The wing and subordinate weather squadrons collect, analyze, and generate a comprehensive weather database of forecast, climatological, and space weather products.
The 557th Weather Wing is organized into a headquarters element consisting of staff agencies, two groups, three directorates, and five solar observatories.
The 2nd Weather Group, with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, delivers terrestrial, space and climatological global weather information to Joint combatants, Department of Defense (DoD) decision-makers, national agencies, and allied nations for the planning and execution of missions across the complete spectrum of military operations through the operation, sustainment and maintenance of Air Force Weather's US$277 million strategic center computer complex, production network, and applications. The group is composed of the 2nd Weather Squadron, 2nd Systems Operations Squadron, the 2nd Weather Support Squadron, the 16th Weather Squadron, the 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and the 14th Weather Squadron in Asheville, North Carolina. It also includes four solar observatories staffed by detachments of the 2nd Weather Squadron: Det. 1, Learmonth, Australia; Det. 2, Sagamore Hill, Massachusetts; Det. 4, Holloman AFB, New Mexico; and Det. 5, Palehua, Hawaii.
The Operations, Training and Evaluation Directorate (A3) delivers technical training for the career field, oversees the development of career field training plans and computer-based tutorials on new equipment, is constructing the first formal AFWWS Technical Training Program, and coordinates standardization and evaluation visits of wing units.
The Communications Directorate (A6) provides overall direction for the development of doctrine, policies and procedures, as well as professional, technical, and managerial expertise, for communication and information systems, information assurance, and information management for wing. They also provide communication and information policy, guidance, management, operations, software development, and maintenance of communications and computer systems and services to satisfy the centralized weather support requirements of the DoD and other government agencies. Directs the planning, programming, budgeting, acquisition, and life cycle management for all standard weather systems and computer processing equipment.
The Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs Directorate (A5/A8) directs the planning, programming, budgeting, acquisition, and life cycle management for all standard weather systems and computer processing equipment. Equipping the weather force is mainly a function of the A8 directorate. They coordinate capabilities development conducted by three separate production centers and integrate them into a single Air Force Weather Weapon System.
The Lt. Gen. Thomas Samuel Moorman Building, valued at US$26.7 million, is the headquarters for the 557th Wing, with 188,000sqft (17,500m2). The three-story building, designed to support 1,100 people, and was scheduled to become fully operational by 2011 as the staff moved in increments.
Component units
New AFWA building
Unless otherwise indicated, units are based at Offut AFB, Nebraska, and subordinate units are at the same location as their commanding group.[6][7]
The 557th Weather Wing can trace its heritage to the organization of the Meteorological Service of the United States Army Signal Corps, which was established during World War I. By 1937, the Army was supplementing the weather services of the United States Weather Bureau by operating thirty weather stations of its own in the United States and six more overseas. Because most of the Army stations were operated for the benefit of the Air Corps, on 1 July 1937, the Secretary of War transferred responsibility for Army weather services to the Office of the Chief of the Air Corps.[4] This responsibility was given to the Weather Section, Office Chief of Air Corps, which was replaced by the Weather Section, Training & Operations Div, Air Corps on 20 June 41; the Director of Weather, Directorate of Technical Services, Operations Staff, Army Air Forces on 9 Mar 42; the Weather Unit, Assistant Chief Air Staff, Operations Commitments & Requirements (renamed the Weather Division, Assistant Chief Air Staff, Operations Commitments & Requirements on 9 March 1942.
On 24 July 1942, supervision of Army weather activities within the United States was centralized in the Army Air Forces Weather Service,[lower-alpha 3] headed by the Director of Weather on the Air Staff. However, in 1943 the AAF reorganized to move as many operations out of Washington, D.C., as possible, and responsibility for the AAF Weather Service was transferred to Flight Control Command, which organized and activated the Weather Wing, Flight Control Command to manage this responsibility. This wing is the direct organizational ancestor of the 557th Weather Wing. By 3 May 1943, Flight Control Command had moved the headquarters of the Weather Wing to Asheville, North Carolina. Although responsibility for the AAF Weather Service was returned to the Air Staff in July, the wing remained in North Carolina. Although the AAF Weather Wing commanded weather activities in the United States, it had no authority over those in overseas theaters of operations. It influenced those units, however, by establishing procedures and standards for them to follow and by defining weather equipment requirements for the Signal Corps and operationally testing the equipment.[3][9]
In July 1945, after the defeat of Germany, but while the war with Japan was still in progress, the AAF Weather Service and the AAF Weather Wing were combined and the wing was redesignated AAF Weather Service. This reorganization followed the successful examples of Air Transport Command (ATC) and Army Airways Communications System, concentrating responsibility in a single service with operational control of units providing the service. Action transferred overseas weather units to the command of the new service.[10] On 7 January 1946, the service moved to Langley Field, Virginia.[3]
In early 1946, the AAF determined to place its technical services under the command of ATC. On 13 March 1946, AAF Weather Service was redesignated Air Weather Service and along with Air Communications Service, Air Rescue Service. and Air Pictorial Service, assigned to ATC Soon afterwards it moved to Gravelly Point, Virginia, where it was collocated with ATC headquarters.[3]
During the war, the AAF had developed weather reconnaissance units for scouting and route weather observation and reporting, but these units remained under the command of theater commanders or ATC.[11] Once Air Weather Service became part of ATC, the time was ripe to place a weather reconnaissance unit under its command. In July 1946, it established the Air Weather Group (Provisional) at Morrison Field, Florida. In October, this group was taken out of provisional status and became the 308th Reconnaissance Group, Weather.
Expansion worldwide
With the formation of the United States Air Force in 1947, Air Weather Service assumed the responsibility of worldwide weather reporting and forecasting for both the Air Force and the Army. In 1948, Air Weather Service moved to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and was assigned to the newly activated Military Air Transport Service, which was later redesignated Military Airlift Command. Air Weather Service moved to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in 1958, where it remained for nearly four decades.
Transfer of weather functions to the operational commands
Air Force Weather, organized as the Air Weather Service from 1947 to 1993, continued to provide environmental awareness for both the Air Force and the Army. By 1991, Air Weather Service had divested itself of its major field structure and the bulk of Air Force Weather was realigned under the direct administration of the supported commands.
Air Force Weather Agency and its predecessors have been essentially instrumental in protecting life and property at home as well. Since World War II, Air Force weather personnel have provided hurricane reconnaissance. In 1948, two Air Force weather officers issued the first tornado warning. Air Force Weather participated in the nation's development's severe storm forecasting centers.
With its early adoption of emerging computing and communications technologies, Air Force Weather was at the fore of the Space Age. In the 1960s, Air Force Weather began assimilating weather data collected from meteorological satellites. Air Force Weather, as the single agent for all the DoD, began solar observations and forecasting.
Air Force Weather endorsed the Information Revolution early in the 1980s with tools that provided state-of-the art computing at the lowest echelons to gather, process, and disseminate weather data. In concert with Air Force communicators, Air Force Weather constructed communications networks that enabled weather information to be disseminated around the world in moments. Today, the Air Force Weather Agency, through its Weather Product Management and Distribution System at Offutt AFB, employs the internet to rapidly disseminate weather data around the globe.
Working with the other national agencies, Air Force Weather has been instrumental in the development of modern meteorological technologies, such as the deployment of NEXRAD, the Next Generation Radar, in the 1990s. Air Force Weather continues to refine and develop forecasting models relevant for modern military operations.
In April 1991, the Office of the Director of Weather was created on the Air Staff to provide policy and guidance for Air Force Weather.
The Air Force designated Air Weather Service a field operating agency and reassigned it to Headquarters United States Air Force in 1993. On 15 Oct. 1997, Air Weather Service was redesignated the Air Force Weather Agency and moved to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
On 27 March 2015, the Air Force Weather Agency was redesignated as the 557th Weather Wing and was aligned under the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, Twelfth Air Force.
On 29 October 2019, the 557th Weather Wing was transferred to the USAF Air Combat Command's Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber).
Lineage
Constituted as the Weather Wing, Flight Control Command on 14 April 1943 and activated
Redesignated Army Air Forces Weather Wing on 6 July 1943
Redesignated Army Air Forces Weather Service on 1 July 1945
Redesignated Air Weather Service on 13 March 1946
Redesignated Air Force Weather Agency on 15 October 1997
Air Force Space Forecast Center, 16 October 1991 – 1 October 1994
USAF Environmental Technological Applications Center (later Air Force Combat Climatology Center, Air Force Combat Climatology Squadron), 1 July 1991 – 19 October 2007
Air Force Global Weather Central (later Air Force Global Weather Center), 8 July 1969 – 1 July 1972
Combat Weather Facility (later Air Force Combat Weather Center), 19 January 1995 – 1 April 2009
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing of the Air Combat Command (ACC), the latter serving as the host unit.
Twenty-Second Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.
The 55th Operations Group is a component of the 55th Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska.
The Army Air Forces Tactical Center was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field conditions around which new combat groups would be formed. It was established as the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) in 1942 and redesignated the following year.
The 67th Cyberspace Operations Group is a unit of the 67th Cyberspace Wing. Headquartered on Kelly Field Annex's Security Hill, the group is an Air Force information operations unit.
The 20th Intelligence Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 363d Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It has served at Offutt since June 1992, when it was activated as the 20th Air Intelligence Squadron.
The 58th Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force squadron. Its last was assigned to the 9th Weather Reconnaissance Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, where it was inactivated in 1974.
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 11th Operational Weather Squadron (11OWS) was an operational weather squadron of the United States Air Force. The squadron was based out of Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and was responsible for forecasting Alaska's weather and analyzing its climate.
The 127th Operations Group is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard. It is stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and is one of two flying groups assigned to the 127th Wing. The group operates Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft.
The 343d Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force unit part of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It operates the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft conducting reconnaissance missions.
The 311th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, where it was inactivated on 1 November 1949. The division was first activated in 1944 as the 311th Photographic Wing. Although it was stationed in the United States, throughout its existence, the unit was responsible for the control of long range reconnaissance units in multiple theaters.
The 2nd Weather Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the 2nd Weather Group of the 557th Weather Wing and is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron's mission is broad and includes the preparation of weather analysis for the intelligence community, observation of space weather, monitoring of volcanic ash, cloud analysis, production of weather broadcasts for the American Forces Network, as well as other tasks. The squadron's personnel is located at seven different sites worldwide.
The 6th Air Intelligence Squadron is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, stationed at Osan Air Base, Korea. It was inactivated in 1993. The unit was originally established at Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado as the 6th Photographic Group on 5 February 1943, under the command of Lt Waymond Davis. Later that year, the unit was redesignated the 6th Reconnaissance Group and deployed to the southwest Pacific as a component of the Fifth Air Force.
The III Reconnaissance Command is a disbanded United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, where it was inactivated on 8 April 1946. After transferring to the United States Air Force in September 1947, it was disbanded in October 1948.
The 84th Combat Sustainment Group is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) group last assigned to the 84th Combat Sustainment Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where it was inactivated in 2010. The group was formed in 1942 as the 84th Bombardment Group, one of the first dive bomber units in the United States Army Air Corps and tested the Vultee Vengeance, proving that aircraft unsuitable as a dive bomber. As an Operational Training Unit, it was the parent for several other bombardment groups, but from 1943 until it was disbanded in 1944, trained replacement aircrews as a Replacement Training Unit designated the 84th Fighter-Bomber Group.
The 97th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing of Air Education and Training Command. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
The 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 41st Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance Wing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1987.
References
Notes
Explanatory notes
↑ Approved 24 July 1952. Used by The Army Air Forces Weather Service from 8 September 1942 and by the Weather Wing, Flight Control Command from its activation.
↑ In December 1940, the 4th Weather Squadron was added, providing one weather region for each of the four air districts(after April 1942, numbered air forces).
↑ This "Air Weather Service" was the name of a function, not an organization.
↑ Aircraft is Boeing WB-47E Stratojet, serial 51-2417. Originally a Boeing B-47E-60-BW and later converted to a WB-47. This plane was transferred to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center on 12 September 1969. It was declared excess six days later and scrapped. Baugher, Joe (8 September 2023). "1951 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Units listed twice are not related to the units with the same name and number.
Bibliography
Jonasson, Jonas A (1955). "Weather and Communications, Chapter 11 The AAF Weather Service". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol.VII, Services Around the World. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. OCLC704158.
further reading
Markus, Rita M.; Halbeisen, MSG Nicholas F.; Fuller, John F. (1987). Matthews, James K.; Gustin, Joylyn I. (eds.). Air Weather Service: Our Heritage 1937-1987(PDF). Scott AFB, IL: Air Weather Service. OCLC18406969. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
External links
"Aviation Weather Center". NOAA & National Weather Service. Retrieved 4 April 2015. (Aviation maps and weather)
"Storm Prediction Center". NOAA & National Weather Service. Retrieved 4 April 2015. (Weather watches and storm reports)
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