Lt. Cary assumes command of ship

JUNEAU - Lt. Chad M. Cary, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, recently assumed command of the NOAA ship John N. Cobb, relieving outgoing commanding officer Lt. Cmdr. Peter Fischel.

A commissioned officer in the NOAA Corps for nearly seven years, Cary served as a junior officer on the NOAA fisheries research vessel Miller Freeman and as a hydrologist for NOAA's National Weather Service-Northwest River Forecast Center. Before assuming command of John N. Cobb, he served as the ship's executive officer.

Cary, who graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School in 1996, received a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2000 and a master's degree in geography from Portland State University in 2006. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Dayna.

The John N. Cobb is a 93-foot vessel that conducts fisheries research and marine mammal surveys in Southeast Alaska and U.S. Pacific coastal waters.