Regulations last checked for updates: Jun 01, 2024

Title 15 - Commerce and Foreign Trade last revised: May 30, 2024
§ 998.25 - Service obligations for civilian training and advanced education.

(a) Full-time courses. Officers who attend full-time courses at civilian institutions that are fully funded by NOAA for more than 60 days will incur an ADSO to begin upon completion of the course or termination of attendance. One ADSO will be incurred per written agreement for training or education, as provided under § 998.22. If the officer does not complete the course of instruction, the ADSO shall still apply. The ADSO shall be calculated according to § 998.26.

(b) Part-time courses. Officers who participate in part-time courses at civilian institutions that are fully funded by NOAA for more than 60 days will incur an ADSO upon completion of the course or termination of attendance. One ADSO will be incurred per written agreement for training or education, as provided under § 998.22. If the officer does not complete the course of instruction, the ADSO shall still apply. The ADSO will equal the length of training or education, computed in days. The length of training or education will be computed from the first day of instruction until the last day, to include breaks, weekends, holidays, and summers, regardless of whether the officer attended classes during those periods.

(c) NOAA Leadership Competencies Development Program. NOAA Corps officers who participate in NOAA's Leadership Competencies Development Program shall incur an ADSO of two years upon graduation from the program.

(d) Voluntary disenrollment or disenrollment for poor performance. If an officer voluntarily terminates their enrollment or is required to disenroll due to poor performance in a program under this section, the ADSO will be based on what would have been the expected graduation date.

(e) Disenrollment for mission needs. Each written agreement for civilian training or advanced education under this subpart shall provide that if an officer terminates enrollment because of a recall to meet urgent mission needs as determined by the Director, no ADSO will be incurred.

(f) Consecutive obligations. ADSOs resulting from more than one written agreement for civilian education under this section are to be served consecutively. For example, an officer completing a NOAA-funded graduate certificate course of instruction under one written agreement followed by a NOAA-funded master's degree under a second written agreement will incur multiple ADSOs to be served consecutively. The ADSOs will be calculated separately for each written agreement according to § 998.26. When a newly incurred ADSO is to be served consecutively with another, add the period of the new ADSO to the remaining portion of the existing ADSO. In cases where the compounded period of consecutive ADSOs exceeds six years, it will be capped at 6 years.

(g) Concurrent obligations. An ADSO incurred under this section can be served concurrently with an ADSO previously incurred under any other section of this part or any other provision of law. When a newly incurred ADSO under this section is to be served concurrently with an existing ADSO under another section of this part, the officer's total obligated period will be equal to the length of the longest remaining obligation. The Commissioned Personnel Center will track each ADSO independently and notify the officer when each is fulfilled.

(h) Consideration of civilian education and training toward fulfillment of other service obligations. Time spent at a civilian education or training program is considered active duty service and shall be credited toward fulfilling an ADSO incurred under any other section of this part or any other provision of law. The time spent attending a civilian education or training program under one written agreement will not be credited toward fulfilling an existing ADSO for a previous civilian education or training program under a previous written agreement incurred under this section.

authority: 33 U.S.C. 3001
source: 87 FR 31708, May 25, 2022, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 15 CFR 998.25