Sigmund R. Petersen

Under Petersen's command, approaches a disabled vessel in heavy seas in the Bering Sea. Rear Admiral Sigmund Rorgard Petersen (22 November 1936 – 24 January 2024) was a career officer who served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, its successor, the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps (ESSA Corps), and the ESSA Corps's successor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). He served as the fourth Director of the NOAA Corps.

Early life Petersen was born in Haugesund, Norway, on 22 November 1936. He and his family lived under the German occupation of Norway during World War II from 1940 to 1945. He worked as a paperboy for the Everett newspaper, The Daily Herald, and took pride in becoming the first member of his family to return to Norway to visit relatives there, using the money he saved from his newspaper delivery job.

Career In 1961, Petersen joined the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, accepting a commission as an ensign in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps. In 1971, he received a master's degree in marine affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

During his career, Petersen served aboard five different ships of the Coast and Geodetic Survey fleet and later the NOAA fleet, and during the 1970s and 1980s he served tours as commanding officer of the research ships NOAAS Miller Freeman (R 223) — the first NOAA Corps officer to command her While he was in command of Miller Freeman, he and his ship came to the assistance of disabled fishing vessel in the Bering Sea during a storm, and a crew member took a dramatic photograph of Miller Freeman cresting a large wave as she approached the fishing vessel. and retired from NOAA.

Petersen's career had included stints in the pre-NOAA Coast and Geodetic Survey and in NOAA's National Ocean Service, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, with assignments in many locations in the continental United States, Hawaii, and England and a wide variety of duties that at various times included cartographic, geodetic, hydrographic, meteorological, oceanographic, and operational positions. They had three daughters and a son.

Later life Throughout his retirement, Petersen maintained contact with his former colleagues at NOAA and accepted occasional brief recalls to active duty in the NOAA Corps to handle various administrative functions. His wife Rebecca died on 5 September 2023 after a 60-year marriage. He was residing with his daughters in Kent, Washington, when he died in Everett on 24 January 2024 after a brief stay in hospice care.

Awards

NOAA Corps Commendation Medal (two awards)