Samuel P. De Bow, Jr.

Who is Samuel P. De Bow, Jr.?

Samuel P. De Bow, Jr. is a retired rear admiral in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps who served as the Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and Director, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations from 2004 until his retirement September 30, 2007. He was nominated for this position by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the Senate, and subsequently promoted from captain to rear admiral.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Commissioned Corps is a small, elite corps of officers—all with college degrees in science, engineering, or mathematics—who command NOAA ships and aircraft as well as serve within the many environ-mental research programs of NOAA. The NOAA Corps is one of the United States’s seven uniformed services.

NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations is composed both of NOAA Corps officers and civilians who operate, manage, and maintain the agency’s fleet of research and survey ships and aircraft.

RADM De Bow was appointed into the NOAA Corps in 1976. His career has focused on NOAA's mission to ensure safe navigation. He has served aboard three NOAA hydrographic survey ships that acquire data to update the nation’s nautical charts, and two mobile hydrographic field units. Hydrographic surveys accurately determine least water depths and locate obstructions and other dangers to navigation on the sea floor. His last sea tour was as commanding officer of the NOAA Ship RUDE; under his direction, RUDE located the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 after the jet’s disastrous crash in 1996. During his career, RADM De Bow has conducted hydrographic surveys throughout the coastal waters of the United States, including Alaska. While in graduate school, he was an NOAA exchange hydrographer, working with the Norwegian Hydrographic Service in Stavanger, Norway.