AFSOC familiarization, recruiting seminar focuses on weather

  • Published
  • By Capt. Denise Boyd
  • Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFPN) --  Air Force Special Operations Command weather directorate officials held their first special operations and airborne weather familiarization and recruiting seminar here March 3 to 5.

Combat weather recruiting efforts have not produced enough volunteers to fill enlisted vacancies, said Lt. Col. Michael Davenport, chief of the command’s operational weather division.

“Special operations weather team manning has been critically low for many years, so we’re doing all we can to identify and recruit the right kind of Airmen to fill our shortages. We require skilled weather technicians who can also become highly proficient in Battlefield Airman ‘shoot, move, communicate’ tactical skills,” he said.

Enlisted manning in the weather teams and Army airborne weather support is less than 70 percent, and it has been hovering around this level for years, officials said.

During the seminar, visiting Airmen were given the opportunity to interact with special operations weather forecasters from the 10th Combat Weather Squadron who participated in combat operations during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. They also received familiarization training in special operations infiltration techniques, airborne operations and land navigation.

Airman 1st Class Jackie Miller, a weather forecaster at the 28th Operational Weather Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., was the only female to attend the seminar. Women may only be assigned to Air Combat Command airborne combat weather teams.

“This recruiting trip was a great motivator,” she said. “You only get so much about airborne combat weather from reading books and stories. After hearing (the Airmen’s) experiences and seeing what they do, I can see how much they enjoy their jobs, and it makes the specialty a lot more real to me.”

It was the challenge and adventure of the job that prompted Airman 1st Class Trevor Killip’s interest in special operations weather, said the weather forecaster from the 15th OWS at Scott AFB, Ill.

“It appears to be a much faster-paced career than my current assignment, and I really enjoy the camaraderie I’ve experienced while visiting Hurlburt,” he said. “The combat weather job satisfaction has got to be unbelievable.”

“We designed the orientation program to show Airmen the reality of (the weather teams) and jump weather,” Colonel Davenport said. “We hope that by giving attendees ‘hands-on’ interaction ... they would gain a realistic understanding of the AFSOC and Army airborne missions. (We hope) they (will) return to their home units better able to prepare for the training challenges ahead of them, and that they (will) become our best salesmen among their peers after they return to their home station.”

Officials said they plan to hold recruiting seminars at least twice a year. People interested in combat weather must attain their five-level upgrade training before being assigned to a combat weather unit. To apply, contact Chief Master Sgt. Mark Campbell at DSN 579-2145. (Courtesy of AFSOC News Service)