The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) invited NOAA to participate in a joint task force at the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree. Volunteer representatives from USCG active and reserve, USCG Auxiliary, USCG civilian workforce, and NOAA Corps created a large-scale exhibit to inform young men, young women, and adult leaders about the services that USCG and NOAA provide to the nation.
Office of Coast Survey’s Lt. Matt Forney and National Marine Fisheries Service’s Lt. Cmdr. Chris Skapin represented NOAA Corps, and Cmdr. Ed Martin (NOAA ret.) former Office of Coast Survey Customer Affairs Branch chief, represented the USCG Auxillary. The discussions with visiting scouts focused fisheries management and enforcement; nautical charting, navigation, and buoy deployment; and oil spill response and clean-up. Coast Survey provided their augmented reality sandbox to provide the scouts with an interactive experience while learning the basics of bathymetric surveying.
The joint task force reached approximately 24,000 scouts with approximately 8,000 specifically coming to see the USCG/NOAA joint exhibit. With the jamboree only occuring every 4 years, it was a great opportunity to highlight the collaborative missions of the USCG Guard and NOAA. Overall, the jamboree was attended by more than 30,000 scouts, leaders, and staff, with 59 countries represented.
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