Seattle PMO Retires After 44 Years
On September 30, 2010, Pat Brandow, the Port Meteorological Officer in Seattle, Washington, retired after a long and distinguished career serving his country in both the United States Navy and NOAA’s National Weather Service. His combined military and federal service totals an impressive 44 years.
Pat joined the U.S. Navy in December 1966. He served during the Vietnam War on the USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) (1967-68) before training as an Aereographers Mate (AG) (Weather Observer) at the Naval Training Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey (1968). Upon graduation, Pat was assigned to the Naval Air Station at Atsugi, Japan (1968-1971), and subsequently to Naval Air Station Saufley Field in Pensacola, FL (1971-1973). Following completion of Advanced Forecaster Training at Lakehurst, Pat had several assignments as a Navy forecaster from 1974 through 1983, including aboard the USS Midway (CV-41), at Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines, and at Naval Air Station Alvin Calendar in Belle Chase, Louisiana. Pat’s final military assignment was at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he served as an instructor in the Geophysics Technical Readiness Laboratory. After 20 years of dedicated service and achieving the rank of Chief Petty Offi cer, Pat retired from the U.S. Navy in 1986.
Pat didn’t remain idle for long, however. In September 1986, he began a second career in weather, this time with NOAA’s National Weather Service. For his first 10 years with NWS, he was assigned as a Meteorological Technician at the Forecast Offi ce in Seattle, Washington, working the Public Service desk. In January 1995, Pat was selected as the new NWS Port Meteorological Officer (PMO) in Seattle. His new duties included recruiting new vessels into the “Voluntary Observing Ship” (VOS) and serving the needs of vessels already in the VOS Program. For the next 14 years, Pat served in one of the nation’s busiest commercial shipping areas, responsible for Ports in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland (Oregon), and numerous smaller ports in western Washington and Oregon.