[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CONGRATULATING THE NOAA CORPS ON ITS 81ST ANNIVERSARY

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                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 81st anniversary of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps. 
Known as ``America's Seventh Service,'' the officers of the NOAA Corps 
are an integral part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, and they serve with distinction throughout this multi-
disciplinary scientific organization. I am proud to congratulate the 
NOAA Corps for 81 years of dedicated service to our Nation.
  The NOAA Corps was designed to allow flexibility in the assignment of 
professionals to remote, hazardous, or otherwise arduous duties 
throughout the wide range of vital environmental and stewardship 
activities encompassed by NOAA. Corps officers today combine such 
unique qualifications as: research ship and aircraft operations; 
technical expertise with advanced academic backgrounds in hydrography, 
geodesy, fisheries sciences, meteorology, and oceanography; and 
leadership in technical program and data management contributing to the 
coherence, integrity, and effectiveness of the administrative structure 
of NOAA.
  The dedicated scientists, engineers, and officers of the uniformed 
NOAA Corps have a long and decorated tradition of providing mobility, 
flexibility, operational, and professional skills in a unique response 
capability to our Nation. The Corps houses experts in nautical charting 
and hydrographic surveying. These functions are vital to our national 
interest in ensuring the continued safe navigation of trade. NOAA Corps 
pilots provide critical operations when conducting low-altitude 
penetration missions of hurricanes and tropical storms in support of 
weather research and prediction. Corps officers supply the data 
collection and management that are requisite to ensuring accurate 
fisheries stock and turtle and marine mammal assessments.
  The Corps has contributed over the recent decades in providing 
valuable scientific and engineering skills, especially in times of 
national emergencies. The Corps made important contributions during 
both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. NOAA provided ship, 
aircraft, and technical skills during the Gulf War to assess the oil-
based environmental damages caused by Iraq. Shore personnel contributed 
scientific expertise in hazardous materials management, while a NOAA 
ship carried scientists in the Gulf to evaluate the extent of 
environmental damages. Also, NOAA Corps officers and ships provided 
crucial survey support in response to the TWA Flight 800 recovery 
effort. The Corps swiftly located the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 and 
created highly detailed map products that greatly facilitated the 
retrieval of wreckage by Navy divers.
  Today, the NOAA Corps expertly performs its missions, whether in 
charting our Nation's coastline, assessing our fisheries stocks, or 
flying into hurricanes for scientific research. NOAA Corps officers 
serve in NOAA research laboratories and program offices throughout the 
Nation and in remote locations around the world. These officers remain 
ready to apply their science and service skills to the many problems 
facing the United States in the management and study of oceanic and 
atmospheric resources.
  I extend my warmest congratulations to the men and women of the NOAA 
Corps on this 81st anniversary. The expertise and flexibility that the 
Corps has demonstrated in the past will serve the Nation for years to 
come. The NOAA Corps has reached a celebrated milestone, and I wish it 
an even greater future.

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