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Columbus (OH) Dispatch
September 15, 2008
Pg. 1B
Weather Flight unit advises top officials
By Jeb Phillips, The Columbus Dispatch
The 164th Weather Flight members observe. They interpret maps. They try to measure how high those clouds are and to anticipate when the sandstorms are coming.
This past weekend, during training in Chillicothe, they were figuring out new radios and practicing land navigation using a Global Positioning System.
The 164th Weather Flight members do not, for the most part, fire weapons or dynamite bridges or parachute into the front lines. They don't actually fly very often -- "flight" refers to a size of Air Force unit smaller than a squadron.
But all of their observing and forecasting make those more-recognizable military operations possible. The 164th Weather Flight, based at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, is one of those seemingly invisible units that allow the military to work.
"Weather is the only dynamic force in the battlefield that affects all personnel and all equipment," said Senior Master Sgt. Darryl Walters, the 164th's superintendent and only full-time member. The other 10 are traditional Ohio Air National Guard members who train one weekend per month and two weeks per year.
Those members will tell you that when the weather forecasters advised Gen. Dwight Eisenhower that conditions were going to be rough on June 5, 1944, he moved D-Day to June 6. A driving snowstorm allowed George Washington to cross the Delaware River and surprise the Hessians on Dec. 26, 1776.
Less well known is that when an aircraft sortie has been canceled or delayed in Afghanistan or Iraq, a weather flight's information likely was behind it, Master Sgt. Shawn Buhrts said.
The 164th rarely deploys as a group; the Army or Air Force calls for one or two members when they are needed. Tech. Sgt. John Hobbs was attached to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Al Asad, Iraq, in 2003, not long after the war began.
Every morning, he helped brief the pilots on visibility and other conditions. He took readings every hour.
Forecasting weather in Iraq wasn't like forecasting in the U.S., where almost every airport has good observation equipment, he said. In Iraq, he had to rely on satellites and his judgment. He learned, for example, that soil in the southern part of the country was so fine that light breezes kicked it up, hurting visibility.
"It was a very demanding job," he said, although improved equipment and experience have made forecasting in Iraq easier now.
At home, the 164th has access to decades of weather information and knowledge of the terrain.
"I could give Jym Ganahl a run for his money," Buhrts said, referring to the WCMH-TV (Channel 4) weatherman.
The biggest concern for most members is the constantly changing technology, Maj. Scott Lutz said. The monthly and annual training is crucial to keep up.
On Sept. 2, the Ohio National Guard broke ground at Rickenbacker on a $5.9 million building to house the 164th and Air National Guard security forces. That's an acknow ledgment, in part, of how important the 164th is, Guard officials said at the groundbreaking.
"The first thing you do in a mission briefing is ask, 'What is the weather?' " said Senior Airman Sean Hartman, one of the 164th's newest members. "Everything depends on that."
September 15, 2008
Pg. 1B
Weather Flight unit advises top officials
By Jeb Phillips, The Columbus Dispatch
The 164th Weather Flight members observe. They interpret maps. They try to measure how high those clouds are and to anticipate when the sandstorms are coming.
This past weekend, during training in Chillicothe, they were figuring out new radios and practicing land navigation using a Global Positioning System.
The 164th Weather Flight members do not, for the most part, fire weapons or dynamite bridges or parachute into the front lines. They don't actually fly very often -- "flight" refers to a size of Air Force unit smaller than a squadron.
But all of their observing and forecasting make those more-recognizable military operations possible. The 164th Weather Flight, based at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, is one of those seemingly invisible units that allow the military to work.
"Weather is the only dynamic force in the battlefield that affects all personnel and all equipment," said Senior Master Sgt. Darryl Walters, the 164th's superintendent and only full-time member. The other 10 are traditional Ohio Air National Guard members who train one weekend per month and two weeks per year.
Those members will tell you that when the weather forecasters advised Gen. Dwight Eisenhower that conditions were going to be rough on June 5, 1944, he moved D-Day to June 6. A driving snowstorm allowed George Washington to cross the Delaware River and surprise the Hessians on Dec. 26, 1776.
Less well known is that when an aircraft sortie has been canceled or delayed in Afghanistan or Iraq, a weather flight's information likely was behind it, Master Sgt. Shawn Buhrts said.
The 164th rarely deploys as a group; the Army or Air Force calls for one or two members when they are needed. Tech. Sgt. John Hobbs was attached to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Al Asad, Iraq, in 2003, not long after the war began.
Every morning, he helped brief the pilots on visibility and other conditions. He took readings every hour.
Forecasting weather in Iraq wasn't like forecasting in the U.S., where almost every airport has good observation equipment, he said. In Iraq, he had to rely on satellites and his judgment. He learned, for example, that soil in the southern part of the country was so fine that light breezes kicked it up, hurting visibility.
"It was a very demanding job," he said, although improved equipment and experience have made forecasting in Iraq easier now.
At home, the 164th has access to decades of weather information and knowledge of the terrain.
"I could give Jym Ganahl a run for his money," Buhrts said, referring to the WCMH-TV (Channel 4) weatherman.
The biggest concern for most members is the constantly changing technology, Maj. Scott Lutz said. The monthly and annual training is crucial to keep up.
On Sept. 2, the Ohio National Guard broke ground at Rickenbacker on a $5.9 million building to house the 164th and Air National Guard security forces. That's an acknow ledgment, in part, of how important the 164th is, Guard officials said at the groundbreaking.
"The first thing you do in a mission briefing is ask, 'What is the weather?' " said Senior Airman Sean Hartman, one of the 164th's newest members. "Everything depends on that."