April 21, 2021

Hello Coast Survey,

I think most people around Coast Survey know me, but if you don’t I would like to share a little bit about myself. Hydrographic surveying, in support of nautical charting, has been the focus of my 28 years with NOAA, including tours in three of the four Coast Survey divisions. The time I spent in the Hydrographic Surveys Division, Navigation Services Division, and the Coast Survey Development Lab each provided unique, invaluable, experiences that have shaped my views as a mariner and manager. Though I have never worked in the Marine Chart Division, my time at sea, as a professional surveyor, ship captain, and recreational mariner, has instilled in me a deep respect for the importance of nautical charts and how they are made. I look forward to building on my experiences with the divisions that I have worked in and plan to work hard to gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing all of Coast Survey over the coming months.

During my command on NOAA Ship Rainier, I was able to boil down my command philosophy to this:

• Take care of yourself
• Take care of your shipmates
• Take care of the ship

Take care of yourself was a call for each shipmate to ensure they got enough sleep, wore the proper clothing for the environment we were in, had the correct protective equipment, etc. Ultimately, you are the best person to take care of you.

Take care of your shipmates was a call to always look out for the safety and well being of your fellow shipmates, to ensure their mental and physical well being was not in danger. A ship relies on every crew member for safety since the ship is basically a floating island without medical, fire, or police support to come bail it out.

Finally, take care of the ship was the call to each department with the responsibility for a portion of the ship’s operating systems – engine room, deck and safety equipment, galley, navigation, etc. – ensuring those areas were in top working order and had the requisite spares to enable us to execute repairs while underway if appropriate.

My perspective was if we were brilliant at these basic things, we would thrive and accel – I believe the Rainier did.

So for my time as Coast Survey’s Director, I will only modify that command philosophy a little:

• Take care of yourself
• Take care of your teammates
• Take care our production and development systems

I think the first two speak for themselves. We are only as good as our people are healthy in mind, body, and spirit. If you know of a workmate who is struggling, reach out and offer support. The past year has been tough. During this time, I have seen how brilliantly Coast Survey employees support each other, but some have fallen through the cracks – we can't let that happen.

The last one may require some further explanation. I believe the success of our agency is our ability to engineer and create sound processes that ensure consistent and accurate results for our nautical charting products. This ranges from at sea on our ships, to ingesting other agency’s nautical data into DREG and ultimately the NIS, or the final dissemination of our various products. I think we must be constantly reviewing these processes to ensure they are the most efficient that the current state of the art can deliver. I say this because I believe the accuracy of data is continually degraded as the timeliness of it’s delivery grows longer. Those who know me know that I am a why guy. I believe we have to keep the why we exist in clear view and I believe that requires both accuracy and timeliness to remain in balance.

Next week I will hold my first All Hands as Coast Survey Director. I hope to have these monthly, make them less formal, and hold them to roughly an hour. I want to give all Coast Survey staff a chance to ask questions, which I will seek to answer during the meeting. I also welcome receiving questions in advance of the All Hands meeting – please send these to coastsurveycommunications@noaa.gov.

I look forward to seeing you at the All Hands meeting on April 29!