Form NOAA Form 56-42A NOAA Form 56-42A Reference letter and form

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OFFICE OF MARINE AND AVIATION OPERATIONS
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3282

Date:
To:

Dear
The individual cited on the second page of this form is applying for an appointment in the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration's Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps), a uniformed service of the
United States. This person has furnished your name as a reference.
NOAA Corps applicants must be college graduates with a solid science, math or engineering background.
Critical character traits include maturity, intelligence, high moral standards, and strong leadership potential.
Those who are selected will have an opportunity to serve their country by leading discovery and exploration
of the Earth's oceans, coasts, and atmosphere to improve understanding of the global environment.
Commissioned personnel who cannot adjust to service life must be separated, causing emotional stress
to the individual as well as loss to the Government. By giving your honest opinion of this applicant's officer
potential, you will be providing an invaluable service to both the applicant and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
Your candid response to each question listed on the attached form will be of great assistance in
determining the applicant's potential for success as a NOAA Corps officer. If you would like to provide
additional comments regarding the applicant's character, background and activities, you may attach a letter
to this completed form.
Please mail this form with any attachments to the Officer Recruiting Branch at the following address:
Officer Recruiting Branch
NOAA Commissioned Personnel Center
8403 Colesville Road, Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Sincerely,

LCDR Madeleine Adler
Chief, Officer Recruiting Branch

NOAA FORM 56-42A

OMB Control No. 0648-0047

Expires 02/29/2016

Page 1

APPLICANT'S NAME:
I. PERSONAL DATA - Please answer the following questions:
1. What is your relationship to the applicant?
2. How long have you known the applicant?
II. EMPLOYMENT DATA - If you are familiar with the applicant's employment history, please answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge
and comment where applicable.
1. What is the highest position applicant held in professional employment?
2. Why did applicant leave job?
3. Has applicant ever been discharged for inefficiency, neglect of duty or moral unfitness? (If yes, please comment below.)

No

Yes

III. GENERAL RATING - Please rate applicant on the factors stated below and check best trait in the column to the right:
Factors to be considered:

Very Good

Good

Acceptable

Poor

Best Trait

1. Reliability
2. Ability to work harmoniously with others
3. Emotional stability
4. Integrity
5. Ability to adjust to reassignments and relocations
6. Self-confidence
7. Initiative
8. Leadership
9. Trust involving security of the United States
10. Ability to process information and react quickly
IV. OVERALL RATING - Using a scale of 1 to 10, rate the applicant using "1" for a rating of very poor and "10" for a rating of exceptionally
outstanding. For example, a rating of "5" might be for a person with an average scholastic record, half of the above factors marked "Good" and
half marked "Very Good".

OVERALL

V. REMARKS:

Printed Name:
Signature
NOAA FORM 56-42A

Title:
OMB Control No. 0648-0047

Date
Expires 02/29/2016

Page 2