NOAA: We issued tornado warnings for Early March Outbreak, not NWS(March 15, 2012) Former NOAA Director of Communications and External Affairs Justin Kenney instructed Department of Commerce leadership to give credit to NOAA and away from the National Weather Service for issuing warnings for tornados which struck the Mid-West, Mid-South and Ohio Valley earlier this month, killing 36 people. The email exchange below shows that the DOC was in the process of giving credit to NWS employees for a job well done during the event which was considered well warned by all accounts. However, NOAA demanded that they be given credit, not the NWS. “Have they no shame? I guess NOAA was not satisfied with taking our FTEs and money, now they have to take our identity as well,” stated NWSEO President Dan Sobien. “Perhaps it’s time to divorce the NWS from NOAA; they clearly do not have our best interest in mind.” NWSEO contacted NOAA Public Affairs who stated there was no official policy that states NOAA should take credit for work performed by the NWS. “There may be no official policy, but it is what they have been doing for over two years” Sobien responded. “I’ve had more than one conversation with Assistant Secretary Kathryn Sullivan where she made it very clear that NOAA would utilize the National Weather Service’s good reputation to promote NOAA branding.” > On 3/5/2012 9:58 Zulu, Justin Kenney wrote:
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