| 21st Operational Weather Squadron | |
|---|---|
 21st Operational Weather Squadron Patch | |
| Active | 1 December 1997—present [1] |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | 557th Weather Wing |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Weather Surveillance |
| Part of | United States Air Force/557th Weather Wing |
| Garrison/HQ | Kapaun Air Station |
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.
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.
Reliable,resilient, and forward-thinking joint warriors enabling military operations while converging with information warfare capabilities.
Reliable We will actively generate predictive weather and environmental analyses in support of the air, land, and maritime component commander in the planning and employment of Information Warfare capabilities.
Resilient We will foster a healthy and inclusive culture which starts with our front-line leaders setting the example and understanding the challenges the Airmen on their team face.
Forward-thinking We will seek opportunities to capitalize on our Airmen while modernizing and evolving our processes and training program to maintain our advantage.
21st Operational Weather Squadron's manning consists of active duty, civilian and contract personnel and is located on Kapaun Air Station, Germany, as an Air Combat Command tenant unit of Ramstein Air Base, Germany (USAFE).
Activations and inactivations of the 21st Operational Weather Squadron:
List of duty assignments and parent units from 1997 to present.
The unit insignia was approved on 20 August 1998.
Blue and yellow are the Air Force colors. Blue alludes to the sky, the primary theater of Air Force operations. The knight represents the unit's readiness and its dedication to support the warfighter and its role as a "keeper of peace". He leaps over a weather vane symbolizing a commander's ability to overcome adverse weather conditions due to accurate weather information provided by the squadron. The horse signifies the unit's key mission of carrying tailored intelligence information to operational customers and the ability to complete the Air Force mission. The lance carried by the knight denotes the squadron as the "tip" of weather forecasting services reaching into the theater to make a difference; the shield connotes the ability to safeguard those who may be in harm's way. The wind anemometer within the shield is a standard trademark for Air Force weather personnel and a key tool for the craft. The developing thunderstorm in the background symbolizes the weather hazards that may impede combat operations.
The unit has received the following awards:
The 527th Space Aggressor Squadron is a United States Space Force unit assigned to the Space Training and Readiness Command. The unit traces its lineage to the 312th Bombardment Squadron (Light) constituted in 1942. It presents realistic adversary threats to US and allied military forces to improve their training for space-associated operations. It is stationed at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. Its present form dates from its activation as part of the United States Air Force in 2000. That year it was activated as part of the Space Warfare Centre, but it was then transferred to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group in 2006. The mission was augmented with the activation of a United States Air Force Reserve associate unit, the 26th Space Aggressor Squadron, on 1 October 2003. With the formation of the Space Force in 2019, the squadron was part of the second wave of transfers and reorganizations which took place in mid-2020. It was realigned under Space Delta 11 upon that organizations activation in 2021.
The 501st Combat Support Wing is an administrative support wing of the United States Air Force, based at RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom. It is one of three wings located in the United Kingdom as components of the Third Air Force and United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE).
The 607th Combat Weather Squadron of the U.S. Air Force has overall responsibility for planning, providing, and/or arranging weather support for the United States Army during armistice conditions in Korea. 607 CWS and elements of the US Navy and US Marines support the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Weather Wing, Combined Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) Officer (CMO) and subordinate squadrons during exercises and contingencies. The 607 CWS commander is also the Joint METOC Officer (JMO) and the senior US METOC officer (SMO) for the Korean Theater of Operations (KTO).
The 20th Space Surveillance Squadron is a Space Delta 2 unit located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida with the mission to execute multiplatform, tactical space warfighting domain characterization, recognition, and responsiveness to achieve 21st Space Wing and United States Space Command intent. The unit, formerly designated the 20th Space Control Squadron, was renamed on 25 March 2022.
The United States Space Force's 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron is an offensive space electromagnetic warfare unit formerly located at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, stood up operations 1 July 2014 at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.
The 104th Fighter Wing is a unit of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, stationed at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, Westfield, Massachusetts. When activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command.
The 403rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command. It is located at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi and employs a military manning authorization of more than 1,400 reservists, including some 250 full-time air reserve technicians. The 403rd Wing is a subordinate unit of the 22nd Air Force at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
The 1st Weather Group is a group of the United States Air Force. It oversees all six operational weather squadrons; the 15th OWS at Scott AFB, Ill.; the 17th OWS at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii; the 21st OWS at Kapaun Air Station, Germany; the 25th OWS at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.; the 26th OWS at Barksdale AFB, La.; and the 28th OWS at Shaw AFB, SC. The 1st WXG is a subordinate of the 557th Weather Wing.
The 25th Operational Weather Squadron, based out of Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, is the Squadron responsible for the Western United States; the current states in the Area of Responsibility (AoR) are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
The 26th Operational Weather Squadron, based out of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, is the United States Air Force meteorological squadron responsible for the Southeastern United States. The current states in the Area of Responsibility (AOR) include Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas.
The 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron is an active United States Space Force unit, stationed at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado as part of the Space Delta 3. The squadron protects critical satellite communication links to detect, characterize, geolocate and report sources of electromagnetic interference on US military and commercial satellites. The squadron also provides combat-ready crews to deploy and employ defensive space electromagnetic warfare capabilities for theater combatant commanders. The squadron is Air Force Space Command's first defensive counterspace unit.
The United States Air Force's 114th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron (EWS) is a Florida Air National Guard unit located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. It is operationally gained by the United States Space Force.
The 1st Space Operations Squadron is a United States Space Force unit responsible for space-based space domain awareness. Located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, the squadron operates the Space Based Space Surveillance system, the Advanced Technology Risk Reduction system, the Operationally Responsive Space-5 satellite, and the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program.
The 11th Space Warning Squadron is a United States Space Force missile warning squadron, located at Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado.
The 363d Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing is a United States Air Force unit. The wing is assigned to the United States Air Force Sixteenth Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
The 2d Systems Operations Squadron, stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, delivers global environmental intelligence products and services for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests through the 24 × 7 operation, sustainment and maintenance of Air Force Weather's strategic center computer complex, production network, and applications.
The 17th Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Space Force test and evaluation unit, located at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The squadron is tasked with testing and evaluating space systems and associated support equipment.
The 30th Operations Group was a group of the United States Space Force. It was assigned to the 30th Space Wing, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It was responsible for all space launch operations from the West Coast of the United States, including all polar launches. It operated the Western Range, which conducts launches for the Space Force, other parts of the Department of Defense, NASA, and private space corporations. In 2021 the 30th Operations Group and the 30th Mission Support Group were inactivated and squadrons assigned to Space Launch Delta 30.
Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army post in Donnersbergkreis, Germany, near Kaiserslautern. It is approximately 19 miles (31 km) east of Ramstein Air Base. From 1995 to 2012 the installation was a United States Air Force installation known as Sembach Air Base, until it was transferred to the United States Army. Prior to 1995 it was known as Sembach Air Auxiliary Field.
The 7th Combat Weather Squadron, based out of Wiesbaden, Germany, is a United States Air Force squadron providing weather intelligence to United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) forces across the United States European Command (USEUCOM) and United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) domains. It's twin squadron, the 7th Expeditionary Combat Weather Squadron, was inactivated in 2021 and replaced by the 13th Expeditionary Combat Weather Squadron.
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