Weather flight helps make missions possible

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Marissa Tucker
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  People put a lot of faith into weather forecasters -- one missed thunderstorm and the trust can be lost forever. In military operations, weather is more important than most Airmen think, it dictates mission requirements and limitations, travel plans, uniform items and sometimes can lead to the cancelation of meticulously planned events.

Here at the 4th Fighter Wing, the 4th Operations Support Squadron's Weather Flight is the authority on the highs and lows in the local area.

With the mission of providing the wing essential weather reports and observations, the weather flight provides the most accurate information possible to base commanders and fighter squadrons, said Tech. Sgt. Terrance Smiley, non-commissioned officer in charge of forecasting.

"Weather is more than just telling people if it is going to rain or not," he said. "Being accurate is of the utmost importance. Weather is not an exact science, so we have to stay on our 'A' game."

The weather flight briefs the four fighter squadrons daily on the outside conditions, including cloud coverage, humidity and dew point. For aircrew, knowing exactly what the weather conditions will be when they reach their specific target is crucial to maintaining the wing's on-time, on target motto.

"Pilots need to know exactly what to expect when they are flying to prevent mishaps during missions," Sergeant Smiley said. "Training or not, without proper knowledge of the conditions in the sky, they are ill-equipped."

Maintaining computer systems that sort data is also imperative in delivering accurate information, Sergeant Smiley said.

Weather Airmen here use the FMQ-19, an automated observing system at both ends of the runway that gives the office the temperature, humidity and derives the dew point within five nautical miles of the runway.

"The (FMQ-19) system is very helpful, because it does a lot of the work for us," said Staff Sgt. Precious Monk, weather flight forecaster. "The weather can be tricky and we have to stay on top of it. Our job is much deeper than people may think, most people have no idea just how much the weather affects the way we (Airmen) do our jobs at home and overseas"

On one of Sergeant Smiley's many deployments, he worked with the Army at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, providing aerial weather reports for medivac, combat, search and rescue, and distinguished visitor missions.

"Every day I was there, we had a medivac mission," he said. "There was always a sense of urgency in everything we did, but when the phone rang and we saw a specific number, we knew we were going to have to work fast because the planes had to get out and save the troops on the ground."

One of the more challenging parts of providing a weather forecast for a location with many different types of aircraft is that some aircraft can operate in diverse weather, others cannot.

An integral part of forecasting weather with respect to aviation is that the recommendations have to be made for which aircraft are flyable at a particular moment, Sergeant Smiley said.

"Most of the time, there is no second chance," he said. "In a deployed location when bombs need to be dropped, it is a no-fail mission."

Predicting the weather at a specific point in the atmosphere is also a duty of the weather flight. While flying combat missions, fighter pilots and weapon systems officers have specific targets they must hit. If the aircraft arrives and the spot is not visible, the weather flight could be held accountable.

"Whenever a pilot (and WSO) goes up to fly, they get a weather briefing telling them exactly what they should expect when they get to their target," Sergeant Smiley said. "If we are wrong, we just wasted money, time, and depending where you are, someone's life could be on the line."

Working closely with other base agencies also helps the flight maintain readiness. The control tower, and the radar approach and command center alert the flight when they see changes in the weather such as rain, hail or lightning. The continuous flow in communication keeps the base notified of any changes, so people can be prepared to do their job, no matter what the outside conditions are.

"We are not going to be right all the time," Sergeant Smiley said. "We cannot be perfect but we try our best."