Aerographer's mate (abbreviated as AG) is a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
occupational
rating
A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of a metric (e.g. quality, quantity, a combination of both,...).
Rating or rating system may also refer to:
Business and economics
* Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness ...
, devoted to collection and analysis of data related to weather, radar, and ocean conditions.
Duties
Aerographer's mates:
* observe, collect, record and analyze
meteorological
Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...
and
oceanographic
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.
It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...
data;
* make visual and instrument observations of
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmo ...
and sea conditions, surface and sub-surface;
* operate meteorological
satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
receivers and interpret and apply satellite data;
* interpret and brief
radar
Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
imagery and data;
* interpret meteorological and oceanographic
codes
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ch ...
;
* verify meteorological and oceanographic products;
* evaluate recent meteorological and oceanographic developments for integration into local routines and enter data on appropriate
charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...
;
* operate
ancillary equipment for the processing, dissemination and display of environmental data;
* perform preventive maintenance on meteorological and oceanographic equipment;
* prepare
warnings of severe and hazardous weather and sea conditions;
* forecast meteorological and oceanographic conditions;
* prepare and present briefings concerning current and predicted environmental conditions and their effect on operations.
Training
AG "A" and "C" Schools are currently located in
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...
, on
Keesler Air Force Base. AG "A" School concentrates on weather observing and lasts approximately 3 months. AG "C" concentrates on weather forecasting and lasts approximately 9 months. Upon graduating from "A" school, AGs work toward qualification as environmental observers through completion of personnel qualification standards and job qualification requirements. They also prepare for advanced training at "C" school by the four- to six-year career stage.
Aerographer's mates are assigned to larger ships such as aircraft carriers, amphibious ships and cruisers, and also to naval air stations, weather centers and other shore facilities in the United States or overseas. During a 20-year period in the Navy, AGs spend about 60% of their time assigned to shore units and 40% to fleet stations.
See also
*
List of United States Navy ratings
United States Navy ratings are general enlisted occupations used by the U.S. Navy since the 18th century, which denote the specific skills and abilities of the sailor. Each naval rating has its own specialty badge, which is worn on the left s ...
*
Weather observer
References
{{reflist
Naval meteorology
United States Navy ratings
Technicians