Rick Brennan

Brennan was promoted to the rank of rear admiral (lower half) and the director of the Office of Coast Survey on April 20, 2021. He was the 31st director of the Office of Coast Survey, a position that started with Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler in 1807.

On May 13, 2021 Rear Admiral Richard Brennan died from complications during surgery. His funeral was held on May 21, 2021 with military honors.

In 2020 Brennan was elected the president of The Hydrographic Society of America. Later in 2021, he was inducted into the Hydrographer Hall of Fame. The NOAA Rear Admiral Richard T. Brennan Ocean Mapping Matching Fund program established by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is named after Brennan.

Brennan was commissioned in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps in January 1992. His first assignment was to the NOAA Ship Rude, a 90-foot hydrographic vessel. In August 1992, Brennan was involved in the Rude’s survey involving the investigation of the grounding of the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) in Vineyard Sound. During the survey, Brennan identified the precise rocks where the QE2 grounded, recovering metal shards of the ship’s hull from the rock.

Richard Thomas Brennan, Jr. (1968–2021) was a rear admiral in the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps where he served as the 31st director of the Office of Coast Survey, replacing Shepard Smith. He also commanded NOAA Ship Rainier and NOAA Ship Rude.

His land assignments included chief of Hydrographic Systems and Technology Program, the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch (AHB), and the Coast Survey Development Laboratory. He also served as chief of the OCS Hydrographic Surveys Division (HSD), in addition to 31st director of the Office of Coast Survey.