3d Weather Squadron

The 3d Weather Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force. It was formed at Barksdale Field (now Barksdale Air Force Base), Louisiana, on 24 June 1937, as part of the Signal Corps. The 3d was one of the three original squadrons that eventually transferred from the Signal Corps to the Air Corps. Currently located at West Fort Hood, the 3d Weather Squadron is aligned under the 3d Air Support Operations Group. Weather support to Fort Hood began in 1947 at the newly constructed Killeen AFB. Today, the award-winning 3d Weather Squadron--in addition to providing weather support to the Fort Hood complex--has operating locations at Forts Bliss, Huachuca, Riley, and Sill in Texas, Arizona, Kansas, and Oklahoma, respectively.

The 3d Weather Squadron is currently the largest base- or post-level weather unit in the Air Force. The support provided by the squadron is as diverse as its history and that of the Army customers it supports. The squadron maintains a 24-hour observing and forecasting section at Robert Gray Army Airfield with extended observing hours at Hood Army Airfield.

The squadron patch is Walt Disney’s Cupid which was sold to the unit for one US dollar during World War II, in efforts to raise troop morale.

Combat Weather Teams

There are five Combat Weather Teams (CWTs) that support the following Army units at Fort Hood:
* III Corps.
* 1st Cavalry Division.
* 1st Cavalry Aviation Brigade.
* 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized).
* 4th Infantry Aviation Brigade.

Some of the services provided by the CWTs include both local and worldwide flying forecasts, climatic summaries, operations plan annexes, and semiannual weather briefings that provide our customers with the information they need to plan for operations and exercises.A typical 3WS CWT is comprised of a staff weather officer (SWO), a noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC), two forecasters, and four observers. Aligned under the division's G2 or brigade’s S2, the team is involved in numerous field exercises and contingency operations. The team has the opportunity to deploy, train, and hone its skills in some of the worst weather conditions that central Texas has to offer, including extreme heat, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and ice storms.

Operations in Iraq

On December 13, 2003, 4ID combat weather forecasters produced planning and mission execution forecasts for Operation Red Dawn, which led to successful capture of Saddam Hussein.

References

*This article contains information that originally came from Military Intelligence Bulletin, in the public domain from http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/army/tradoc/usaic/mipb/1997-4/MSGkooyman.htm