Around the Reef

from Southern Tides February 2019

Ebb & Flow

By Adam Chulawat

Communications Intern Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary

The staff at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary feels lucky to work alongside the only NOAA Corps officer stationed in Georgia.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Officer Corps, informally referred to as NOAA Corps, was established in 1917, but originated in 1807 from Thomas Jefferson’s “U.S. Survey of the Coast.” With 321 professionally-trained officers, NOAA Corps is the smallest of seven uniformed services in the United States. Though it may be small, the Corps plays an extremely crucial role to our nation, providing aid and support during disasters like the 2010 Deep Horizon oil spill, Hurricane Sandy, and the blizzard of 2016. The Corps also plays an important role internationally through their advancement of science and research.

Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Marybeth Head is on site at Gray’s Reef for a three-year land-based assignment. Originally from Applegate, Oregon, she has served in NOAA Corps since 2014. After working as a marine biologist, LTJG Head says, “I just wasn’t digging it. I didn’t have a good idea of what was happening in the world. I’m a big picture kind of person. I like to learn a little about a lot.” After she was given a personal two-hour tour of a NOAA Corps ship by a NOAA Corps diver, her mind was made up.

NOAA Corps has many focuses, ranging in areas from oceanography and hydrography to fisheries science and engineering. Some officers are trained to fly aircraft and others are trained to operate ocean vessels. Their versatility also allows them to hold positions in the United States Department of Defense, United States Coast Guard, and various other United States administrations and departments. Officers in NOAA Corps may even be called into service during war. These attributes make NOAA Corps members extremely adaptable and flexible. They can do various jobs quickly and effectively. In fact, LTJG Head describes her job as being “the operational arm of NOAA.”

“The primary mission that we have is driving the vessels and aircrafts for NOAA,” Head added. Though this may be their primary mission, NOAA Corps officers can take on numerous challenges and positions of leadership.

NOAA Corps officers receive rotations in land and sea-based assignments. “At-sea assignments tend to be two years,” LTJG Head comments, “and land-based assignments typically last three years.” Each of these assignments can sharply differ from the last. “You have a lot of collateral duties … you can wear a myriad of hats and you are expected to carry out that role effectively.”

Many people are unaware of what NOAA Corps is and what its mission is. “I would probably say five percent of the people I talk to know what it is,” LTJG Head says. “I feel like NOAA Corps is NOAA’s best kept secret.”

In her time at Gray’s Reef, LTJG Head has participated in dozens of operations, dives, and events hosted by the sanctuary. Her official role at Gray’s Reef is Vessel Operations Coordinator (VOC), and in addition to driving the vessels, she is using new technologies and software to implement management systems for the sanctuary. For example, she currently is working on a vessel information management system that will provide automatic updates on what services need to be done to vessels. “In the past it’s always been in the captain’s head.” When the captain leaves, this knowledge is gone. “I want to prevent that from happening.”

LTJG Head has been recognized for her efforts during her time at Gray’s Reef. In 2017, she received the Directors Ribbon for outstanding performance and exemplary operational support during the sanctuary's science mission aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster. LTJG Head also has been working hard to understand visitor use of Gray’s Reef. Her aim is to find out who is using it, for how long, and why. This will give the sanctuary superintendent vital information that will help support recreational activities such as fishing and diving while still protecting Gray’s Reef.

What LTJG Head especially loves about being at Gray’s Reef is that she gets to be involved with the community. “I get to participate in the events. I get a lot of hands-on with the volunteers. It’s fun because I can get my hands in a little bit of everything.”

NOAA Corps serves to help the entire nation: from natural disasters to local community events, they are ready to handle it all! As LTJG head declares, “I am the jack of all trades, ready to fill an empty shoe that needs to be walked.” This is what the NOAA Corps is all about.

NOAA Corps Officer LTJG Marybeth Head (orange helmet) trains for vessel evacuation with the U.S. Coast Guard. Photo by Michelle Riley GRNMS