The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The service, currently authorized to a strength of 321 commissioned officers, is an integral part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Director of the NOAA Corps is Rear Admiral Michael S. Devany, NOAA. He is also the Director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) which operates a wide variety of specialized aircraft and ships to conduct NOAA's environmental and scientific missions.

The NOAA Commissioned Corps traces its roots back to the former Survey of the Coast, established in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson. The NOAA Corps today provides a cadre of professionals trained in engineering, earth sciences, oceanography, meteorology, fisheries science, and other related disciplines. Officers operate ships, fly aircraft, facilitate research projects, conduct diving operations, and serve in staff positions throughout NOAA.

The Corps' Mission

Provide officers technically competent to assume positions of leadership and command in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of Commerce (DOC) programs and in the Armed Forces during times of war or national emergency.

Discipline and flexibility are inherent in the Corps personnel system. Officers are trained for positions of leadership and command in the operation of ships and aircraft; in the conduct of field projects on land, at and under the sea, and in the air; in the management of NOAA observational and support facilities; as members or leaders of research efforts; and in the management of various organizational elements throughout NOAA.