Richard R. Behn, is a retired one-star rear admiral of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps who served as director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine and Aviation Operations Centers (part of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO)), from August 2004 to September 2007. He was nominated for this position by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the Senate, and subsequently promoted to rear admiral (lower half) in August 2004.
As director, Behn was responsible for the safe operations of NOAA's aircraft and ships, as well as the management of OMAO's operations center's $100M budget and more than 500 fleet personnel. The Aircraft Operations Center, located in Tampa, Florida, on MacDill Air Force Base, oversees NOAA's fixed-wing aircraft, including the renowned NOAA “hurricane hunters.” The Marine Operations Centers, located in Norfolk, Virginia, and Seattle, Washington, oversee NOAA's multipurpose oceanographic research, fisheries research, and hydrographic survey vessels. Port offices are located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Charleston, South Carolina; Pascagoula, Mississippi; San Diego, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Kodiak and Ketchikan, Alaska.
From 2013 to 2018 Behn served as the Director, Marine Operations at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science in Miami, Florida.
Today, Behn provides consulting services to the maritime industry, more particular, the research vessel community.
Career
Behn was a commissioned officer in the NOAA Corps from 1978 to 2007. He had the opportunity to work for most of NOAA's line and staff offices. He served aboard NOAA's oceanographic and fisheries research ships, sailing the waters from the Arctic to the Antarctic, in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. His last sea tour was aboard NOAA Ship McArthur as commanding officer.
Behn's shore tours included a variety of administrative and management positions, all with increasing responsibility. Prior to his promotion to rear admiral, he was the executive director to NOAA's Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce, where he assisted in managing NOAA employees nationwide along with the agency's multibillion-dollar budget. Other assignments include executive officer to NOAA's chief scientist and executive director of the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.
Behn served as the co-chair of NOAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Steering Committee; member of NOAA's Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Steering Committee; NOAA's representative on the Federal Oceanographic Facilities Committee; acting chairman of NOAA's Incentive Awards Board, NOAA's Diversity Council and NOAA's Equal Employment Opportunity Council. He led NOAA's nationwide 30th Anniversary efforts and chaired the Department of Commerce's Combined Federal Campaign as the world's third largest campaign in 1998 raising more than $2.5 million in contributions.
Behn is a lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America, the Reserve Officers Association, and the National Military Family Association.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is an American scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce that focuses on the conditions of the oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency overseen by the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is made up of scientifically and technically trained officers. It is one of only two U.S. uniformed services – the other being the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps – that consists only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps primary mission is to monitor oceanic conditions, support major waterways, and monitor atmospheric conditions.
The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), a federal research laboratory, is part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), located in Miami, Florida. AOML's research spans tropical cyclone and hurricanes, coastal ecosystems, oceans and human health, climate studies, global carbon systems, and ocean observations. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) operates a wide variety of specialized aircraft and ships to complete NOAA's environmental and scientific missions. OMAO also manages the NOAA Small Boat Program and the NOAA Diving Program, the latter having as part of its mission the job of ensuring a level of diving skill conducive to safe and efficient operations in NOAA-sponsored underwater activities.
The Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) was a United States Federal executive agency created in 1965 as part of a reorganization of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission was to unify and oversee the meteorological, climatological, hydrographic, and geodetic operations of the United States. It operated until 1970, when it was replaced by the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Jonathan W. Bailey is a retired rear admiral in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps and a former Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and Director, NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. He was appointed by Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez on October 1, 2007, after nomination for the position by President George W. Bush, confirmation by the U.S. Senate, and subsequent promotion by the Secretary to the two-star rank of rear admiral. On August 15, 2012, Admiral Bailey was succeeded as Director, NOAA Corps by Rear Admiral Michael S. Devany, and formally retired on September 30, 2012.
Evelyn J. Fields is a rear admiral (retired) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, who served as the director of the Commissioned Officer Corps and director of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, from 1999 until her retirement in 2003. Fields was the first woman, and first African American to head the NOAA Corps.
Philip M. Kenul is a retired NOAA Corps rear admiral who last served as the Director, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations Centers, which are part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). As director, Kenul was responsible for the operation of NOAA aircraft and ships as well as the management of OMAO’s operations centers’ $100M budget and more than 500 fleet personnel. Kenul retired from the NOAA Corps after over 30 years of service.
Michael S. Devany is a former vice admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who last served as the deputy under secretary for operations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from January 2, 2014 to April 2016. He previously served as director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps from August 13, 2012 to January 1, 2014, succeeding RADM Jonathan W. Bailey. As deputy under secretary for operations, he was NOAA’s chief operating officer. VADM Devany was responsible for the day-to-day management of NOAA’s national and international operations for oceanic and atmospheric services, research, and coastal and marine stewardship. He is a key advisor to the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere/NOAA administrator on NOAA program and policy issues. Devany was the first NOAA Corps officer to achieve the rank of vice admiral since VADM Henry A. Karo in 1965, and the second NOAA Corps officer overall. Devany retired from NOAA in April 2016 after over 30 years of combined uniformed service.
William L. Stubblefield, is a retired NOAA Commissioned Corps rear admiral. He served as the director of the NOAA Commissioned Corps from 1995 to 1999.
David A. Score is a former rear admiral in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps who last served as Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and Director, NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. He retired from the NOAA Corps on September 6, 2017 after over 27 years of service.
Gerd F. Glang is a former NOAA Corps rear admiral who last served as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Coast Survey. In this position, he also concurrently served as the U.S. National Hydrographer and as one of the commissioners of the Mississippi River Commission. He was appointed by Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank on August 13, 2012, after nomination by President Barack Obama, and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He retired from the NOAA Corps on August 26, 2016 after over 32 years of combined uniformed service.
NOAAS Researcher, was an American oceanographic research vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1996. She had been delivered to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1970 as USC&GS Researcher, but did not enter commission until after her transfer to NOAA later that year. In 1988, Researcher was renamed NOAAS Malcolm Baldrige.
Anita L. Lopez is a former officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. She last served as the deputy director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and deputy director for Operations of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. She previously served as the commanding officer of NOAA's Marine Operations Center–Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia from June 2012 to January 2014. Lopez retired form the NOAA Corps on March 1, 2018.
Rear Admiral Harley Dean Nygren was an American military officer who served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, its successor, the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps, and the ESSA Corps's successor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. He served as the first Director of the NOAA Corps.
Rear Admiral Kelly E. Taggart was a career officer who served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, its successor, the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps, and the ESSA Corps's successor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. He served as the second Director of the NOAA Corps.
Rear Admiral Francis D. "Bill" Moran is a retired career officer who served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, its successor, the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps, and the ESSA Corps's successor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. He served as the third Director of the NOAA Corps.
Rear Admiral Sigmund R. Petersen is a retired career officer who served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, its successor, the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps, and the ESSA Corps's successor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. He served as the fourth Director of the NOAA Corps.
Michael J. Silah is a rear admiral in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps who serves as Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, and Director, NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.
Nancy Hann is a rear admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who currently serves as the deputy director for operations of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), and as deputy director of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps