[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1403-S1404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM L. STUBBLEFIELD ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 
                               RETIREMENT

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Rear 
Admiral Bill Stubblefield on the occasion of his retirement as the 
Director of the Office of NOAA Corps Operations and the Director of the 
NOAA Corps, in the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration. Rear Admiral Stubblefield has given 33 
years of dedicated service to the nation.
  Bill Stubblefield served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy 
from 1962 to 1968 aboard a minesweeper and an icebreaker, and then with 
the U.S. Navy's SOSUS network. In 1968, he resigned his commission from 
the Navy to further his education and received his Master's degree in 
Geology from the University of Iowa in 1971.
  In July 1971 Admiral Stubblefield joined the NOAA Commissioned Corps 
as a Lieutenant in his home town of Medina, Tennessee, and attended the 
38th NOAA Corps Basic Officer Training Class which was held at the 
United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. After 
his commissioning, he was assigned to serve as a Junior Officer aboard 
the NOAA Ships Pathfinder and Rainier, conducting hydrographic surveys 
in California, Washington, and Alaska. His next assignment was ashore 
with the Environmental Research Laboratory, Office of Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research, in Miami, Florida, as Deputy Director of the 
Marine Geology and Geophysics Division. For this work, he received a 
NOAA Corps Special Achievement Award.
  Admiral Stubblefield returned to sea duty in December of 1975 as 
Operations Officer aboard the NOAA Ship Researcher, which conducted 
oceanographic and atmospheric research in the waters of the Atlantic 
Ocean.
  From January 1978 to May 1979, Admiral Stubblefield attended full-
time university training at Texas A&M University receiving his Ph.D. in 
geological oceanography. He returned to the Environmental Research 
Laboratory as a research oceanographer until 1981, when he was summoned 
back to sea as the Executive Officer of the NOAA Ship Researcher.
  Following his sea assignment Admiral Stubblefield had tours of duty 
as the Scientific Support Coordinator of the southeastern Atlantic and 
Gulf coastal areas for the NOAA Office of Marine Pollution Assessment 
Hazardous Material Program and Technical Specialist for the NOAA Office 
of Sea Grant in Washington, D.C. Admiral Stubblefield was then assigned 
to the position of Chief Scientist for the NOAA Undersea Research 
Program.
  He returned to sea in 1988 as Commanding Officer of the NOAA Ship 
Surveyor which conducted oceanic research from the Arctic to the 
Antarctic, including the north and south Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Alaska, 
and the Bering Sea. At the time, the Surveyor had attained the award of 
traveling the farthest north and south of any NOAA vessel at its time.
  In 1990 he was assigned the position of Coordinator for the Fleet 
Modernization Study to assess the life expectancy of NOAA's ships and 
determine how to modernize NOAA's fleet to operate into the 21st 
century. For this work, he received the Department of Commerce Silver 
Medal, DOC's second highest award. In late 1990, Admiral Stubblefield 
became the Executive Director for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research, where he was responsible for the management and budget 
functions, international affairs, and administrative duties of this 
NOAA program office.
  In August 1992, he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, Lower 
Half and assigned as Deputy Director, Office of NOAA Corps Operations 
where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of this staff 
office. In 1995, Admiral Stubblefield was selected for the position of 
Director, Office of NOAA Corps Operations and Director of the NOAA 
Commissioned Corps, and promoted to Rear Admiral, Upper Half, the 
highest position in the NOAA Corps.
  Since Admiral Stubblefield became Director, the Office of NOAA Corps 
Operations has undergone many changes. He re-engineered the office to 
become more cost-efficient and customer oriented. He decommissioned 
five older ships, downsized the headquarters office by over 40 percent, 
both civilian and commissioned personnel, and reduced ship operating 
costs, while increasing the level of ship support.
  Under his command, a new oceanographic ship, the Ronald H. Brown, was 
built and commissioned, and two former Navy ships were converted to 
conduct fisheries, oceanic, and atmospheric research. He also saw the 
new Gulfstream IV jet built and brought into operation to study the 
effects of El Nino last winter off the California coast and conduct 
hurricane reconnaissance this past hurricane season.
  Also under his command, Admiral Stubblefield faced the most 
challenging task of his career, one that no head of a uniformed service 
would ever want to face--the decision to disestablish the NOAA 
Commissioned Corps. The Corps was under a hiring freeze that lasted for 
4 years. Yet, Admiral Stubblefield still was able to maintain morale 
and fill the assignments required to operate the ships and aircraft.
  This past October, when it became apparent the NOAA Corps plays a 
vital role for the country, the decision was made to retain the NOAA 
Corps. In January 1999, 17 new officers began their basic training at 
the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.

  Admiral Stubblefield is an officer, a scientist, and a gentleman. I 
commend Bill for his tremendous accomplishments during his career and 
service to

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the Nation, especially those over the past three years. Thanks to his 
efforts, NOAA is stronger, more efficient and will carry out its 
invaluable mission into the next century.

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