keep up to date on a lot of things via Facebook.  Maybe I should change this into a Facebook page.  What do you think?

Mass Transit Benefits go DOWN in January

Heads-Up!

One of the nice things about working for the federal government in the DC area is they pay you to use mass transit, and they automatically deposit it to your Metro SmarTrip Card each month.


If you're using the National Capital Region (NCR) Mass Transit Benefit Program (MTBP), then plan to pay more money out of your pocket since the benefits go DOWN in January.

One of my coworkers received this email warning from MTBP.  I'm not sure why I didn't receive it since I normally get the MTBP announcement emails, but here it is:

NOTICE: The maximum monthly statutory limit for transit benefits is set to decrease from $245 to $130 in 2014

Attention MTBP participants,

WHAT?
In January 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R.8) temporarily raised the transit benefit statutory limit to $245 per month. This new amount was not intended to be permanent and expires at the end of 2013.

Unless a new statutory limit is approved by Congress, the statutory limit will decrease to $130 per month starting January 1, 2014. Source: IRS Revenue Procedures (rp-13-35)

Congress may still act to extend the limit above $130, but at this time agencies must proceed with what the law states as the maximum tax exempt mass transit subsidy limit. Any updates will be posted at the MTBP website ( http://www.whs.mil/MTBP/ )

DC Events and Pentagon Gouge Update

Here are a few upcoming events for the National Capital Region and some gouge on the uniform shop and ITT down below:

9/14 - Saturday (tomorrow!) - Dulles Day Plane Pull.  This is a FREE event and has lots of planes and helicopters on display, and you can watch the teams competing to pull a jumbo jet across the tarmac.  I first took my kids when they were like 5 and 3 years old, and we had a great time.  This year there's going to be a Sea Harrier doing a vertical landing and take-off - click the link for the map and the schedule.

9/20-9/22 - Friday-Sunday - DC Car Free DayS!  So, it used to be DC Car Free DAY (singular), and everyone who signed up agreed to not use or minimize use of their car.  Now they've expanded it to one weekday and a full weekend.  I'll at least do the Friday, not so sure about the weekend.

10/7 - Monday - Naval District Washington seasonal uniform shift to BLUES.

Navy Uniform Shop.  Speaking of uniforms, I just discovered that the old Navy Annex is GONE, flat, bulldozed, non-existent.  I asked around what happened to the uniform shop.  They've actually put the NAVY uniform shop in a trailer just inside the gate to Henderson Hall, and it's pretty darn convenient.  It used to be you had to fight for parking, walk all the way up to go through security to get into the Navy Annex, then go exploring waaaaaay down into the farthest reaches of the Navy Annex basement to get to the uniform shop.  Now, there's parking right smack in front of this stand-alone trailer, and no security to get through (other than showing your ID at the gate to Henderson Hall).

ITT.  Looking to buy tickets for something?  There are ITT offices at the Marine Corps Exchange, right next to the package store, and there is one at the Washington Navy Yard (WNY) inside where the food court is (across the street / behind Naval Reactors).  There is an Air Force ITT in the Pentagon on the 5th Deck, E-Ring...  It's over amongst all the cool Air Force paintings.  I think that's somewhere in the 9th to 10th corridor area.

Update on Pentagon Tours

This is an update to my previous post on Pentagon Tours.

Most hallways of the Pentagon have some sort of historic or current operations museum-type of exhibit.  Many of the A-ring hallways are museums in and of themselves.  Me being the type of person who likes to read each and every word of every display in a museum, it would take me a loooooooong time to get through all the Pentagon exhibits have to offer.

The official Pentagon tours are excellent, but you have to sign up weeks in advance, and they are only offered Monday through Friday.  Given there are about 25,000 people working in the Pentagon, chances are there are a few more people out there like me who want to give a tour to visiting family and friends on a weekend.  If you need to give a tour yourself, you can download a PDF of a self-guided tour from the Pentagon Tours website.

However, the official tour route doesn't go to a couple of spots I highly recommend like the Pentagon Building History (2nd corridor, 3rd floor) and the Army's Living History Exhibit (2nd floor, E-Ring between the 6th and 7th corridors).  Because the Metro entrance is closed on the weekends, you have to bring your weekend visitors in through North Parking or through the 2nd Corridor entrance.  As a result, I made my own tour-route, which I will list below for anybody else who is interested.

Before I describe the tour route, I want to tell you about two other things I did (and recommend doing) to prepare for a weekend tour.

First, go follow one of the official tour groups around on a weekday.  You don't have to sign up or anything - you've got a Pentagon badge, just loiter at the back of the official tour group.  The tour guides have a fairly set script they follow, but they have a LOT of interesting tidbits of information they use to keep people's interest as they walk their route, and they've put a lot of thought and effort into what sequence to cover what.  You will get a lot of useful ideas of things to talk about with your tour group that you wouldn't get from just reading the PDF file Self-Guided Tour brochure.

Second, I made a scavenger hunt list of things for the five kids in my tour group to find.  I told them they had to write down the first three digits of the nearest office address (like "3A5xx" for the 3rd floor A ring 5th corridor) for where they found each item, so I knew they really found it and didn't just cross it off the list. 

Scavenger Hunt List

Aside:  The hardest one for my group to find was a red lightning bolt.  If you need help finding anything on the list, send me an email.  There are at least two red lightning bolts, but they're very small and hidden in big paintings.

Since the Pentagon Gift Shop is also CLOSED on the weekends, I went to the gift shop ahead of time and got some little things like hats, magnets, stickers, or pins.  When we finished with the D-Day paintings, I had them turn in their scavenger hunt sheets to me, and I gave them an oral quiz on some facts about the Pentagon to see what they had learned.  In return for completing the scavenger hunt and passing "the quiz," I gave them each a "prize" (one of the things I had picked up in the Pentagon gift shop earlier that week).  From there, we headed back to the 2nd corridor entrance to go back out to South Parking.

In order to help plan my route and to be able to find specific exhibits quickly, I made my own map of the exhibits in each hallway.  I have NOT finished mapping it all yet, but I have all the A-ring hallways mapped plus a few of the interesting corridors and the Army Living History exhibit.

Click on image to enlarge.

Blunoz's Weekend Pentagon Tour Route
Given those constraints, I came up with my own tour path that went like this:
- Parked in South Parking, visited the Pentagon Memorial
- Enter 2nd Corridor Entrance (use restrooms there if necessary depending on how long your drive to the Pentagon was or how long you were at the Pentagon Memorial).
- Take elevator or stairs up to 3rd floor (remember - escalators are turned off on weekends)
- Pentagon Building History exhibit (3rd floor, 2nd corridor).  I put together some notes to talk about the history of how the Pentagon got its shape and comparing its size to other things.  I am happy to email you the powerpoint slides I made, just send me an email.
- At A-ring, turn right into NORAD hallway and go up escalator (walking up them like stairs) to 4th floor.
- USAF Aces exhibit (4th floor, A-ring between 1st and 10th corridor)
- USAF History and models (4th floor, A-ring between 9th and 8th corridor)
- U.S. Coast Guard history (4th floor, A-ring first half of hallway between 7th and 6th corridor)
- Naval Aviation history (4th floor, A-ring second half of hallway between 7th and 6th corridor)
- Down the stairs to 3rd floor.  Here at the 5-6 Apex you can take a side excursion down the POW/MIA hallway (3rd floor, A-ring from 6th to 7th corridor) and then back again, or continue onward.
- MacArthur exhibit (3rd floor, A-ring between 5th and 4th corridor)
- Down the stairs to the 2nd floor.
- Soldier Signers of the Declaration of Independence (2nd floor, 4th corridor)
- Out at the E-Ring, take the stairs or elevator down to the 1st floor.
- 9-11 Memorial Chapel (end of 4th corridor on 1st floor)
- 9-11 Memorial Quilts (1st floor, 4th corridor) back to the A-ring then left into
- Eisenhower Exhibit (1st floor, A-ring from 4th to 5th corridor).
- Women in the Military exhibit (1st floor, A-ring from 6th to 7th corridor)
- Up the stairs to the 2nd floor.
- Go out the 7th corridor to the E-ring.
- Army Living History Exhibit (2nd floor, E-ring from 7th to 6th corridor)
- Continue along the E-ring past the 6th corridor to see something pretty cool.  You can't miss it.
- Turn around, go back to the 6th corridor and out to the A-ring 
- Disaster Relief Exhibit (2nd floor, A-ring from 6th to 7th corridor)
- ANZUS exhibit (2nd floor, A-ring from 8th to 9th corridor)
- Out the 10th corridor and make a U-turn to the left by the Hall of Heroes in order to see the D-Day Paintings in the ramp going up to the 3rd floor.  

So you COULD take the route recommended in the Pentagon Self-Guided Tour brochure, and it would be shorter.  You COULD take the route I developed and listed above that'll go to more of the exhibits.  Or, you COULD make up your own route using my map up above.

Pentagon Gouge: What's Changed?

So, as one might expect, things change when you go away from a place for any significant length of time.  I left the five-sided palace of bureaucracy we call the Pentagon back in August 2010, and now I've returned almost exactly 3 years later.

As a result, I'm going back through my old Pentagon Gouge posts and updating them where they need to be updated.

For the benefit of my readers who may have followed in my footsteps out of the Pentagon to the fleet and may someday return to the Pentagon (CW?), here's a quick snapshot of my first impressions on returning to the building:

3rd 2nd Corridor Entrance:  When I left, access from South Parking was via the 3rd Corridor entrance and the 2nd Corridor entrance was closed for renovations.  On one recent particularly hot, muggy afternoon, I walked from Crystal City to the Pentagon and made the mistake of trying to walk to the 3rd Corridor.  Doh.  Closed.  They've swapped.  Now the 3rd Corridor entrance is under renovation and all access on that side of the building is via the schnazzy new glass turnstyles at the 2nd Cooridor entrance.

PAC (Pentagon Athelic Center):  The entrance to the PAC has moved and is now part of this rat-maze of temporary walls through construction.  It took me a couple of times bumping into dead-ends by trial and error - trying to get there by a means I considered "logical" when there is no logic to it.  It's actually pretty easy once you figure it out.  On the first floor, just walk all the way to the end of Corridor 7 and you'll see a sign that says "PAC" with an arrow pointing toward the door to Stairway 74.  Take the stairs down one floor to the mezzanine, and continue following the signs to the PAC.  Coming out of the stairs on the mezzanine, it's a right, then a left, then a left, then a right, then a left, then a left, and then you'll see the glass turnstyles to the PAC.  Luckily, there are lots of signs along the way.  You have to swipe your PAC membership card to go through the turnstyles toward the PAC, and you have to swipe your Pentagon badge to come back through from the PAC into the Pentagon.

Uniform Shop:  There used to be a rat-maze to get to the uniform shop on the 5th deck above the Metro entrance, and I had advised people to just go to the Metro entrance and then take the stairs up to the 5th deck to find it rather than negotiate the rat maze.  The maze is gone.  The renovations in that section are all done, and you can approach the uniform shop from any direction and not run into dead-ends.

MTBP:  This is probably the biggest improvement since I left.  It used to take a LONG time to submit and get approved for your initial National Capital Region (NCR) Mass Transit Benefits, then then once a quarter, you had to go stand in line at designated hallways at certain times to receive your Mass Transit Benefit Program Metro Checks.  Now it's all mostly automated on the web.  My initial sign-up and approval happened really fast - like within a day or two (it used to take WEEKS).  Now, when you sign up on the website, you tell it the serial number of your Metro SmarTrip card and how much your commuting expenses are each month, and they automatically put the money on your SmarTrip card.  I thought it was pretty sweet to see the balance on my SmarTrip card magically go up on August 1st without having to stand in line to get my Metro checks and then take them down to the Metro station to load them onto my SmarTrip card.   

Uniform Policy:  This one perplexes me.  When I left, just the USAF and USA guys were wearing their digital camouflage uniforms.  We had an all-hands call with the CNO one day.  When we got to the Q&A, the first question was some brave O-5 who stood up and asked if the CNO would reconsider the policy on allowing us to wear our working uniforms around the Pentagon or out in town.  If I were to summarize the CNO's response in two words, it would be: "Pack Sand."  What he actually said was something along the lines of "I want us to maintain a more professional appearance."  (Aside:  Doesn't that imply that the other services looked UNprofessional in their working uniforms?)  Well, there's been a change of CNO since I left.  I have heard that guys are wearing NWUs over on the Washington Navy Yard (WNY), but not in the Pentagon.  The part that perplexes me though is that the Marines are now wearing their digital camouflage uniforms around the Pentagon.  So now the Navy is the ONLY service not wearing their working uniform in the Pentagon.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not whining.  I'm not upset about it.  I'm not pounding my fist on the table and saying, "I WANT MY NWUs!"  I'm just making an observation of something that I noticed has changed since I left, and since I wasn't here when it changed, I don't know how or why it changed the way it did.

RedBox!  There's this whole new section inside the Metro entrance with a nice food-court on the first floor and shops (even a Best Buy!) on the second floor.  One of the very first things you'll see when you come in the Metro entrance at the top of the escalators is one of the "shops" is just a big empty red room with two RedBox kiosks.  It's actually pretty cool.  Last weekend, I rented a RedBox movie at the grocery store two blocks from my house.  We watched it, then I tucked it in my backpack and I dropped it off at the Pentagon on my way in through the Metro entrance the next morning.  Today (Friday), I went on the RedBox website, reserved a movie, and picked it up on the way out of the building.  I watched it with my family tonight, and I'll return it to the RedBox at the nearby grocery store tomorrow morning. It's pretty convenient and you can't beat the price ($1.50 per day).

Well, those are the first several things that have come to my attention so far.  I'm sure there will be more as time goes on.

Pentagon Gouge: Navy Working Uniform (NWU)

Like me, some of you have been in the National Capitol Region (NCR) for a while and not allowed to wear the new Navy Working Uniform (NWU).  As I prepare to execute my next set of PCS orders, I have found it necessary to embark on the quest for my own set of NWUs.

It has NOT been a smooth or easy process.

In the interest of helping you, my shipmates out, please allow me to offer the following recommendations for making your NWU purchase easier than mine.

Step 1)  Realize that the NWUs come in a completely new and different sizing system.
    Since the Navy uniform shop is INconveniently located in the bowels of the Navy Annex, I really didn't want to go out of my way to make the pilgrimage to the uniform shop only to find they didn't have what I needed.  So I had this bright idea to order my NWUs online.  The Navy Uniform website is actually a pretty good site.
    Unfortunately, I got to the website and discovered that you can't just order a size large blouse or type in the waist-size and inseam for my trousers.  Each have TWO sizes on their label, like "L/R," "M/L," or "L/L."  Huh?
    Okay, note to self:  For the initial purchase of my NWUs, I should probably actually GO to the uniform shop and try them on.
    But wait!  Don't leave the website yet!

Step 2)  Go ahead and order the name strips, rank insignia, warfare pin, and U.S. Navy strip from the website.
    They get it done pretty quick and ship it to your home.  The name strips take a few days to do, but it'll help make things go smoother when you already have them in hand.  The other stuff could wait, but you never know if they'll be out of your particular rank or warfare pin when you arrive at the uniform shop.

Step 3)  Look up the business hours of the uniform shop before you make the pilgrimage to the uniform shop.
    Did I mention how inconveniently located the uniform shop is in the basement of the Navy Annex?
    Here's what you DON'T want to happen.  You DON'T want to leave work "early" at 1600 in order to make a run to the uniform shop "on the way" home, battle for parking near the Navy Annex, hike to up the hill to the security entrance, and descend to the depths of the building... down the stairs... past the NFCU...  past the mini mart... around the corner... past the gym... alllllll they way down the hallway... and there it is.

The CLOSED sign.

    Yyyyyyyyeah, they closed at 1600.

    I imagine my face was probably red and smoke billowed from my ears (flashback to those jalepeno chips at the NEX in Pearl Harbor) as I walked all the way back up the hallway... past the gym... around the corner... past the mini mart... past the NFCU... up the stairs...  back through security... and back down the hill to where I parked my car again.

Step 4) Okay, wait, rewind.  Backup to Step 2 above.  
    Note to self:  The NWU requires TWO name-tapes per uniform.  One goes on the blouse.  One goes on the back of the trousers.  On your second trip to the uniform shop (because they were closed the first time you tried), if you go with just two name-tapes in-hand hoping to outfit yourself with two sets of NWUs, then you'll be disappointed. 
    Oops.
    So much for saving yourself some effort by ordering them online before going to the uniform shop.


Step 5) Get all this done so that your new NWUs are ready for pickup BEFORE you detach from your current duty station and turn in your Pentagon badge.  It just makes it easier for getting into the Navy Annex to go back to the uniform shop.  That being said, I'm happy to report that it was not difficult to get a visitor badge at the security shack.  It just would have been quicker and easier if I had done it before turning in my Pentagon badge.

Disclaimer:  Please don't take my gripes about the location of the Navy Annex uniform shop the wrong way.  I do not mean any of this to reflect negatively upon the uniform shop or staff.  It's an excellent, well-stocked uniform shop, and the staff there are extraordinarily helpful.

I just wish the location of the uniform shop was a little more convenient for quicker access.

Pentagon Gouge: PCS Check-Out

Tuesday was my last official day of walking the halls of the Pentagon as I rushed by many offices to finish my PCS check-out sheets.  Just like the check-in process, I had three separate check-OUT sheets: one for the OPNAV Staff Support office, one for the N-code Secretariat, and one for my specific office.  I was able to knock out almost all of the administrative stuff in a day speed-walking around the Pentagon and Crystal City.

Here are a few pointers for anyone else in the audience following in my footsteps and PCSing out of the National Capital Region and back to sea duty again (nudge nudge wink wink - you know who you are):

1.  Don't wait for PSD to send you a transfer package.  It required an active ping from me to get them to send me my transfer package a week before I detached.  The OPNAV Support office will tell you who your transfer clerk is over at PSD Anacostia.  If you call your transfer clerk, he/she will email you your transfer package so you don't have to drive over to Anacostia to pick it up.

2.  The transfer clerk will tell you that you have to submit the ENTIRE completed package or it won't be approved / endorsed by PSD.  Pages that aren't applicable need to have an N/A written on them and the sheet returned.  This would not be a big deal if you received the transfer package more than 5 business days before your detaching date.  As it was, the first day I had the transfer package in my hands, I had everything completed and ready to turn in except for one thing...

3.  The "longest pole in the tent" for completing my transfer package was the medical and dental Sea Duty Screening.  In hindsight, I could have gotten ahead of this even before I received my transfer package.  I recommend starting this part of your PCS early.

I went to NNMC Bethesda to get my Sea Duty Screening done.  I don't have any data to suggest the Army DiLorenzo Clinic at the Pentagon wouldn't be able to properly complete a Navy Sea Duty Screening.  However, the Medical Readiness office at NNMC Bethesda is in the business of doing Sea Duty and Overseas Duty screenings.  It's their raison d'etre.  As I've mentioned before, I have been pleased each time I have gone there to get my Physical Health Assessment (PHA), and I continue to be impressed with how smoothly they completed my Sea Duty Screening. 

Even with the friendly and professional staff in the Medical Readiness office, there were a few things that took some time that I wish I had done sooner.

- PPD.  I learned something new.  PPD tests are only required once every 3 years... UNLESS you are transferring to Sea Duty.  If you are transferring to Sea Duty, then you must have one within the last year. 

Doh.

Poke me in the arm and come back 48 hours later to have the corpsman verify I didn't react.

- HIV.  You have to have an HIV test within the last year prior to transfer.  It takes them 2 weeks to analyze the results. 

- Dental.  As you know, the Navy shifted to this strategy where you have your annual dental check-up and your PHA done in your birth month, which for me is in September.  Low and behold, here it is August and I'm trying to get my Sea Duty screening done, so it's been 11 months since my last dental exam.  They wanted to do my annual exam now. 

The Dental Readiness clinic personnel at NNMC Bethesda were also very friendly and professional and eager to help get me out the door to serve my country on the pointy-end of the spear.  However, they did the annual "check-up" and found something odd on one of my teeth.  They were VERY cautious about signing off on me going to Sea Duty and would NOT put pen-to-paper until they were absolutely sure everything was good-to-go.  This meant extra X-rays of the roots of one of my teeth and special tests of the tooth with electric probes, hot water, and cold ice stuff, and a consult with an  endodontist. 

In the end, everything worked out fine, but I had to spend a Friday afternoon and a Monday afternoon up at NNMC Bethesda to get it all done, and that was with the very helpful, supportive NNMC staff who do Sea Duty Screenings for a living and are intimately familiar with the rules and PUSHING to get it all done so I could get out the door on time.  I'm not sure I would wager money that a non-Navy clinic would have gotten that done correctly or in-time.

So to sum it up:

1. Kudos and many thanks to the superb staff at NNMC Bethesda's Medical Readiness and Dental Readiness clinics. 

2.  If you're expecting to detach in the near future, get thee to the Medical and Dental Readiness clinics, get your PPD and HIV and annual dental exam done NOW so that your Sea Duty screening will be a breeze.

Pentagon Gouge: Photo Studio

First, quick advice for other navy officers in the audience:  Do you have a service record photo in your current paygrade?  Just in case that isn't clear:  If you're a LCDR, then you should have an official photo in your service record of you wearing gold oak leaves on your collar.  If not, get it done now so it isn't a crisis before your next promotion or screening board. 

For anyone in the DC area who needs a service record photo or portrait, the OPNAV staff has a photo studio down in the RSAC on the first floor of the Pentagon.  I had no problem making an appointment.  They had plenty of open slots on their calendar and were happy to accommodate whenever I wanted to come in.  I went and had a portrait taken and was very pleased with their professionalism. 

As recommended on the PERS-42 website, they took photos of me in summer whites with my cover on and off and in my service dress blues with my cover on and off.  They emailed me the photos a few days after they were taken. 

Here's the flier the photo studio emailed out to all the OPNAV staff with the hours and contact information for the photo studio:

(click on image to enlarge)

Thank You Commuter Connections!

Dear Commuter Connections,

THANK YOU!

I know I had some harsh words for you last time I tried to use your service.  However, after 19 months of commuting to work via bus here in the DC area, I finally had an occasion when I needed to go home in the middle of the day.  As I dialed the phone number for the Guaranteed Ride Home program, I was skeptic about the program actually pulling through for me.  I expected red-tape and excuses why my situation was unique and somehow didn't qualify for the service.

I was wrong. 

Not only was I wrong, I was even impressed by how helpful the operator was.  She asked for my Commuter Connections ID number.  I hadn't the foggiest idea what my ID number was.  She very kindly said that was okay, she would look it up by my name.  I told her my name, and she rattled off the street address of my office building for confirmation. 

Then she said my registration had expired. 

Doh.  (Pregnant pause - waiting for her to tell me I'm out of luck.)

Again, she very kindly said that was okay, she re-registered me on the spot and said a new card would be coming in the mail. 

Ten minutes later, I walked out the front door of my building right as a red-top cab pulled up to the curb.  The fare from Crystal City out to Ashburn was just over $70.  The cab driver just had me sign a slip of paper when he dropped me off at my car, and I was on my way.  

I'm grateful.

Thank you for a hassle-free experience and for getting me a very timely and free ride home.

Sincerely,
Kevin

For those in the DC area:  If you commute to work via public transit in the DC area, then Commuter Connections will pay for your cab fare home up to 4 times per year in the event of family emergencies that require you to go home when buses aren't running.  Don't believe their claim that they will offer you a free ride home in the event of unscheduled overtime, because you have to schedule that in advance (so much for the unscheduled part).  However, in the event you have a family emergency or sickness and you need to get home in the middle of the day, the Guaranteed Ride Home program is there for you.

Oh, and if you already registered for GRH when you first got here to DC over a year ago like me, then you might want to go back and renew your registration.

Pentagon Gouge: Alphabet Soup

OMN

OPN

RDTE

"The Color of Money"

I have yet to be in a budgetary type job in the Navy (knock on wood). My current job has some tangential involvement with budgetary issues, and the acronyms have made my head spin at times.

If you've never done a budgetary type of job and are getting overwhelmed by acronyms, here is a list of the categories of appropriation. I read it and said, "ahhhhhhhh, so THAT'S what that means!" The article cites "CHINFO" as the source, but I couldn't find any CHINFO documents when I googled it. Because documents come and go on the internet, I'm going to copy over the basic definitions here in case the rest of the article gets taken off the net.

Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy (SCN) — construction of new ships plus
certain modification and overhaul of existing ships, including nuclear refueling
and service life extension programs

Aircraft Procurement, Navy (APN) — procurement of new aircraft,
modifications to existing aircraft, and spare parts

Weapons Procurement, Navy (WPN) — procurement of strategic and tactical
missiles, satellites, torpedoes, guns, and other weapons; ammunition and other
ordnance; spare parts; and support equipment

Other Procurement, Navy (OPN) — procurement of ship and aviation support
equipment, communication and electronic equipment, ordnance support
equipment, civil engineer support equipment, supply and personnel/command
support equipment, and spare and repair parts

Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) — research,
development, and evaluation in the areas of basic research and technology
development, advanced technology development, strategic and tactical programs,
intelligence and communication programs, and overhead and support costs of the
Navy's RDT&E effort

National Defense Sealift Fund (NDSF) — RDT&E, purchase, construction,
conversion, and lease of sealift ships

Military Personnel, Navy (MPN)/Marine Corps (MPMC) — allowances,
individual clothing, interest on deposits, pay, permanent change of station travel,
and expenses of temporary duty travel between permanent duty stations

Reserve Personnel, Navy (RPN)/Marine Corps (RPMC) — pay, allowances,
clothing, subsistence, gratuities, travel, and related expenses for personnel of the
Marine Corps and Naval Reserve on active duty or while undergoing Reserve
training or while performing drills or equivalent duty

Operation and Maintenance, Navy (O&MN)/Marine Corps (O&MMC) —
expenses necessary for support of the Fleet, civilian employee pay, travel and
transportation, training, consumable supplies, recruiting and advertising, base
operations, and base communications and subsistence

Operations and Maintenance, Naval Reserve (O&MNR)/Marine Corps Reserve (O&MMCR) — expenses necessary for the operation and maintenance
of Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Force aircraft, ships, and operation of other
units including Mobile Inshore Undersea forces, Reserve Naval Construction
Force, and Cargo Handling Battalions; aircraft flying hours, underway steaming
hours, regular ship overhauls, ship maintenance and modernization, and aircraft
depot level maintenance in addition to base operations and administrative support

Procurement, Marine Corps (PMC) — expenses necessary for procurement and
manufacture of ammunition, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, guided
missiles and equipment, communication and electronics, support vehicles,
engineer and other equipment, and spare and repair parts

The following Navy appropriations include functional areas for which the Marine
Corps programs and budgets its own share. The complete TOA for the Marine
Corps includes both the Marine-unique appropriations above, as well resources
from the following appropriations:

Military Construction, Navy (MCN) — acquisition, construction and
installation of permanent public works, naval installations, and facilities for the
Navy and the Marine Corps

Family Housing, Navy & Marine Corps (FHN&MC) — construction,
maintenance, repair, and design of Navy and Marine Corps housing and ancillary
facilities required at bases and stations
Military Construction, Navy Reserve (MCNR) — construction, acquisition,
expansion, rehabilitation, and conversion of facilities for the training and
administration of the reserve components of the Navy and Marine Corps

I am still NOT an expert on budgetary / appropriations issues, but something else I've learned along the way is that each appropriation category has different rules. Some money HAS to be used in the current fiscal year or it goes away. Some money is "two year money." Some money is "three year money."

Oh, and you can't transfer money from one category to another. For example, you can't use RDT&E funds to pay for a shortfall in Operations and Maintenance. Likewise, you can't use OMN funds to fund the development of someone's science project to build a new experimental sensor or communications system.

For the more experienced readers in the audience, are there resources you recommend for learning the rules of what you can and can't do with different colors of money?

Pentagon Gouge: Mass Transit Subsidy Distribution

To my ONE faithful reader who counts on me to warn him when they are distributing the National Capital Region (NCR) Mass Transit Subsidy:  Please accept my apology.  I'm dinq.  I should have posted this yesterday.

The Mass Transit Subsidy is being distributed THIS WEEK in the Pentagon.  Don't forget to pick yours up!

For locations and times to pick them up, see this website.

Pentagon Gouge: New DoN Correspondence Manual

Heads-up for you staff officers, admin officers, and yeomen out there, the new Department of the Navy Correspondence Manual is out on the street.

You can download it from this website - 5216.5 about mid-way down the page.

Tangent: Rank Abbreviations

Ask any of the junior officers who have worked for me in my past few jobs, and you will find that one of my administrative pet peeves is incorrect rank abbreviations. Navy rank abbreviations are written in ALL CAPS with no punctuation.

For example:

Correct: LTJG
Incorrect: LTjg or LT(jg) or LT(JG)

Correct: LCDR
Incorrect: Lcdr

As a point of reference, you will find the DON Correspondence Manual, Appendix A "Military Models of Address" shows how to address letters to people of various ranks of all services, and shows the proper abbreviations for each rank.

Pentagon Gouge Extra Edition

First, lest we forget, tomorrow (10 April) is the 47th anniversary of the tragic loss of USS THRESHER (SSN-593). Here is a short article about the loss. The wikipedia page has a detailed description and computer-graphic animation of what happened to the THRESHER. In the wake of the loss of the THRESHER, the submarine force implemented a robust Quality Assurance (QA) program, in addition to some important design and procedural modifications. The submarine QA program is what ensures that we have the same number of surfaces as we have dives.

To the officers, crew and families of THRESHER and all the other submariners on eternal patrol, God bless you and may you rest in peace.


BT BT

Blessing of the Fleets Ceremony is TOMORROW!

I wish I had known about this sooner, but the Blessing of the Fleets Ceremony is tomorrow (Saturday, 10 April 2010) at the Navy Memorial in downtown DC. Click on the link for a timeline of events. If I didn't already have other plans, then I would have liked to attend.

BT BT

SnowTraffic-mageddon is coming!!!

Due to the Nuclear Security Summit meetings bringing 40 heads of state (and resultant security forces) to Washington, D.C. on Monday and Tuesday (12 & 13 April 2010), experts are predicting apocalyptic traffic jams.

Loudoun County has already announced they're not even going to provide commuter bus service into the city on Monday and Tuesday. LC buses will only go as far as Rosslyn, the Pentagon, and Crystal City in the morning. In the afternoon, they will ONLY run buses from Rosslyn every 15 minutes, NOWHERE ELSE / NO REGULAR SCHEDULE.

Plan ahead!

Pentagon Gouge: Taxes

It's that time of year again, so I'll redirect you to my post last year praising the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This message from the Director of the Navy Staff talks about the benefits of the program and offers some statistics of what was done during last year's tax season.

R 151615Z DEC 09
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//DNS//
TO NAVADMIN
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//DNS//
BT
UNCLAS
NAVADMIN 362/09
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/DNS/DEC//
SUBJ/2010 VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA)
/ELECTRONIC TAX FILING (ELF) POLICY AND PROGRAM GUIDANCE//
REF/A/MSG/CNO/241821Z NOV 08//
AMPN/REF A IS NAVADMIN 334/08//
RMKS/1. THIS NAVADMIN PROVIDES VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA)/ELECTRONIC TAX FILING (ELF) POLICY AND PROGRAM GUIDANCE. THIS MSG SUPERSEDES REF A.
2. DURING 2009, VOLUNTEERS WITH THE VITA/ELF PROGRAM FILED MORE THAN 63,000 FEDERAL AND STATE TAX RETURNS, SAVING SERVICE MEMBERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS MORE THAN $7 MILLION IN COMMERCIAL TAX PREPARATION FEES, AND PROVIDING OVER $94
MILLION IN FEDERAL INCOME TAX REFUNDS. BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF VITA/ELF IN PAST YEARS, WE WILL ONCE AGAIN IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM FOR 2010.
3. THE VITA/ELF PROGRAM IMPROVES BOTH MORALE AND READINESS BY SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE EFFORT AND COST INVOLVED IN MEETING FEDERAL AND STATE TAX OBLIGATIONS.
A. VITA KEEPS MONEY IN SAILOR'S POCKETS. COMMERCIAL TAX PREPARERS MAY CHARGE OVER $150 FOR THE AVERAGE ELECTRONICALLY FILED RETURN. VITA/ELF VOLUNTEERS PREPARE AND FILE TAX RETURNS AT NO COST TO SAILORS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
B. FASTER REFUNDS. PAPER RETURNS MAY TAKE EIGHT OR MORE WEEKS TO PROCESS IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES, AND EVEN LONGER IF SUBMITTED OVERSEAS OR WHILE DEPLOYED. BY USING VITA/ELF, REFUNDS ARE DEPOSITED DIRECTLY INTO A SAILOR'S BANK ACCOUNT AN AVERAGE OF TWO WEEKS FROM THE DATE OF TRANSMISSION, EVEN FROM
OVERSEAS AND AFLOAT COMMANDS. THESE RAPID REFUNDS GREATLY REDUCE THE NEED FOR ANY TYPE OF REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANS, WHICH STILL HAVE HIGH INTEREST RATES AND CHARGES EVEN WHEN IN COMPLIANCE WITH DOD PREDATORY LENDING LIMITATIONS.
C. FEWER MISTAKES. VITA/ELF RETURNS ARE VERY ACCURATE, AVERAGING LESS THAN A ONE PERCENT ERROR RATE COMPARED TO 15 PERCENT FOR PAPER RETURNS.
4. PAST TAX SEASONS HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT SUCCESS OF THE VITA/ELF PROGRAM IS PREDICATED ON SUPPORT FROM LOCAL COMMANDS. WHILE THE LOCAL NAVAL LEGAL SERVICE
OFFICE (NLSO), STAFF JUDGE ADVOCATE, OR COMMAND TAX REPRESENTATIVE WILL MANAGE TAX ASSISTANCE CENTERS, THESE CENTERS DEPEND ON LOCAL COMMAND ASSISTANCE TO
PROVIDE THE PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT, AND FACILITIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL VITA/ELF TAX CENTER.
5. SUFFICIENT MANPOWER IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS. THE SUPPORT OF EVERY COMMAND IS NECESSARY, FROM SENDING SAILORS ON TEMPORARY ADDITIONAL DUTY (TAD) ORDERS FOR THE DURATION OF THE TAX SEASON, TO ALLOWING PERSONNEL TO WORK PART-TIME AT TAX
ASSISTANCE CENTERS DURING NORMAL DUTY HOURS. PART-TIME SUPPORT IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL DURING FEBRUARY, THE PEAK FILING TIME. THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE ONE VOLUNTEER OR TAD TAX PREPARER PER 100 MEMBERS OF EACH COMMAND. ONE FULL-TIME TAD TAX PREPARER (TRAINED BY THE IRS AND/OR VITA/ELF TAX OFFICERS) CAN PROVIDE OVER $50,000 WORTH OF SERVICES. INFORMATION ON REQUIRED TAX PREPARER TRAINING OR ABOUT VOLUNTEERING CAN BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING THE LOCAL NAVY LEGAL SERVICES OFFICE OR LCDR LEE AT THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL.
6. THE VITA/ELF PROGRAM REMAINS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. WITH YOUR SUPPORT, WE CAN CONTINUE THIS VALUABLE QUALITY OF LIFE BENEFIT FOR OUR SAILORS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
7. RELEASED BY VICE ADMIRAL SAM J. LOCKLEAR III, DIRECTOR, NAVY STAFF.//
BT
#0000
NNNN

If you aren't sure where VITA is offered near your homeport / duty station, call your local Navy Legal Service Office (NLSO). In each place I've been stationed, if the NLSO wasn't actually where VITA was offered, then they could at least point me in the right direction.

As I read the message above, I realize I should have posted this sooner in the tax season and encourage you consider volunteering for VITA. I don't know if it's too late to get in on it now, but it's a great way to support your local Navy community and get some training and experience working with tax software.

2010 DC Sub Ball Invitation

'Just my annual courtesy reminder. NOW might be a good time to check your dinner dress blues and mini-medals.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Pentagon Gouge: Spring Uniform Shift

For those of you in the DC area, it's time to get your whites ready again. Naval District Washington will shift over to summer uniforms on 5 April.

041600Z FEB 10
FM COMNAVDIST WASHINGTON DC//N00M//
ALNDW/002/10
MSGID/GENADMIN/COMNAVDIST WASH DC/N00M//
SUBJ/SUMMER UNIFORM SHIFT FOR NAVY REGION NAVAL DISTRICT WASHINGTON//
REF/A/DOC/CHNAVPERS/01JUL2006//
AMPN/REF A IS U.S. NAVY UNIFORM REGULATIONS, NAVPERS15665I OF JUL 06/BUPERS DIRECTIVE CD ROM.
RMKS/1. COMMANDANT, NAVY REGION, NAVAL DISTRICT WASHINGTON (NDW) IS THE AREA UNIFORM COORDINATOR FOR NAVAL SHORE ACTIVITIES AND NAVY PERSONNEL ASHORE IN THE REGION. NAVAL DISTRICT WASHINGTON ENCOMPASSES THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, MARYLAND, AND VIRGINIA COUNTIES. VIRGINIA COUNTIES: ARLINGTON, CAROLINE, FAIRFAX, FAUQUIER, KING GEORGE, LOUDOUN, PRINCE WILLIAM, SPOTSYLVANIA, STAFFORD, AND WESTMORELAND. MARYLAND COUNTIES: ANNE ARUNDEL, BALTIMORE, CALVERT, CARROLL, CHARLES, FREDERICK, HOWARD, MONTGOMERY, PRINCES GEORGES, ST MARY'S , THE CITY OF BALTIMORE, AND BLOODSWORTH ISLAND.
2. AS AREA COORDINATOR, NDW IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUING AND CONTROLLING UNIFORM POLICY AND APPEARANCE OF NAVY PERSONNEL WITHIN NDW AND FOR PRESCRIBING UNIFORMS FOR THE SEASON, DAY OR SPECIAL OCCASION, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE GREATEST UNIFORMITY OF APPEARANCE.
3. NDW WILL SHIFT TO SUMMER UNIFORM EFFECTIVE 0001, 05 APR 10. THERE WILL BE NO TRANSITIONAL PERIOD.
4. UNIFORM OF THE DAY WILL BE:
A. OFFICER/CPO:
PRESCRIBED
SUMMER WHITE
ALTERNATE
SERVICE KHAKI
B. E1 to E6:
PRESCRIBED
SERVICE DRESS WHITE
ALTERNATE
SERVICE UNIFORM
5. UNIFORM FOR SPECIAL EVENTS/CEREMONIES FOR ALL PAYGRADES WILL BE:
A. DAYTIME: PRESCRIBED UNIFORM OF THE DAY OR AS DIRECTED BY HOST COMMAND.
B. EVENING/CIVILIAN FUNCTIONS: OFFICERS/CPOS: SUMMER WHITE, E1 to E6: SERVICE DRESS WHITE IS THE PRESCRIBED UNIFORM FOR EVENING/CIVILIAN FUNCTIONS WHERE THE DRESS CODE IS CIVILIAN INFORMAL.
C. FUNERALS AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY:
(1) PARTICIPANTS: FULL DRESS WHITE.
(2) ATTENDEES: UNLESS OTHERWISE PRESCRIBED, OFFICER/CPOS: SUMMER WHITE, E1 to E6: SERVICE DRESS WHITE.
D. CAPITOL HILL:
(1) OFFICIAL BUSINESS: OFFICERS/CPOS: SUMMER WHITE, E1 to E6: SERVICE DRESS WHITE.
(2) CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS: SERVICE DRESS BLUE (FOR PERSONNEL TESTIFYING OR ATTENDING).
6. REQUESTS FOR EXCEPTION TO WEARING THE PRESCRIBED UNIFORM FOR SPECIFIC EVENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING TO THE COMMANDANT, NAVAL DISTRICT WASHINGTON FOR APPROVAL.
7. COMMANDERS, COMMANDING OFFICERS AND OFFICERS IN CHARGE WILL ENSURE COMPLIANCE OF REF A BY PERSONNEL UNDER THEIR COGNIZANCE. EVERY MEMBER OF THE NAVAL SERVICE IS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE U.S. NAVY. INDIVIDUAL CONDUCT AND DRESS, BOTH IN UNIFORM AND CIVILIAN ATTIRE, WILL REFLECT CREDIT UPON THE MEMBER AND THE NAVAL SERVICE. CONTINUOUS COMMAND ATTENTION WILL ENSURE THAT UNIFORMS ARE PROPERLY WORN AND MAINTAINED SO AS TO BRING CREDIT TO THE COMMAND AND THE NAVAL SERVICE. PRIDE IN APPEARANCE IS THE MARK OF RESPONSIBLE AND PROFESSIONAL MILITARY MEMBERS.
8. MESSAGE RELEASED BY PATRICK LORGE, COMMANDANT, RDML, USN//

Pentagon Gouge: Lowe's Military Discount

In the past, stores like Lowes and Home Depot have offered 10% military discounts on holidays like Veteran's Day and Memorial Day. In case you hadn't heard, Lowes just decided to give their 10% military discount ALL DAY EVERY DAY! BZ to Lowes!

So don't be disappointed if you missed the President's Day sales last weekend with all the snow piled everywhere. Go to Lowes when it's convenient for you and just take your military ID card with you.

Aside: I've always been partial to HD over Lowes. Just to be fair to HD, I did search around to see if they also offered it, but found no info about HD offering a discount outside of the holidays.

Pentagon Gouge: Prayer Breakfast

In case you haven't seen the posters in the Pentagon or if you are only intermittently in the Pentagon like me, the Pentagon National Prayer Breakfast is next Wednesday, February 10th, 2010, in the Pentagon Library and Conference Center (PLCC), room B6, from 0630 to 0800. The guest of honor is Vicki Yohe.

I'm posting this a week early because the chaplain told me the main room normally fills up, and they have to expand into a couple of side rooms where you can watch on video monitors. You can call the Pentagon Chaplain's office if you'd like to reserve a seat for the main room.

Flyer Side 1
(Click on image to enlarge)

Flyer Side 2
(Click on image to enlarge)

In addition to this special Pentagon National Prayer Breakfast, I found out on the Pentagon Chaplain's website that they also have a weekly prayer breakfast at 0700 in the Pentagon Library and Conference Center.