CG HQ had the same problem Tuesday, Those working from home (like me) had no issues.
The biggest issue with all of this is utter lack of accountability when mariners have to sit on the beach because processing times are, on the whole, completely unacceptable.
Unfortunately, the only way to get this resolved is a massive letter campaign to Congress and, ultimately, the President. Being an election year, don’t expect much to change.
I have always had fast renewals from the NMC. Staff is pretty knowledgeable too. I have heard so many sailors getting crappy advice about credentials around the galley table. Always call an evaluator for advice.
The last time I dealt with the MNC was with my medical a few months ago. It was the longest it ever took for me & the notification system that used to work was a so bad it was pointless now. My last time at work, half of everyone who had a crewchange had a glitch/delay coming or going for various reasons. The new normal for air transportation is worse than the NMC imo. I guess there’s a barber shortage where I live because there’s longer wait times & the place I take my kids has put up a sign asking for patience & telling customers to be grateful for the ones that show up. Maybe I’m getting too old because I think the customer service in the restaurant industry has declined since the pandemic? The teachers & learning environment for my youngest is so different now that even my oldest is surprised & its only a 7 yr gap. Maybe getting shit service from the NMC & everywhere else is the new normal? I hope it’s not just grumpy old men syndrome.
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Correct! I apologize if I confused anyone. I was referring to my Med Cert and I was on a foreign voyage. I sent in the paperwork about a month and a half prior to expiration and got it back around the 3 month mark.
You can’t just “call an evaluator” anytime you want. Even when you have an application being evaluated it’s nearly impossible to get an evaluator on the phone.
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This.
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Just as an update, as of 8 days ago I actually did contact my congressman for assistance in communicating with the NMC to see why my processing is taking so long.
I just called today to see if I could get an update from that congressmans office as to what they had heard (I didn’t get any word from them in the past week). They told me their liaison at the Coast Guard had been contacted, and they are waiting on a response…
So now I am waiting for communication from two different sources on this. I really am quite burnt out. I am soon approaching the 90 day mark. In less than a month my document will be expired and I will be beached for an unknown amount of time. I have been “enjoying” my time off the vessel living as if I may not work for an unknown period of time and stressing about this situation. I have no faith in the Coast Guard and I am quickly losing faith in this industry in general. Even if this gets sorted I am now considering putting in for a slightly early retirement. If this is how we are going to be treated now I have had enough. I need a reliable expectation of income.
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This is bullshit.
Maybe getting both of your senators involved as well will help.
No Mariner who sends in a renewal in a timely manor should lose their job due to the NMC’s incompetence.
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During COVID times, credential expirations were extended by a MSIB. They could (should) do that again.
After a 4 month wait, my license renewal has been mailed. There was a long hang up for Additional Information for a Tkmn/PIC endorsement. Turns out the information had been provided all along. Several phone calls helped the evaluator get er done. I learned that leaving a voicemail forces the evaluator to respond within 7 days, or the query gets kicked up the chain of command. Sort of a squeaky wheel situation.
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How are you getting in direct contact with the evaluator? All I have access to is the NMC support line, which has been far less than helpful or informative.
Call the NMC and ask to leave a voicemail to the evaluator.
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Just made an attempt to do this today, I was told by two different representatives on the phone that the option to leave a voicemail for an evaluator is not available for medical processing, only for licensing. So unfortunately for my situation I wasn’t able to. Thanks for the suggestion though.
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So today, Sunday at noon, I received an email saying my med cert application has been assigned to an evaluator. They acknowledged receipt of the application 15 August. Totally unacceptable and now costing me employment time.
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Another update. Finally got a response from the coast guard contact my senator reached out to, sent to me through said senator. Absolutely nothing was done. The statement claimed they reviewed my case and decided there was no need to prioritize my medical certificate renewal review over other submissions. I’m beyond 90 days now. Still waiting on “Ready To Be Evaluated”. Days away from expiration. Luckily my schedule shifted so I have another 6 weeks before I’ll be returning to work. That may have saved me. Hopefully that’s enough time for this to be sorted… Very frustrated with all of this… Submitting such a simple certificate renewal over 100 days before its expiration, when the suggestion is 90 days before its expiration should be enough…
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And some people thought my criticisms of the NMC were misplaced.
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This is likely because the medical eval is done at the REC level, and then sent to NMC for professional/qualifications eval.
I have a contact at an REC that is most helpful (and available) if you need. I don’t want to post it publicly for fear the poor gal will get bombarded.
No. The RECs have nothing to do with medicals.
The Medicals go directly to a centralized medical department for processing. I don’t know if it’s actually even at NMC.
NMC is probably one of the most mismanaged and dysfunctional government agencies, but virtually every other government agency is very bad too.
Government employment today has 50% become a welfare program for people who cannot hold a real job in the commercial economy.
The government needs to bring back competitive civil service exams and hire strictly on merit. They need to demand productivity and performance. They need to do an annual review and give the top 10% large bonuses and fire the bottom 10%.
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Biggest issue I think is outsourcing. Call center doesn’t get you a Coastie on the phone. I believe it’s ran by Insight Technologies contractors.