Reporting requirements.

[BMCM Stuart S. Slesh]

What uniform do you require a new member to report on board wearing?

What hour do you require new members to report on board?

....... how long would it take you to forget about a member who showed up out of uniform? Letr's say they came on board without a name tag or a cover....... How long does that first impression last?

[BMCM Deane Smith]

I require SDB's for reporting and we usually have them report at 0800.

As far as how long a first impression lasts? That depends on how the member does after reporting. If they prove by their actions that the first impression wasn't a lasting one...then it won't last. It's up to them to change my impression of them.

[BMCS Mike Ellis]

I like to have them at morning muster on the day they report. That way we can properly introduce them to the crew. Trops is fine, if permitted by the season. I've only had one person try to tell me that their orders say "NLT 2400". Not the way to give a first impression.

My biggest peeve is when someone reports a few days/weeks early without notifying the unit. I can't stand that.

[MKC Craig Thorngren (Ret)]

Stu,

For your first two questions, I think it really depends on the circumstances surrounding them reporting aboard. What I mean is that lets say your in a yard period when someone new reports aboard. A yard enviornment isn't very conducive to an SDB. Chances are they'll ruin the uniform just getting aboard the Cutter. Are they reporting aboard in your homeport or are they meeting you 150 miles up river? Taking a bus ride to meet you that far away, again the uniform probably isn't going to be in the greatest of shape.

As far as reporting time again it depends on the situation. If your up river, then I'd tell them to report aboard when ever they caught up with you. If at homeport, then giving them a time that works for you, the XPO & sponsor would be fine.

I would agree with Deane on the showing up out of uniform situation. I don't really put a whole lot of stock into first impressions, especially if this is their first unit out of Cape May. Their usually scared and looking to just fit in. Having a nice little "Come to Chief" talk about expectations on the unit has always worked great with the folks Bruce sends out to the field. I'd also have a nice little talk with their sponsor. What type of ship mate would let a new member of the crew show up in disrepair...

Craig

[YNC Tim Mooney]

I believe in reporting in SDB, sets the first impression that you can. But I still remember the SNQM who reported aboard my last cutter 10 years ago, wearing SDB disco style. No tie and his shirt collars on the outside of the jacket.
He didn't want to believe me (YN2) that he had the uniform wrong, so I just showed him to the OOD and let them deal with it.

As for reporting time, I usually say after lunch, the day of reporting is charged as a day of leave to the member.

[BMCM Stuart S. Slesh]

Tim, how long after the guy showed up "disco style" did your opinion of him change,.... or did the first impression stay with you to explain everything else you thought about him?

Craig, if I had a sponsor telling people to show up without nametags or covers,.... I'd have a whole other issue on my hands.

[BMC Russell Miller]

I have them report in at 0700 and in trops, they are also told to bring thier ODU's with them to change out.
As for how long does that first impression last? Good question, I really do not put much stock in it. Unless something sticks out like a sore thumb. I can only remember three in twenty five years.

[DCCS Todd Holcomb]

Usually 0700 on their report date in whatever the uniform of the day is on their orders.

With all the comments I have seen and heard about people going to "my space" and "face book" after they learn someone is reporting and checking them out, I would say that a lot of people, especially our junior members, have already formed a first opinion before the new member even arrives. I am not a user of either of the two mentioned sites and probably wouldn't know how to navigate them.

I form my opinion when I meet the member on their reporting date and go from there. If they make a bad first impression, it stays until they redeem themselves. I agree with Master Chief, if the sponsor isn't doing their job and let's a new member show up all banged up, well then the new guy is the least of your problems.

A few that get me are a disheveled uniform, lack of customs and courtesies, and lack of comms between the new member and us during the PCS phase:confused:


You never get a second chance at a first impression, and if a member doesn't take enough pride in themselves to make the very best impression possible, that speaks volumes and in my mind sets the tone for their tour. At that point I agree with Deane, it's up to them to change my opinion of them. If a member takes the time and makes the effort it isn't an issue.

I will report in first thing in the morning in either trops or SDB's depending on what my new command prefers.

Todd

[YNC Tim Mooney]

Stuart

This guy didn't want to believe that he was wearing the uniform incorrectly. And this was just a sign of the person he was. My opinion of him has not changed to this day.

Tim

[BMCM Stuart S. Slesh]

Tim, I'm with you. I think a person always has to make up for that bad first impression. I also think every screw up he makes takes me back to that first day and he starts over from there.

[BMCS Nick Pupo]

My requirement is Trops and report at 1000. That way it gives the crew a start to the day and we can concentrate on his/her paperwork when they report. Mornings are sometimes pretty hectic.

I don’t look at face book or my space, to me it's trash. What somebody's opinion of a person is, I really don’t care. I form my own opinion and go from their, I wont stand in judgment of somebody just because a non-rate talks about a new persons internet page profile. With the caveat of course that nothing illegal is showing up on one of those pages. If it is, then I would handle it accordingly.

[ETC Pat Kaschube]

Out of curiosity does anyone go into DA and take a look at past EER's. I did this once and I thought I could be objective but when the member showed up I found I had really high expectations for them. They have lived up to it but I realized that was a bad move. At least for me it was.

[BMCM Stuart S. Slesh]

I have. I've looked at their past EERs, units, qual codes..........

[MKCM Bob Brayman]

I always research who, what, when, where...however I let them figure out how I am supposed view them upon arrival. It is up to us to figure out how to be objective with our research.

btw, first thing in the morning in trops during the summer and sdbs in the winter.

[MSTCS Jerald P. Motyka]

Trops or SDB's - and I usually tell them either 0900 or 1000.

I did some great networking the last non-"A" schooler I got... and got the "real" scoop on this guy. The only reason he wasn't discharged was due to a civilian supervisor (he worked at the Coast Guard Lab in Groton)... he had so many Page 7's in his record, they were ready to start writing Page 8's. He wasn't "un"motivated - he was ANTI-motivated - and the only reason he didn't have all of his lab quals pulled was that every analysis he had a part of would have become suspect and given defense attorneys good cause to get criminal charges dropped and no civil penalties. I got the news from a Chief I knew and respected.

Then the piece of trash reported in...

and was the best damned worker I've ever known. He got "M" qualified in record time, supervised his already qualified subordinates in a highly professional manner, and I had to PRY him away from the job to go do family stuff. The initial reports I had on him were so off the mark that I really began to wonder.

It all turned out to be personality conflicts and the guy being in a job he absolutely hated. Once he got to a job he liked, he went gang-busters and will continue to do so until he retires. When the time comes for him to pin on his anchors, this is one ceremony that I will travel across the world to attend, as he has impressed the hell out of me.

So I'll look at EERs and scuttlebutt for new folks, but I'll take it all with a grain of salt and let them make their own bed. I'm glad I didn't jump on the "dirt-bag bandwagon" with this guy... or we would have lost one helluva worker.

[MSTC SJ Natale]

O/T Jerald, I would have bet that the person you are referring to would have done just what you described.

Terrible first unit for the guy to go to. He was one of the reasons I kept saying that the LAB was not a great billet for A-schoolers. Let them get out in the field THEN do a tour at the lab.

Glad to hear he is doing well. He probably does not have a lot of good to say about me, I always had to be one of the bearers of "bad news" for him, but I always hoped a change of scenery would bring out the best in him.

[ETC Joe Jester ret]

He was one of the reasons I kept saying that the LAB was not a great billet for A-schoolers. Let them get out in the field THEN do a tour at the lab.

The same could be said of alot of billets. Unfortunately those who do qualify, won't put in for them, so the detailer is relagated to fill the billet anyway they can, and sometimes at the detriment to the unit.