NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
|
|
| Active | 22 May 1917 – present |
| Country |
 United States of America
|
| Allegiance | Constitution of the United States |
| Branch |
 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|
| Type | Uniformed service |
| Size | 379 officers 16 ships, 10 aircraft |
| Part of |  U.S. Department of Commerce |
| Garrison/HQ | Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Nickname(s) | "NOAA Corps" |
| Motto(s) | "Science, service, stewardship." |
| Colors | Blue, White |
| March | "Forward with NOAA" |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps | RADM David A. Score |
| Deputy Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps | RDML Anita L. Lopez |
| Director, Office of Coast Survey | RDML Shepard M. Smith |
| Notable commanders |
COL Ernest Lester Jones RADM Raymond Stanton Patton VADM H. Arnold Karo RADM William L. Stubblefield RADM Evelyn J. Fields RADM Samuel P. De Bow, Jr. VADM Michael S. Devany |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |
 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Reconnaissance | WP-3D, AC-695A, G-IV, DHC-6 |
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of seven federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency within the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is the smallest of the U.S. uniformed services, and one of only two––the other being the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps––that consists only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks.
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).
The NOAA Corps is the smallest of the seven uniformed services of the United States Government, with 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. While civilian personnel could perform many of its functions, the big advantage of the NOAA Corps as a commissioned service is the quick response time of its personnel, which NOAA can shift among projects and to various places around the world as the need arises more quickly and more easily than it could by reassigning or hiring civilian personnel to meet new or changing requirements.
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