Name: NOAA Ship Tour
Start: 2025-01-18T13:00:00-05:00
Location: U.S Navy Base- Newport

We will be meeting with CAPT Ryan Wattam, a Captain in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, and the Commanding Officer of the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow, a federal fisheries research vessel operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The ship is home ported in Newport, RI, at the Navy base. CAPT Wattam has offered a private tour of his ship to learn more about life at sea, marine research, leadership opportunities available as a shipboard officer, and a unique career path for those who are drawn to science and service.
CAPT Wattam attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1999 with Troop 35 in St. Louis, MO. He earned a Bachelors Degree in marine biology from Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL in 2005, and received his commission as an Ensign in the NOAA Corps in 2006. Among his amazing accomplishments, he has had the following great opportunities through NOAA:
He is currently in command of a world-class research vessel
He has had the opportunity to visit the South Pole as an atmospheric researcher
He served as a coral and seagrass restoration biologist for 2 years with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
He was a NOAA scuba diver for 16 years, and trained NOAA divers for 2 years at the NOAA Diving Center during one of his assignments (He discovered his love for diving at Sea Base!)
He got to respond to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Houma, LA as a federal representative on a Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team
He circumnavigated the globe while he was the Executive Officer (2nd in Command) of the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown.
He enjoys sharing this exciting career with anyone that might find it interesting, and would love the opportunity to share it with our Scouts.
https://www.omao.noaa.gov/marine-operations/ships/henry-b-bigelow