NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
NOAA Commissioned Corps.png
Seal of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
Active May 22, 1917 – present[1][2][3]
Country  United States of America
Allegiance Constitution of the United States
Branch National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Type Uniformed service
Size 379 officers[4]
16 ships, 9 aircraft[5]
Part of U.S. Department of Commerce
Garrison/HQ Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Nickname(s) "NOAA Corps"
Motto "Science, service, stewardship."[6]
Colors          Blue, White[citation needed]
March "Forward with NOAA"[7]
Engagements
Commanders
Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, NOAA VADM Michael S. Devany
Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps[9] RADM David A. Score
Deputy Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps[10] RDML Anita L. Lopez
Director, Office of Coast Survey[11] RDML Gerd F. Glang
Notable
commanders		 VADM Henry A. Karo
RADM William L. Stubblefield
RADM Evelyn J. Fields
RADM Samuel P. De Bow, Jr.
Insignia
Flag
Flag of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.png
Aircraft flown
Reconnaissance WP-3D, AC-695A, G-IV, DHC-6

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, and known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of seven federal uniformed services of the United States[note 1] and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency within the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is one of two uniformed services that consist only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The other is the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Established in 1970, the NOAA Corps is the successor to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps (1917–1965) and the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps) (1965–1970).

History

Early history

The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps traces its roots to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Coast and Geodetic Survey's predecessor, the United States Survey of the Coast – renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836 – was founded in 1807 under President Thomas Jefferson. Until the American Civil War, the Coast Survey was manned by civilian personnel working with United States Army and United States Navy officers. During the Civil War (1861–1865), Army officers were withdrawn from Coast Survey duty, never to return, while all but two Navy officers also were withdrawn from Coast Survey service for the duration of the war. Since most men of the Survey had Union sympathies, most stayed on with the Survey rather than resigning to serve the Confederate States of America; their work shifted in emphasis to support of the U.S. Navy and Union Army, and these Coast Surveyors are the professional ancestors of today's NOAA Corps. Those Coast Surveyors supporting the Union Army were given assimilated military rank while attached to a specific command, but those supporting the U.S. Navy operated as civilians and ran the risk of being executed as spies if captured by the Confederates while working in support of Union forces. After the war, U.S. Navy officers returned to duty with the Coast Survey, which was given authority over geodetic activities in the interior of the United States in 1871 and accordingly was renamed the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878.[12][13]

With the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, the Navy again withdrew all of its officers from Coast and Geodetic Survey assignments. They returned after the war ended in August 1898, but the system of U.S. Navy officers and men crewing the Survey's ships that had prevailed for most of the 19th century came to an end when the appropriation law approved on 6 June 1900 provided for "all necessary employees to man and equip the vessels" instead of Navy personnel. The law took effect on 1 July 1900; at that point, all Navy personnel assigned to the Survey's ships remained aboard until the first call at each ship's home port, where they transferred off, with the Survey reimbursing the Navy for their pay accrued after 1 July 1900.[14] From July 1900, the Coast and Geodetic Survey continued as an entirely civilian-manned organization until after the United States entered World War I in April 1917.[12]

Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps

To avoid the dangers that Coast Survey personnel had faced during the Civil War of being executed as spies if captured by the enemy, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps was established on 22 May 1917, giving Coast and Geodetic Survey officers a commissioned status so that under the laws of war, they could not be executed as spies if they were captured while serving as surveyors on a battlefield during World War I. The creation of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps also ensured that in wartime a set of officers with technical skills in surveying could be rapidly assimilated into the United States armed forces so that their skills could be employed in military and naval work essential to the war effort. Before World War I ended in November 1918, over half of all Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps officers had served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, or United States Marine Corps, performing duty as artillery orienteering officers, minelaying officers in the North Sea (where they were involved in the laying of the North Sea Mine Barrage), troop transport navigators, intelligence officers, and on the staff of General John "Black Jack" Pershing.[12]

The Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps returned to peacetime scientific pursuits after the war.[12] Its first flag officer was Rear Admiral Raymond S. Patton, who was promoted from captain to rear admiral in 1936.

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps again suspended its peacetime activities to support the war effort, often seeing front-line service. Over half of all Coast and Geodetic Survey officers were transferred to the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, or United States Army Air Forces, seeing duty in North Africa, Europe, the Pacific, and in the defense of North America as artillery surveyors, hydrographers, amphibious engineers, beachmasters, instructors at service schools, and in a wide variety of technical positions. They also served as reconnaissance surveyors for a worldwide aeronautical charting effort, and a Coast and Geodetic Survey officer was the first commanding officer of the Army Air Forces Aeronautical Chart Plant at St. Louis, Missouri. Three officers who remained in Coast and Geodetic Survey service were killed during the war, as were eleven other Survey personnel.[12]

After the war ended in August 1945, the Coast and Geodetic Survey again returned to peacetime scientific duties, although a significant amount of its work in succeeding years was related to support of military and naval requirements during the Cold War.[12]

ESSA Corps

When the Coast and Geodetic Survey was transferred to the newly established Environmental Science Services Administration on 13 July 1965,[15] control of the corps was transferred from the Survey to ESSA itself, and accordingly the corps was redesignated the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps). The ESSA Corps retained the responsibility of providing commissioned officers to operate the Coast and Geodetic Survey's ships and of providing a set of officers with technical skills in surveying for incorporation into the U.S. armed forces during wartime.

Rear Admiral H. Arnold Karo was promoted to vice admiral on July 13, 1965, the day ESSA was established, to help lead in the establishment of the new ESSA; he served as the first Deputy Administrator of ESSA, and was the first vice admiral and highest-ranking officer in the combined history of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps and ESSA Corps at the time. Rear Admiral James C. Tison was the first director of the ESSA Corps.

NOAA Corps

The ESSA was reorganized and expanded to become the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on October 3, 1970,[16] and the ESSA Corps was redesignated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps (NOAA Corps). Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren was appointed as the first director of the new NOAA Corps.

In 1972 the NOAA Corps became the first uniformed service of the U.S. Government to recruit women on the same basis as men.[17] On 1 June 2012, the NOAA research vessel RV Gloria Michelle, a boat manned by two NOAA Corps personnel, became the first vessel in the history of NOAA or its ancestor organizations to have an all-female crew.[18][19]

On January 2, 2014, Michael S. Devany was promoted to vice admiral upon assuming duties as Deputy Under Secretary for Operations at NOAA, becoming only the second vice admiral in the combined history of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, ESSA Corps, and NOAA Corps, and the first since the promotion of Vice Admiral Karo in 1965.[citation needed]

Directors of the NOAA Corps and predecessor organizations

Image Rank Name Tenure Notes
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps
Ernest Lester Jones.jpg Captain Ernest Lester Jones 1915–1929 First Director, Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps[20]
Rear Admiral Raymond Stanton Patton 1929–1937 [20]
Rear Admiral Leo Otis Colbert.jpg Rear Admiral Leo Otis Colbert 1938–1950 [20]
Rear Admiral Robert Francis Anthony Studds 1950–1955 [20]
Admiral KARO NOAA obit.jpg Rear Admiral Henry Arnold Karo 1955–1965 Last Director, Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps. Promoted to vice admiral in 1965 and served as Deputy Administrator, ESSA from 1965 to 1967.[20]
Environmental Science Services Administration Commissioned Corps (ESSA Corps)
Rear Admiral James C. Tison, Jr.jpg Rear Admiral James C. Tison, Jr 1965–1968 First Director, ESSA Corps[20]
Rear Admiral Don A. Jones 1968–1970 Last Director, ESSA Corps. Served as Director, National Ocean Survey 1970 – 1972.[20]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps (NOAA Corps)
Harley D. Nygren.jpg Rear Admiral Harley D. Nygren 1970–1980 First Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps[21]
Rear Admiral Kelly E. Taggart 1980–1986 [22]
Rear Admiral Francis D. Moran 1986–1990 [23]
Rear Admiral Sigmund R. Petersen 1990–1995 [24]
RAdm William L. Stubblefield.jpg Rear Admiral William L. Stubblefield 1995–1999 [25]
Evefields.jpg Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields 1999–2003 [26]
Samuel P. De Bow Jr.jpg Rear Admiral Samuel P. De Bow, Jr. 2003–2007 [27]
Radmjbailey.jpg Rear Admiral Jonathan W. Bailey 2007–2012 [28]
RADM Devany 2012.png Rear Admiral Michael S. Devany 2012–2014 Promoted to vice admiral on January 2, 2014 and currently serves as Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, NOAA.[29]
RADM David Score, NOAA.jpg Rear Admiral David A. Score 2014–present [30]

Commissioned officers

The NOAA Corps is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States Government[note 1] and has over 300 commissioned officers and no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps today provides a cadre of professionals trained in engineering, earth sciences, oceanography, meteorology, fisheries science, and other related disciplines. NOAA Corps officers operate NOAA ships, fly NOAA aircraft, manage research projects, conduct diving operations, and serve in staff positions throughout NOAA, as well as in positions in the United States Department of Defense, the United States Coast Guard, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the United States Department of State. Like its predecessors, the Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps and the ESSA Corps, the NOAA Corps provides a ready source of technically skilled officers which can be incorporated into the U.S. armed forces in time of war, and in peacetime supports defense requirements in addition to its purely civilian scientific projects.[12]

The NOAA Corps uses the same commissioned officer ranks as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. While the grade of admiral has been established as a rank in the NOAA Corps,[31][31] the rank has not been authorized for use by the United States Congress.[32] Current NOAA Corps ranks rise from ensign to vice admiral,[32] pay grades O-1 through O-9 respectively. NOAA Corps officers are appointed via direct commission and receive the same pay as other members of the uniformed services. They cannot hold a dual commission with another service, but inter-service transfers are sometimes permitted.

Commissioned officer ranks and abbreviations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps
Vice Admiral
 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral
(lower half)		 Captain
O-9 O-8 O-7 O-6
US NOAA O9 insignia.svg US NOAA O8 insignia.svg US NOAA O7 insignia.svg US NOAA O6 insignia.svg
VADM RADM RDML CAPT
Commander Lieutenant
Commander		 Lieutenant Lieutenant
(junior grade)		 Ensign
O-5 O-4 O-3 O-2 O-1
US NOAA O5 insignia.svg US NOAA O4 insignia.svg US NOAA O3 insignia.svg US NOAA O2 insignia.svg US NOAA O1 insignia.svg
CDR LCDR LT LTJG ENS

Uniforms

For formal service uniforms, the NOAA Corps wears the same Service Dress Blues and Service Dress Whites as the U.S. Navy, but with NOAA Corps insignia in place of U.S. Navy insignia. For daily work uniforms, the NOAA Corps wears the same Operational Dress Uniform (ODU) as the U.S. Coast Guard, but with NOAA Corps insignia in place of U.S. Coast Guard insignia.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The other six uniformed services of the United States Government are the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/edufun/book/NOAAintroduction.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.noaacorps.noaa.gov/about/song.html
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 History of the NOAA Commissioned Corps
  9. ↑ Note: Also concurrently serves as Director, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
  10. ↑ Note: Also concurrently serves as Deputy Director for Operations, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
  11. ↑ Note: Also concurrently serves as the U.S. National Hydrographer
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 NOAA History: NOAA Corps and the Coast and Geodetic Survey
  13. ↑ noaa.gov NOAA History: NOAA Legacy Timeline 1807–1899
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965, reprinted in 5 U.S.C. app. at 1517
  16. ↑ Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970, reprinted with amendments in 5 U.S.C. app. at 1557–61. Section 3(d) states: "The Commissioned Officer Corps of the Environmental Science Services Administration shall become the Commissioned Officer Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."
  17. ↑ noaa.gov NOAA History: NOAA Legacy Time Line 1970–2000
  18. ↑ Teehan, Sean, "NOAA ship leaves Woods Hole with first all-female crew," capecodtimes.com, June 2, 2012, 8:50 a.m. EDT.
  19. ↑ Hefler, Janet, "Lt. Anna-Liza Villard-Howe takes command of NOAA research vessel," mvtimes.com, June 6, 2012.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=45524
  23. ↑ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=37470
  24. ↑ http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1990/Nation-s-Smallest-Service-to-Get-New-Leader/id-b53461e84e2d07795dc5c2b00c93816d
  25. ↑ http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/pr95/may95/stubble.html
  26. ↑ http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases99/july99/noaa99052.html
  27. ↑ http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2006/oct06/noaa06-r827.html
  28. ↑ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.RES.792:
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 [1] 10 USC 201. Pay grades: assignment to; general rules
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 [2] S.2388 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2012

External links

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