Photo By Staff Sgt. Christopher Sparks | Staff Sgt. Aaron Armstrong, 352d Special Operations Support Squadron weather...... read more read more
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AALBORG AIR BASE, Denmark - - In order for these Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization’s nations to execute the combined training with assets and forces from the 352d Special Operations Wing, an emphasis of aircrew safety remains paramount. Without consistent, accurate and detailed knowledge of the daily forecasts, aircrew would potentially be flying into dangerous situations. To ensure aircrew safety and mission success, the 352d Special Operations Support Squadron provides detailed and prompt weather information in support of the Joint Special Operations Air Component- Europe and Combined Special Operations Air Task Group during this Baltic readiness exercise.
For Staff Sgt. Aaron Armstrong, 352 SOSS weather craftsman, the idiom, “One-man band,” is the perfect description of his capabilities and responsibilities as the sole weather Airman in any environment, regardless of the contingency situation or deployed operation.
“It’s pretty intense,” Armstrong said. “My job is to ensure our assets are safe from hazardous weather. During this exercise, I also have to make sure our allies’ aircrew and aircraft are flying in safe weather.”
Armstrong is currently deployed as the sole weather Airman, providing daily support to forces from Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium during a combined readiness exercise in the Baltic region to strengthen interoperability and enhance Agile Combat Employment capabilities.
However, Armstrong’s responsibilities do not end after providing forecasts for the day or week, he is also responsible for monitoring the weather during mission flights.
“I’m responsible for tracking and monitoring the weather during every training mission, and establishing communications with aircrew to provide updates on weather as needed to ensure they aren’t blindsided with a change,” Armstrong said.
One of Armstrong’s most important responsibilities is providing a daily briefing to NATO representatives from the C-SOATG and JSOAC-E for mission planning, daily flying operations and contingency, solidifying his, “One-man band,” status.
“I was nervous, but I'm confident in my abilities,” Armstrong said. “My job is to make sure our aircraft and our partners' aircraft safely make it in the air.”
The importance of his careerfield is not lost on Armstrong, he understands the value of the work he does for the USAF.
“We want to make sure we don’t damage air and ground assets,” Armstrong said. “More importantly, we want to make sure our Airmen and our partner nation’s troops can complete the mission and return home safely.”
Armstrong said he hopes to bring the experience and knowledge he’s gained from this exercise to help him in the future and provide the opportunity to teach his fellow Airmen.
“If a real-world scenario were to happen, I’ll be prepared to handle it,” Armstrong said. “I’ll also be able to bring back my experience to my flight, so I can teach them these new skills.”
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.06.2020 04:08 |
| Story ID: | 382473 |
| Location: | AALBORG, DK |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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multinational exercise
Combined Support Training
joint-service exercise
