The U.S. Navy is coming to New Orleans this week, and Naval Oceanography is part of the welcoming committee.

The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command will give the public a glimpse of its operations and capabilities during New Orleans Fleet Week, April 20-24.

"We are excited about this opportunity to show our neighbors what we do," said Rear Adm. John Okon, commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, based at Stennis Space Center, Miss., about 60 miles from the heart of the city.

The command's 1,000 civilian and military employees at Stennis live in the communities of Southeastern Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command forecasts weather and ocean conditions to help naval and joint forces operate more safely and effectively, and make better decisions faster than the adversary. The command is the Navy's physical battlespace authority.

"Everything the Navy does starts with us," Okon said. "Whether it is weather forecasts for flight operations, ship routing around dangerous weather, collecting and analyzing ocean data for undersea warfare, delivering precise time and measurements of the stars, Naval Oceanography is an integral part of the navy Warfighting Team, linking critical data and forecasts to decisions in every operation."

At its exhibit, the command will show off some of the equipment that it uses to collect ocean data. The equipment includes a variety of unmanned underwater vehicles that are used to search for mines, collect information about deep ocean properties and shallow water information for SEALs insertions. The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command exhibit will be on the Julia Street Pier, near USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).

During Fleet Week, New Orleans will host ships and crews from U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Canadian Navy and French Navy ships. Sailors will have opportunities to tour the city and interact with citizens, schools and civic groups, and residents will have an opportunity to tour ships and exhibits.

Naval Oceanography directs and oversees more than 2,500 globally-distributed military and civilian personnel who collect, process and exploit environmental information to assist Fleet and Joint Commanders in all warfare areas to make better decisions faster than the adversary.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, visit www.navy.mil/.