Weather forecasters helping coalition forces

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Gates
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  No matter what the season, weather changes quickly in the Afghanistan mountains. Within 30 minutes, sky can go from clear blue to dark and stormy, or the wind can pick up drastically, whipping up dust and reducing visibility to nearly zero.

With air and ground forces conducting operations around the clock, many organizations need to know what the weather is, or what it will be in the future. A team of Airmen here makes sure those organizations get accurate information.

“We provide support to all the coalition forces here at Bagram or at any other location in Afghanistan, including the forward-operating bases,” said Maj. Ann Gravier, lead weather officer for 12 forecasters here.

“We support on-going operations, protect resources and help with planning,” she said. “For instance, if a commander knows he will be operating in a certain area in five days, he’ll get with us to find out what the projected weather is for the area. That way, he can determine how weather can impact his operation.”

Accurately predicting the weather is extremely important.

“Commanders will make a decision whether a particular mission will go or not,” said Staff Sgt. Sherdean Brisendine, 455th Expeditionary Operations Group forecaster. “If the crosswinds are too high or the visibility is too low, the weather can cancel a mission.”

Since wind speeds can go from about 12 mph to about 40 mph in about 30 minutes, said Sergeant Brisendine, “we also report rapidly changing conditions and warn of thunderstorms and high winds.”

Without many of the traditional tools, the forecasters here have to go back to basic observing skills to determine what the weather may be.

“You have to go outside and look – find out ‘what does it look like out there?’” Sergeant Brisendine said.

Finding out what it “looks like out there,” gives the weather forecasters more information to be able to improve future predictions.

“We have to collect as much as data as we can,” Major Gravier said. “It’s important to be able to observe the weather around the clock. We really rely on forecasting skills and knowledge here.”

That knowledge is also useful during the weather briefings. Most of the forecasters here have had experience in the units they provide assistance for. For example, Sergeant Brisendine comes from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, home of the A-10 Thunderbolt II unit currently stationed here. On the other hand, Staff Sgt. Alison Long is an Air Force forecaster from Wheeler Army Air Field in Hawaii. She provides weather forecasting for Army ground forces deployed here from Hawaii.

An Air Force forecaster working with the Army is not unusual. The Air Force regularly provides weather support to Army units.

“It’s helpful that I have worked and trained with these people long before I got here,” Sergeant Long said. “I know their specific sensitivities, and know what they will need to know about weather. Many of the weather briefings I do are for helicopter pilots. They need to know different information from the fixed-wing pilots.”

There are significant differences between briefing pilots of fixed-wing aircraft like the A-10, and those piloting helicopters like the CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache. Helicopters travel at much lower altitudes than fixed-wing aircraft, said Sergeant Long, and since the weather can be more turbulent closer to the ground, it can be more challenging.

“This is a part of the joint environment,” Major Gravier said. “We do provide some assistance to the Marines and the Navy here, since they didn’t bring enough aircraft to justify bringing a dedicated forecaster. We don’t turn anyone down.

“The people who are regularly embedded with Army units are able to provide weather information important to that unit’s mission,” she said. “They will know how particular weather will impact the unit and the unit’s equipment. It really pays off for both the weather forecasters and the unit. We are able to bring people into a deployment environment who are familiar with the weapons system.”

With enough weather information, American Soldiers and Airman can use it to directly impact an operation, said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Blanch. noncommissioned officer in charge of weather operations.

“We learn what kind of weather the pilots can fly in,” Sergeant Brisendine said. “What crosswinds they can take and what weather they need for the weapons they fly with.”

The weather is vital to the success of Operation Enduring Freedom, now moving into a phase where forces are supporting preparations for Afghan elections. The forecasters are well aware of their impact.

“I’m very proud to be here in this crucial time,” Sergeant Brisendine said. “It’s great to be here to give men and women, especially women, some of the equal opportunities that I have stateside.

Sergeant Blanch agrees.

“I am awestruck by the fact that I am contributing to the pages of a future history book, a book that will describe how a coalition of many countries provided the means for a democratic process to become possible,” he said.