Country United States Type Squadron | Role Weather Surveillance | |
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Active 1 December 1997—present Part of United States Air Force/557th Weather Wing | ||
The 21st Operational Weather Squadron provides weather support for all US Air Force and Army in the European and Africa Commands and is based at Kapaun Air Station, Germany.
Contents
Mission
The 21st Operational Weather Squadron provides highly accurate, timely and relevant environmental situational awareness to Air Force, Navy, and Army Commanders operating in US European Command in partnership with NATO. The 21st OWS is responsible for producing and disseminating mission planning and execution weather analyses, terminal aerodrome forecasts, and briefings for Air Force, Army, SHAPE, EUCOM, AFRICOM, USAFE, USAREUR, SOCEUR, and NAVEUR forces operating at 491 DoD installations/sites encompassing 92 countries and 23M square miles within the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Russia, Africa and the Middle East.
This weather squadron is responsible for base or post forecasting, developing weather products, briefing transient aircrews, and weather warnings for all of their geographical units. Using automatic observing systems located at all military installations and communicating with their combat weather flights, the squadron is able to 'watch' the weather in their entire area of responsibility from one central location.
The Operational Weather Squadron is the first place a newly schooled weather apprentice will report. At the squadron, working alongside a seasoned weather professional, the forecaster is trained in all aspects of Air Force meteorology, from pilot briefing to tactical forecasting.
The weather squadron works closely with the combat weather flights they support to ensure a flawless exchange of weather information.
Lineage
Activations and inactivations of the 21st Operational Weather Squadron
Constituted as the USAFE Theater Weather Support Squadron Activated on 1 Dec 1997 Redesignated USAFE Operational Weather Squadron on 17 Feb 1999
Duty Assignments
List of duty assignments and parent units from 1997 to present.
Sembach Kaserne, Germany, Headquarters USAFE, 1 December 1997 - 23 April 2012
Kapaun Air Station, Germany, 23 April 2012 - Present
Emblem
Approved on 20 August 1998.
Awards
Fawbush-Miller Award 1999 and 2004
USAF OWS of the Year 2005 and 2008