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Outstanding first-term Airmen push 28th OWS to success

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jonathan Bass
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  The mission of the 28th Operational Weather Squadron is to provide weather support for the Middle East and the U.S. Air Force's Central Command Area of Responsibility, said Staff Sgt. Leah Gonzalez a weather forecaster with the 28th OWS here.

"We do mission support for the Air Force and Army," said Airman 1st Class Luke Ledonne, 28th OWS weather forecaster. "In the Air Force, weather pretty much dictates how we do missions; before planning missions we must forecast for severe weather."

The squadron relies heavily on the ability of first-term Airmen to quickly gain and apply job-related knowledge to accomplish its mission.

"With the job that these kids have to do and the things they have to learn in that short period, they do exceptionally well," Gonzalez explained.

The 28th OWS has three flights; A, B, and C, which work in shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, Ledonne said. Since the troops down range don't stop, neither does the OWS.

Shaw is one of five Air Force and Joint bases that host weather forecast Airmen after technical training school. Here, they review what they learned before training to forecast weather in the AOR. After completing their on-the-job training, Airmen move to the Operations floor to begin AOR weather forecasting, a job not described as easy.

"It's a little more high-stress when you first get here because the missions are all real, Ledonne said. "Lives are at stake."

"If you put out a bad forecast," he continued. "It's not just going to get cancelled. People could die, it's real."

"Someone has to do the weather for the AOR," Gonzalez said. "It's just part of this job."

The OWS tends to this stress by having a high degree of camaraderie, Gonzalez said.

The squadron has a break room for the Airmen's down time, a kitchen for preparing snacks or a late night meal. It also features two grills outside, along with a covered patio allowing Airmen to get outdoors.

"We have a good relationship with our Airmen. We get to know them on a personal level, rather than just letting them do their own thing and before you know it someone is having a hard time," Gonzalez said.

Weather squadron Airmen participate in resiliency and teambuilding activities that include their squadron and individual flights.

Since the AOR always needs updates on weather patterns and predictions on the coming fronts, trust between the 28th OWS and the troops down range is a necessity. Particularly because the Airmen are forecasting from an office in South Carolina, Ledonne said.

"When you deploy down range you're going to be at that base, you're going to be talking with us [back at Shaw], which at some points can be difficult," Gonzalez said. "We write a forecast and they have to brief that to their pilots saying, 'this is what's going to happen here', and they have to stick by that. So we work hand in hand with the people down range."

"There isn't a lot of time to get spun up," Gonzalez said. "When they get to the ops floor, they have to hit the ground running. We depend on them; the war fighter depends on them." OWS's first-term Airmen don't stop running.