Air Force staff weather officers provide Army aviators updated forecasts during Hanuman Guardian 2018

Photo By Staff Sgt. Kyle Warner | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tayler Williams and Staff Sgt. Joseph Witschy, weather specialists from Detachment 3, 1st Weather Squadron assigned as staff weather officers to the U.S. Army’s 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, advise a 16th CAB pilot on weather conditions prior to a training flight during Hanuman Guardian 2018 at the Royal Thai Army’s Cavalry Center in the Saraburi province. Staff weather officers have five minutes to provide medical evacuation flight crews with an updated weather forecast for their specific mission prior to takeoff. Hanuman Guardian is a bilateral exercise that demonstrates the U.S. and Kingdom of Thailand’s commitment to its alliance while also strengthening the capability of both forces.  

FORT ADISORN, THAILAND

08.23.2018

Story by Capt. Robert Taylor 

Joint Force Headquarters - Idaho National Guard

Staff Sgt. Joseph Witschy is easy to spot among the approximately 150 U.S. Army and Army National Guard Soldiers participating in Hanuman Guardian 2018 Aug. 20 – 30. He’s one of only two United States Air Force Airmen at the Royal Thai Army’s Cavalry Center in Thailand’s Saraburi province.

The weather specialist has spent the past four years providing Army forces weather forecasts tailored to specific missions. He volunteered for the chance to serve with the Army because he wanted to get away from the office and experience a higher operational tempo.

“The office gets boring,” Witschy said. “I have the opportunity to get out of it and still do my job, but in a much different environment with less creature comforts.”

Witschy is assigned to Detachment 3, 1st Weather Squadron at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. For the past seven weeks he has been attached to the U.S. Army’s 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. The unit supported Keris Strike 2018 in Malaysia July 23 – Aug 3. before traveling to Thailand to support Hanuman Guardian, the third and fourth exercises, respecfively, in the United States Army Pacific’s Pacific Pathways 18-2 series.

ARMY LIFE
Witschy said life in the Army was a culture shock at first but that he quickly got used to it.

“You have no choice but to get used it it,” he said. “You have to learn how the Army operates and who to ask the right questions to to get things done.”

Witschy said he felt like an outcast at first as one of only two or three Airmen on Army missions but doing the same thing Soldiers in his unit are doing and not getting any special treatment helped him fit in. He’s completed 30-day field training exercises living in a tent without showers and eating only Meals-Ready-to-Eats.

He also spent most of 2017 deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, with the 16th CAB.

GETTING IT RIGHT
As a staff weather officer, Witschy and his team provide the exercise director with updated weather forecasts. He provides five-day forecasts for planning purposes and keeps aircrews updated by the hour.

His team monitors radar systems, satellites and its tactical metrological observation system. Whereas national weather forecasters predict weather in general areas, staff weather officers can provide Army ground and air forces with weather predictions in their specific areas of operations.

“They provide me with accurate weather reports that will allow me complete the mission or presents obstacles that the ground forces will have to take into consideration based upon the weather forecast,” said Lt. Col. Chris Clyde, commander, 2-158th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 16th CAB.

Staff weather officers brief commanders and staff officers during commander update briefs. Witschy said briefing senior officers was intimidating at first and that it got easier the more he did it.

In Afghanistan he was able to advise commanders on combat missions. He said he could see the affect his briefings had on mission planning. In addition, he was also one of the last stops for pilots before executing air medical evacuations. His team had just five minutes to provide the crew with an updated weather report before the crew could leave the ground.

“I like science a lot,” he said. “I like being able to look at a bunch of data and seeing what’s happening a couple of days out and then when the weather happens as you forecasted it, it feels really good to get it right.”

HANUMAN GUARDIAN 2018
In Thailand, the biggest threat to air and ground missions are thunderstorms. Advanced notice of them allows air crews to complete their mission and get off the flight line before hazards associated with thunderstorms affect operations.

HG 18 is a bilateral army-to-army exercise that strengthens capability and builds interoperability between U.S. and Royal Thai Army forces. Soldiers from both countries are training together to complete a battalion staff exercise; conduct infantry operations; and improve their skills in counter-improvised explosive devices operations, battlefield medical treatment and aviation capabilities.

Idaho Army National Guard Soldiers are staffing the Exercise Command Group for the exercise’s seventh iteration. Soldiers from the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team from the Idaho Army National Guard and the Montana Army National Guard are participating in the majority of the bilateral training events.

In addition to the 16th Cavalry Aviation Brigade, elements of the 19th Special Forces Group, the 10th Field Hospital, I Corps and U.S. Army Pacific Command are supporting the training rotation. The Washington Army National Guard’s Special Operations Detachment – Pacific is also participating in the exercise.

• Date Taken: 08.23.2018
• Date Posted: 08.23.2018 22:38
• Story ID: 290089
• Location: FORT ADISORN, TH