Cmdr. Ruth A. Lane relieved Cmdr. Kelly E. Taylor as director of the National Ice Center (NIC) and the commanding officer of the Naval Ice Center at Suitland, Maryland, during a ceremony June 17.

Taylor had been director and commanding officer since October 2014. Lane's previous assignment was at the Pentagon as an Operational Analyst for the Director, Navy Assessments (OPNAV N81).

The Naval Ice Center, a subordinate command of Fleet Weather Center Norfolk, is part of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.

"Naval oceanography is leading the information warfare community and Navy in removing barriers to women," said Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, oceanographer of the Navy and commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. "Today four of my eight commander-level commanding officers are women. By the end of [the] year, it will be six of eight -- 75 percent -- way above the Navy average for command."

The U.S. National Ice Center (USNIC) is a multi-agency operational center operated by the United States Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the United States Coast Guard. This mission of the USNIC is to provide global to tactical scale ice and snow products, ice forecasting, and other environmental intelligence services for the United States government.

CNMOC directs and oversees the collection, processing and exploitation of accurate, relevant and timely oceanographic, meteorological, hydrographic, precise time, and astrometric information. CNMOC is assigned as Combined Task Group (CTG) 80.7 under U.S. Fleet Forces Command and is part of the information warfare community. As such, CNMOC is the Navy's physical battlespace authority.

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