NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 39 
that fall between departments and between missions and, second, 
about roles that we are just beginning to face now. 
We talked yesterday about some of the problems in the air-sea inter- 
action field which are common to the whole realm of meteorology and 
to the domain of oceanography and the interaction of the sea and 
atmosphere which acts as a tremendous heat engine. There is really 
no one agency that is responsible for this, and for this particular 
reason Dr. Weisner, with Dr. Hollomon’s and my support, suggested 
that the Department of Commerce be named as the coordinating 
agency for programs included in both the Interdepartmental Com- 
mittee on Atmospheric Sciences and the Interagency Committee on 
Oceanography. 
That is one example of a field that falls between particular roles and 
missions of the departments. 
The second field in which we have a vital interest in the Navy is 
ocean engineering. While the Navy Department is not responsible 
for the domestic use of engineering devices in the sea, it does have 
a military mission, including recovery of objects from the ocean 
and personnel rescue and recovery. Apart from this, there is a whole 
general field of ocean engineering which will open up for our whole 
free enterprise system an industry concerned with the capability of 
working in and exploiting the seas. This is not a single agency or 
single department job. 
Thirdly, there is the field of deep research vehicles which allows 
you to get down into the domain and begin to work in it apart from 
the engineering devices that these vehicles may incorporate, or carry. 
Here, again, we are all interested in deep research vehicles, not only 
for a military purpose, but for the furtherance of our ability to work 
in and become a part of the sea environment at great depths. 
Tt seems to me that while H.R. 6997 is eminently adequate for those 
roles and missions that are quite clearly defined, we are going into a 
new area now where we need the cooperation and the help of industry 
in engineering and in deep research vehicle technology. We do not 
necessarily believe the ICO to be the best mechanism for this, but I 
do not think that a separate department which would excise from 
each of the agencies their own jobs in oceanography, together with 
those that fall between the agencies, is the answer either. 
Perhaps what we need is a mechanism by which the ‘between 
agency” tasks can be pulled together in parallel with your legislation 
from this committee. Does that in part answer the question ? 
Mr. Rogers. Yes, I understand your feeling. 
et me ask you this: How often does your Interagency Committee 
meet ¢ 
Dr. Waxettn. The full Committee meets on the average of about 
once a month. The panels within the Committee, Mr. Rogers, meet 
more often than that in the detailed review of their programs. 
Mr. Rocrrs. I see. 
Do they have a regular set schedule for meeting or not? 
