JASMINE is the first comprehensive study of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system in the eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Bay of Bengal. Observations made during the field phase of JASMINE sampled both prolonged break and active phases of the monsoon resulting in an unprecedented amount of research quality data defining the atmospheric and oceanic state during intra-seasonal transitions of the monsoon. The design of the JASMINE pilot study was based on the observation that the intra-seasonal variability of the monsoon, as it sways back and forth from active to inactive (or break) phases, is an important component of the monsoon system and one that is poorly sampled and simulated.