Fred S. Bertsch III This is Me

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1. 1. Navy Times - News - This Week's Navy Times

   www.navytimes.com/story.php?f= - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/5/2004   Last Visited: 2/5/2004

   "We want to give them a sense of, ‘here are the things you might be able to look at over the course of a few years,' give them a structured plan and start to look at their own career pattern and help them plan that out," said Fred Bertsch, a retired captain heading the model's development at Naval Personnel Development Command.
   
   The vectors in the enlisted five-vector model are: professional development; personal development; leadership; certifications and qualifications; and performance. Across those five vectors are four "arcs": recruit, apprentice, journeyman and master. So a sailor could log on and - based on what he's accomplished and learned so far in his career - see what skill level he falls under for each vector. He also could click on the next skill level to see what training he needs to get there.
   
   The officer five-vector model, at least in terms of the "recruit," "apprentice" and other skill levels, will have different names, Bertsch said, adding those names are yet to be determined.
   
   "[For the officer model] we're looking at tactical thinking. How do we use systems in relations to other systems," Bertsch said.
   ...
   Bertsch said the chaplains hope to have their first version of the model online midsummer this year, with SWOs next.
   
   He said officers, when the full models are available, will be able to make themselves more promotable.
   
   "In all of these efforts, what we're really trying to do is give the community the power of choice," he said.

2. 2. News Release

   www.skillsnet.com/news/5.29.03 - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/29/2003   Last Visited: 3/17/2008

   Fred Bertsch, a retired Navy captain who is heading development of the tool at Naval Personnel Development Command in Norfolk, Va., said the information in this vector will be a "best guess" of where a sailor is, based on training, job requirements and information such as that available in the Naval Enlisted Classifications database.
   
   To improve accuracy, he said, sailors will be asked to take an online survey about what they do in their jobs and how good they are at doing it.
   
   The survey isn't mandatory for sailors in the three test ratings to gain access to their information, but completing it will make data more accurate and help developers verify the accuracy of what is in the system, Bertsch said.
   
   In the future, assessments like this will become mandatory and won't be done by sailors alone. Supervisors will log on and verify how sailors grade themselves.
   
   "This functionality won't be available initially," Bertsch said. "But it will be very important to the integrity of the system in the future."
   
   These assessments also may become a way new recruits are evaluated, gauging their existing knowledge before laying out a training plan for the new sailor. This, Bertsch said, will save training costs for the Navy.
   
   "It only makes sense to give people credit for the training and skills they already have," he said.
   
   For Bertsch, the survey is critical to the program's success. He hopes sailors from the initial ratings will take the time to assess themselves honestly.
   
   "We need to know we're on the right track," he said.
   ...
   "Although we don't have a tremendous amount of Web-based training available at the moment, we will have some," Bertsch said. The Navy, he said, is developing this capability, and much of what a sailor will be expected to learn will be available online.
   
   But doing the coursework will be only part of the equation; sailors also will have to demonstrate what they've learned.
   
   "They will be able to go in and get a piece of knowledge by doing the coursework," he said, "and if your supervisor says you performed that correctly, you will get full credit."
   
   That verification won't be available during the beta test but should be incorporated for the next version when the aviation ratings come online.
   
   Certifications and qualifications. Industry-recognized standards such as airframe and power-plant licenses in the civilian aviation community and Microsoft certifications for those in information technology fields as well as Navywide and command-level qualifications such as warfare, watch standing and firefighting will be included.
   
   "Initially it will only reflect some certifications and qualifications such as damage control and [personnel qualification standards]," Bertsch said, "though we will probably have some other certifications, particularly for the IT community."
   ...
   "This is still in heavy development," Bertsch said. Initially it will show if a sailor has had training in personal financial management and operational-risk management.
   
   "We are trying to put college credits on there, too," he said. "The problem is we can only show what we know about."
   
   The plan, he said, is to incorporate off-duty education into this vector and give a better measure of progress toward a college degree than is provided by the Sailor and Marine American Council on Education Transcript available through the Naval Education and Training Command Web site.
   
   Leadership.
   ...
   Decisions will have to be made, Bertsch said, on how to weigh each vector into the equation.
   
   "For example, an AG3 will have a different leadership requirement than a [boatswain's mate third class]," he said.
   ...
   "We believe we can build this process to show the actual skills of the sailor and be able to promote him based on his competencies rather than what we do now - that is a Jeopardy quiz," Bertsch said.
   
   "Then we will be able to not only look at competency-based promotions, but possibly performance-based compensation."
   
   Making pay- and promotion-system changes will require at least Defense Department and possibly congressional approval.
   
   "There are lots of policy issues this will start to generate discussion on," Bertsch said.
   ...
   "This may start out slow," Bertsch said.

3. 3. HollandSentinel.com -Navy enlistment carries on long family tradition 04/25/04

   www.hollandsentinel.com/storie - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/25/2004   Last Visited: 4/25/2004

   His uncle, Navy Capt. Fred S. Bertsch III, traveled from Virginia to attend.