Fleet Survey Team

Fleet Survey Team (FST) 

​The Expert, Efficient and Responsive Resource for Littoral Battlespace Characterization and Hydrographic Surveys

FST is a rapid-response team with capabilities to conduct quick-turnaround hydrographic surveys anywhere in the world. Comprised of approximately 65 military and civilian members, FST is collocated with the Naval Oceanographic Office and the Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.

An echelon-five command since 2005, FST is tasked with performing an unparalleled function within the U.S. Navy. The command enables combatant commanders access to the littoral regions through expeditionary hydrography. Data are collected and processed by the team on scene in order to provide timely products to the warfighter, including the best possible graphic depiction of potential hazards to navigation.

When forces are armed with detailed descriptions of the environmental conditions they could face, operations have a greater chance of being safely and efficiently executed. FST gathers the needed information via timely, self-contained hydrographic surveys in response to combatant commanders’ requests. Frequently, these requests are for areas where Navy operations will take place or where chart accuracy is uncertain. Team members can quickly deploy to areas around the world outfitted with equipment to perform surveys from its own small boats or various boats of opportunity.

Because of these unique capabilities and multiple successful surveys world-wide, FST has been recognized by combatant commanders as an extremely valuable asset for performing near-shore surveys directly supporting the safe navigation of U.S. forces and supplies. FST members have also played significant roles in charting areas affected by natural disasters such as the south Asia tsunami of 2004, hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Haiti earthquake relief effort in 2010.

Command personnel offer a unique blend of military and civilian knowledge and experience. Enlisted Sailors routinely qualify as military hydrographers and survey technicians through a robust certification process. In addition to their strong backgrounds in math, science, and engineering, officers and civilians frequently obtain master’s degrees in hydrographic science through an ongoing program with the University of Southern Mississippi. They are also recognized by the International Hydrographic Office as Category A hydrographers.