Mission
The 17th Operational Weather Squadron is responsible for producing and disseminating mission planning and execution weather analyses, forecasts, and briefings for Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Guard, Reserve, USFK, PACOM, PACAF, USARPAC, SOCPAC, and NAVPAC forces operating at 115 installations/sites over 110M square miles, within the Pacific theater of operations.
This weather squadron is responsible for base or post forecasting, developing weather products, briefing transient aircrews, and weather warnings for all of their geographical units. Using automatic observing systems located at all military installations and communicating with their combat weather flights, the squadron is able to 'watch' the weather in their entire area of responsibility from one central location.
The Operational Weather Squadron is likely the first place a newly schooled weather apprentice will report. At the squadron, working alongside a seasoned weather professional, the forecaster is trained in all aspects of Air Force meteorology, from pilot briefing to tactical forecasting.
History
The 17th Operational Weather Squadron was activated as the 17th Weather Squadron on September 18, 1942, at McClellan Field, California.
The squadron shortly thereafter relocated to Auckland, New Zealand, where it was assigned to U.S. Army Forces in the South Pacific Area. In January 1943 the 17th relocated to Noumea, New Caledonia. It was reassigned to Thirteenth Air Force on July 1, 1943, but returned to the control of U.S. Army Forces in the South Pacific Area on December 20, 1943.
The squadron was assigned to Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Area on August 1, 1944, but reassigned to the 1st Provisional Weather Group on September 4. In November 1944, the 17th moved to Hickam Field, Hawaii, where it was disbanded on February 10, 1945.
The 17th was again activated on January 15, 1970, at Travis Air Force Base, California, as part of the 7th Weather Wing. It was inactivated on June 30, 1972. The squadron was activated once again on April 1, 1980, at Travis. It was inactivated on September 30, 1991, as part of the divestiture of Air Weather Service. The 17th was redesignated the 17th Operational Weather Squadron on October 12, 2000, and activated on October 27, 2000, at Hickam, where it was assigned to the 502nd Air Operations Group. The 17th began operating alongside the Navy (Joint Typhoon Warning Center Detachment) in March 2010.
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