Office of Marine and Aviation Operations

The Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which operates a wide variety of specialized ships and aircraft to carry out the environmental and scientific missions of NOAA.

OMAO also manages the NOAA Small Boat Program and the NOAA Diving Program, the latter having as part of its mission the job of ensuring a level of diving skill conducive to safe and efficient operations in NOAA-sponsored underwater activities.

A NOAA Corps rear admiral (lower half) serves as the director of the Marine and Aviation Operations Centers.

NOAA Corps officers and OMAO civilians frequently serve as chief scientists on program missions.

Prior to its move to Lakeland, the AOC resided at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, from January 1993 to June 2017.

[2] NOAA aircraft often operate over open ocean, mountains, coastal wetlands, Arctic pack ice, and in and around hurricanes and other severe weather.

The aircraft collect environmental and geographic data for NOAA hurricane and other weather and atmospheric research (including as part of the NOAA Hurricane Hunters program; provide aerial support for coastal and aeronautical charting and remote sensing projects; conduct aerial surveys for hydrologic research; support NOAA's fishery research and marine mammal assessment programs; and provide support to emergency response managers during and after natural disasters.

[6] Some ships of the fleet are vessels retired from the United States Navy or other maritime services.

The ships are managed by the Marine Operations Center, which has offices in Norfolk, Virginia, and Newport, Oregon.