The Naval Research Laboratory's Director of Military Operations, Commander John "J.C." Coffey, was elected the new Chairman of the Interagency Coordinating Committee for Airborne Geosciences Research and Applications (ICCAGRA).
Founded in 1997, ICCAGRA was created as a resource for senior level management on airborne geosciences issues. The committee aims to enhance collaboration, promote awareness of, and encourage communication between member agencies whose airborne platforms and instrument payloads for research and applications are pertinent to individual investigators as well as national and international field campaigns.
Representatives from member agencies of ICCAGRA, which include the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Naval Research Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) convene at committee meetings throughout the year to discuss their agency's research, schedule, and needs in an effort to increase the use of Federal airborne fleet in support of airborne geosciences research programs.
Of particular interest to the ICCAGRA is the identification of interagency needs and to exchange research program schedules in an effort to improve the coordination of interagency airborne programs. The exchange of information promotes opportunities for sharing aircraft resources, minimizes the duplication of research efforts, and expands access to interagency resources. CDR Coffey evaluates the coordination opportunities and develops interagency agreements to facilitate the transfer of airborne platforms or the purchase of reimbursable or cooperative flight time between cooperating agencies.
CDR Coffey joined NRL in February 2007 where he served as Chief Staff Officer and Inspector General before reporting to his current duty as Director of Military Operations. As such, he performs duties that include assisting NRL, Department of Defense and interagency scientists in accomplishing scientific and research objectives. He coordinates efforts between military personnel and NRL researchers for worldwide deployments to places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, and Greenland for Operation Rampant Lion, the geospatial survey of those regions.
CDR Coffey was commissioned a Naval Officer in January 1987 and winged as a Naval Aviator in June 1988. He earned a BS from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and several Masters and Acquisition Certifications from the George Washington University and the Defense Acquisition University.
CDR Coffey has flown over 4,500 hours in the T-2, T-34, T-44, P-3, A-4, RC-12, H-2, H-46, H-52, H-60, S-3, and F/A-18. He is a Kentucky Colonel, on the Regional All-Navy Triathlon Team and is authorized to wear the Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation (two awards), as well as various other unit, service, and campaign decorations.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 85 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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