THE ROLE OF THE NAVY IN OCEANOGRAPHY 



by 



Honorable Robert W, Morse 

 Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development 



Admiral Knoll, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is a 

 privilege for me to be here this morning to address the Second Annual 

 Symposium on Military Oceanography, held vtnder the auspices of the Oceanog- 

 rapher of the Navy and sponsored this year by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, 

 I appreciate being asked to speak because I strongly endorse the objectives 

 of this Symposiiim: to stimulate discussion among scientists and engineers 

 from industry, from ovir universities, and from the Navy, in an annual foioun 

 devoted to the Navy's oceanographic program. Certainly one can view the 

 proceedings of this meeting as comprising an annual status report on the 

 Navy program, 



I would like to share with you today some thoughts as to the role 

 presently played by the Navy in ocean science and to suggest future changes 

 in that role which might be necessary to enhance the Navy's effectiveness 

 in oceanography and to support this Nation ^s peaceful goals in using the 

 ocean. 



In the past several years, the entire Nation has become much more aware 

 of the oceans. At all levels, there is a growing recognition that we must 

 iinderstand, explore, and exploit fully this large part of the world we 

 inhabit. 



These concerns have led to a strengthening of the oceanographic programs 

 of several other federal agencies which have roles and missions concerned 

 with the ocean. The Navy has gained because virtually all that is learned 

 about the ocean is of potential naval value. Growth of the Navy's own 

 oceanography progreim also has been substantial in the past several years but 

 continues to be based on the necessity of exploiting the sea for national 

 defense. 



To avoid duplication between the Navy and other federal agencies as well 

 as to encourage a purposeful national program, the Interagency Committee on 

 Oceanography UCO) of the Federal Council for Science and Technology was 

 established in I960, The ICO reviews and endorses or recommends modification 

 to the agencies' programs within the context of the overall national effort 

 but also acknowledges the priorities of the separate missions of the member 

 agencies. Within this natural restriction, I believe the ConoDalttee has been 

 effective. The primary forces of the ICO are communication, debate, 

 coordination, and a vmified sense of purpose which has enabled planning in the 

 individual agencies to be carried out in full knowledge of the purposes and 

 actions of the other agencies. 



