William L. Stubblefield

William L. Stubblefield
Rear Admiral William L. Stubblefield, NOAA
Born	1940 (age 76–77)
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps
Years of service	1962 - 1968 (US Navy) 1971 - 1999 (NOAA Corps)
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	NOAAS Surveyor Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
Awards	Department of Commerce Silver Medal

William L. Stubblefield (born 1940), is a retired NOAA Commissioned Corps rear admiral. He served as the director of the NOAA Commissioned Corps from 1995 to 1999.

A native of Medina, Tennessee, Stubblefield received his bachelor's degree from the Memphis State University. In 1962, he was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy after he completed Naval Officer Candidate School. A surface warfare officer, he served on a minesweeper (USS Frigate Bird MSC 191) and icebreaker (USS Burton Island AGB 1) at sea, and ashore at submarine tracking facilities (SOSUS) in Bermuda and in Grand Turk. Stubblefield left the navy in 1968 to pursue a Master of Science degree at the University of Iowa.

In 1971, Stubblefield joined the NOAA Commissioned corps as a Lieutenant upon the completion of NOAA Corps Basic Officer Training. His first assignments were at sea on NOAAS Pathfinder and Rainier. He next served ashore as the Deputy Director of the Marine Geology and Geophysics Division at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research in Miami. For his work while serving in Miami, Stubblefield was awarded the NOAA Corps Achievement Medal.

Stubblefield subsequently returned to sea as the operations officer on board NOAAS Researcher before he returned to further his education. From 1978 to 1979, Stubblefield attended Texas A&M University earning a PhD. in geological oceanography. His field of research was coastal processes along the Atlantic coast. His research resulted in over 30 peer reviewed professional papers in the field of marine geology. On several occasions, Stubblefield dove in the Deep Submersible ALVIN to advance his studies. After a stint back at AOML, Stubblefield returned to Researcher as Executive Officer.