Public Affairs Evals
LTJG Wheatly distinguished himself as Operations Officer for the 23 members of NAVINFO NAVCENT/C5F. He efficiently streamlined monthly operational reporting to the Chief of Navy Information by developing innovative methods of tracking and logging information. He also provided the unit with technical assistance with writing orders and travel booking. His outstanding professional skills, leadership, and initiative have been crucial to the support of Navy Public Affairs operations in the NAVCENT AOR.
He managed 153 man-days of IDT operational support by his unit, including direct support to NAVCENT by providing Daily Scimitar and Executive Scimitar products to the 3-star commander, producing 13 editions himself. He also coordinated 240 man-days of AT and ADT for unit members. Coordination of these duties was essential as his unit members provide critical operational support for NAVCENT Public Affairs staff and creates a force multiplier as unit members were immediately and gainfully employed upon arrival in theater.
A committed Public Affairs professional, LTJG Wheatly also completed a 4-day unit training at CENTCOM Headquarters in Tampa, receiving in-depth theater-wide briefings on operations, intelligence, geopolitics, and Arabic culture. He also represented NOSC Quincy at planning meetings for the Boston area commemoration of the War of 1812 bicentennial almost immediately following his return from a 1-year deployment to Bahrain. Finally, he exceeded expectations during his 2-week AT at the Defense Information School, demonstrating superb communications skills while exhibiting a willingness to improve his trade. Based on his performance, he was hand-picked by NAVCENT to fulfill a demanding 1-year IA as the ESG-5 PAO in the Arabian Gulf.
LTJG Wheatly's consistent superb performance, his commitment to operational support of NAVCENT, his stellar leadership, and his flawless execution has provided the Navy with both qualitative and quantitative value. His personal example of outstanding coordination and successful achievement of a variety of tasks is an example for others to follow.
- Handled the Admiral's schedule and speaking engagements at three Navy Public Affairs Symposiums.
- Developed agendas and position papers and assisted the admiral in representing Reserve Public Affairs at three Public Affairs Leadership Meetings.
Petty Officer Holmes has been an exemplary photojournalist for NAVINFO NAVCENT/C5F. He has an impeccable professional reputation in the Navy Public Affairs community, and as a direct result of his superior performance, his skills are in high demand. He has spent an astounding 12 months on six sets of orders serving on active duty, most of which has been provided as a result of by-name requests from commands.
His outstanding support of NAVCENT/C5F in CONUS and a collective 45 days on station in Bahrain during times of regional unrest, was exemplary. He personally produced 14 editions of the Daily Scimitar, the 3-star commander's priority daily media tool. He also edited over 20 news articles and 40 images, restored the Public Affairs visual information storage archive, created four graphic projects, including for the command chaplain and Expeditionary Strike Group 5, and documented a visit by Rear Admiral Perry to USS Ponce.
Petty Officer Holmes proved to be a valuable Public Affairs specialist for the Naval War College, where he performed 180 days of duty. As a member of the public affairs media training team, he instructed over 100 inter-service and international officers while also leading student critique sessions. He provided photojournalist coverage for over 130 Naval War College events publishing approximately 700 photographs and eight news articles for a variety of Navy publications and websites. Petty Officer Holmes also managed the command's Flickr website, created five graphics products including a new banner for an intranet feature for President, Naval War College, and delivered three video projects.
He excelled at the 6-month active duty Mass Communication Specialist "A" school where he graduated at the top of his class while providing leadership to 74 new Sailors transitioning from boot camp to the fleet.
- Helped create presentations to support the admiral's effort to change Reserve public affairs IA deployments from 12 months to 7 months.
- Directly assisted the admiral's efforts in shaping the course and focus of XXX Navy and civilian public affairs professionals.
- Simultaneously served in positions of responsibility, from Deputy Director to Unit Director, including while deployed to CENTCOM on my own IA.
Leading Chief Petty Officer in support of NR Navy Public Affairs Support Element West during first ever SEA OP Det aboard USS Abraham Linclon CVN 72 for Los Angles Navy Week and PANAMAX 2011. Through her direct leadership, MC1's team provided over 100 photos for publication, 10 new stories and video that was viewed by over 2 million people.
Due to a manning shortage, supported Third Fleet Public Affairs on short notice and proved to be an invaluable resource. With little guidance MC1 conceptualized, researched, and designed the webpage for RIMPAC 2012 prior to the exercise. This highly visable webpage served as informational gateway for over 10,000 exercise participants and planners. As leading photographer for multinational exercise Talisman Saber, produced over 1,000 images and 3 news stories which were approved and published for worldwide dissemination. Coordinated U.S. and Australian photo units for Marine amphibious beach landing to allow 360 coverage of evolution and to communicate the strategic message to international audiences.
Produced 28 visual imagery products which were leveraged by U.S., Argentine and international media agencies. His products effectively told the story of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Southern Command's support to the Argentine Navy through Undersea Rescue Command's deployment of the Presurized Rescue Module as part of the search and rescue of the A.R.A. San Juan. He leveraged the talking points in the approved Public Affairs Guidance and Spanish language media engagement opportunities to improve the perception of the U.S. and its military in Argentina by informing the local and national public of the U.S. Navy's Undersea Rescue capabilities and URC's mission in Argentina in support of Argentine-led search and rescue efforts for the A.R.A. San Juan.