R 181430Z APR 01
FM CMC WASHINGTON DC//MM//
TO MARADMIN
INFO CDRPERSCOM ALEXANDRIA VA//TAPC-PDA//
CNO WASHINGTON DC//09B//
NATL PERS REC CEN-MIL PERS REC-GSA ST LOUIS MO
NLO ST LOUIS MO//PERS-313E//
CSAF WASHINGTON DC//AF/XOXJ/DPXEQ//
BUPERS MILLINGTON TN//PERS-32A//
COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//GDWPM-3//
BT
UNCLAS //N01650//
MARADMIN 186/01
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC/MMMA//
SUBJ/RELEASE OF REVISED MCO 1650.19J, ADMINISTRATIVE AND ISSUE
/PROCEDURES FOR DECORATIONS, MEDALS, AND AWARDS//
REF/A/DOC/CNO/08AUG91//
AMPN/REF A IS SECNAVINST 1650.19F, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS
MANUAL.//
POC/D. WASHINGTON/CAPT/HQMC/MMMA/TEL:DSN 278-9342/TEL:(703)784-9342//
RMKS/1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MARADMIN IS TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF
THE REVISED MARINE CORPS AWARDS ORDER, PROVIDE INFORMATION TO UPDATE
THE REFERENCE, AND UPDATE THE STATUS OF THE TRANSFORMATION TO THE
MARINE CORPS' AWARDS PROCESSING SYSTEM (APS).
2. MCO 1650.19J WAS SIGNED AND AUTHORIZED FOR RELEASE ON 5 FEB
2001. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT IT BE REVIEWED IN ITS ENTIRETY SINCE
THERE WERE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES MADE TO THE ENTIRE ORDER. A COPY OF
THE ORDER IS AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD AT THE MILITARY AWARDS
BRANCH WEBSITE AT AWARDS.MANPOWER.USMC.MIL.
3. SINCE 1 OCT 2000, THE WEBSITE HAS HAD OVER 90,000 HITS. FOR THE
MOST PART, THE TRANSITION TO A PAPERLESS AWARDS SYSTEM HAS BEEN A
GREAT SUCCESS AND COMMANDS THAT ARE UTILIZING THE APS ARE LAUDING
ITS EASE OF USE, RESPONSIVENESS, AND EFFICIENCY. HOWEVER, THE
TRANSFORMATION TO AN ENTIRELY AUTOMATED PROCESS IS NOT WITHOUT ITS
PROBLEMS. THE MILITARY AWARDS BRANCH (MMMA) CMC WOULD LIKE TO
THANK ALL COMMANDS THAT HAVE SUBMITTED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING
THE SITE THEREBY MAKING IT MORE RESPONSIVE TO THEIR NEEDS. AS
STATED IN ALL OF THE TRAINING EVOLUTIONS CONDUCTED LAST YEAR, WE ARE
HERE TO CONTINUALLY MODIFY THE APS TO BETTER SUPPORT YOU, OUR
CUSTOMERS.
4. SEVERAL POLICY CHANGES HAVE COME INTO EFFECT RECENTLY THAT
REQUIRE SPECIFIC ATTENTION. THESE CHANGES WERE PUBLISHED IN MCO
1650.19J AND WERE ALSO PASSED AT THE G-1 CONFERENCE IN JANUARY.
A. AS OF 1 JANUARY 2001, ALL NAVY AND MARINE CORPS ACHIEVEMENT
MEDAL RECOMMENDATIONS (TO INCLUDE IMPACT AWARDS) WILL REQUIRE A
SUMMARY OF ACTION (SOA). THE SOA WILL BE LIMITED TO ONE PAGE,
BULLET FORMAT.
B. THE APS WAS DESIGNED FOR SUBMISSION OF ALL AWARDS THAT
REQUIRE AN ELECTRONIC FORM (EF) 1650. SINCE THE CERTIFICATE OF
COMMENDATION DOES NOT REQUIRE A 1650, IT SHOULD NOT BE SUBMITTED VIA
THE DATABASE, NOR SHOULD A COPY BE FORWARDED TO THE CMC (MMMA).
C. ALTHOUGH THE MILITARY OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER SERVICE MEDAL
DOES NOT REQUIRE A SOA, PREPARING AND SUBMITTING ONE IS HIGHLY
ENCOURAGED.
5. THERE ARE SEVERAL TRENDS THAT HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE FIRST QUARTER
OF USING THE NEW APS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
A. ALL AWARDS MUST BE ORIGINATED BY AN OFFICER, SENIOR TO THE
PERSON TO BE RECOGNIZED, AND THEN FORWARDED THROUGH THE CHAIN OF
COMMAND TO THE APPROPRIATE AWARDING AUTHORITY AS OUTLINED IN SECTION
114.1B OF THE REFERENCE OR AS MODIFIED BY SUBSEQUENT MARADMIN.
ENLISTED MEMBERS CAN PREPARE AND EDIT AWARD RECOMMENDATIONS BUT ARE
NOT AUTHORIZED TO SIGN AWARDS IN ANY CAPACITY.
B. THE ONLY SIGNATURES REQUIRED ON THE APS 1650 (EF) ARE THE
COMMANDERS IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND. COMMENTS FROM OTHER MARINES IN
THE CHAIN OF COMMAND (TO INCLUDE ENLISTED LEADERS) MAY BE ADDED
IN THE COMMENT BOX WITHOUT ACTUALLY SIGNING THE AWARD IN BLOCKS 22,
23, OR 24.
C. IF A MISTAKE (INCORRECT SIGNATURE, WRONG AWARD
RECOMMENDATION, WRONG SSN, MISSPELLED NAME, ETC) IS MADE ON THE APS
1650 (EF), DO NOT RE-GENERATE THE ENTIRE AWARD SUBMISSION. INSTEAD,
CONTACT CMC (MMMA) AT AWARDS@MANPOWER.USMC.MIL AND WE WILL MAKE THE
APPROPRIATE CHANGES TO THE AWARD RECOMMENDATION AND/OR FORWARD YOU A
NEW LINK TO THE AWARD.
D. THE DATABASE IS GROWING EXPONENTIALLY. THERE ARE NUMEROUS
AWARDS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ACTED UPON IN A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. IN
ORDER TO KEEP OUR DATABASE DOWN TO A MANAGEABLE SIZE, ALL ORIGINATED
AWARD RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ACTED UPON IN 30 DAYS WILL
BE FORWARDED ONCE TO THE PREPARER FOR ACTION. IF THE ORIGINATED
AWARD HAS NOT BEEN ACTED ON IN 60 DAYS, IT WILL BE DELETED FROM THE
DATABASE.
E. THERE ARE NUMEROUS AWARDS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY
COMMANDERS AUTHORIZED TO APPROVE THAT LEVEL AWARD, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN
FORWARDED TO HQMC FOR RECORD KEEPING AND ENTRY INTO THE MARINE'S
OFFICIAL MILITARY PERSONNEL FILE (OMPF). IN ORDER TO KEEP THE
AWARDS PROCESS FLOWING, THE COMMAND WILL HAVE SEVEN DAYS AFTER THE
AWARD IS APPROVED TO COMPLETE PROCESSING OF THAT AWARD. AT THAT
TIME, THE AWARD WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY FORWARDED TO THE CMC (MMMA) FOR
RECORDS KEEPING AND FURTHER FORWARDING TO THE CMC MANPOWER
MANAGEMENT SUPPORT BRANCH (MMSB) FOR INCLUSION IN THE MARINE'S OMPF.
WHEN THE COMMAND IS READY TO FORWARD THE AWARD TO THE CMC (MMMA),
PLEASE USE THE "HQMC SUBMIT BUTTON" DIRECTLY BELOW THE CORRECT 1650
(EF) VICE TYPING HQMCAWARDSBOARD@HQMC IN THE "FORWARD TO" EMAIL
ADDRESS LINE.
F. ONE OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IS NOT RECEIVING A LINK
TO AN AWARD THAT WAS FORWARDED OR THE CONFIRMATION OF A USERS NAME
AND PASSWORD. FOR THE MOST PART, THIS PROBLEM OCCURS WHEN THE USER
ENTERED AN INCORRECT EMAIL ADDRESS. ALL USERS NEED TO VERIFY THE
EMAIL ADDRESS ENTERED AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION. IF THE EMAIL
ADDRESS IS INCORRECT, THE USER CAN GO BACK TO THEIR REGISTRATION
FIELD AND UPDATE THE INFORMATION.
G. AN ADDRESS BOOK HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE DATABASE FOR THE USERS
CONVENIENCE. IT ONLY HAS INFORMATION CONCERNING INDIVIDUALS THAT
HAVE REGISTERED ON THE APS. AN ADDRESS BOOK FOR UNIT MAILBOXES HAS
BEEN ADDED. COMMANDS WILL BE REQUIRED TO REGISTER THEIR UNIT
MAILBOX INFORMATION. THIS ACTION WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR COMMANDS
TO FORWARD AWARDS UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF
AWARDS THAT ARE NOT RECEIVED DUE TO AN ERRONEOUS EMAIL ADDRESS.
6. THE AWARDS BRANCH'S PERSONNEL ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER YOUR
QUESTIONS IN REGARD TO THE APS AND AWARDS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
PLEASE LIMIT YOUR CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE DATABASE DEVELOPER,
MR. STEVE COURTNEY. HE HAS A SPECIFIC, TECHNICAL FUNCTION IN THE
DATABASE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR THE ELECTRONIC AWARDS
SUBMISSION APPLICATION. PROCEDURAL OR AWARDS POLICY QUESTIONS MUST
BE ADDRESSED TO THE AWARDS BRANCH PERSONNEL, SPECIFICALLY, 1STLT
GILL OR SGT PREPETIT.
7. THE AWARDS BRANCH HAS ALREADY CONDUCTED ITS TRANSFORMATION
CONTINUATION TRAINING AT MARINE FORCES RESERVE AND MARINE CORPS
COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT SCHOOLS DURING THE FIRST QUARTER FY2001.
DURING THE SECOND AND THIRD QUARTERS, WE WILL CONTINUE THE
TRANSFORMATION TRAINING. FOLLOW-ON TRAINING SHOULD BE COORDINATED
WITH CAPT WASHINGTON.
8. WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE COSMETIC AND PROCEDURAL CHANGES TO THE
WEBSITE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE ITS OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS IN PROVIDING
THE COMMANDERS IN THE FLEET THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AWARDS THAT IS
REQUIRED. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE
APS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED AND SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO OUR UNIT
MAILBOX, AWARDS@MANPOWER.USMC.MIL.//
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