FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. —Bad weather can shut down the best planned Army Aviation operation and when it's time to pass on bad news about the weather, Massachusetts Air National Guard Maj. John Cullen earns his money.
Cullen and five other Airmen from the 202nd Weather Flight, based at Joint Base Cape Cod, were the battlefield weather watchdogs for the New York Army National Guard's 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade during a two-week Warfighter command post exercise which kicked off here on Nov. 6.
The high-tempo exercise relies on computer simulations to put Soldiers, and in this case Airmen too, through the same stressful decision making actions they would take during an actual battle.
"The team effectively communicated not only weather conditions, but how these conditions affect Army and Air Force assets on the battlefield," Cullen said.
"Working directly with the Army's battle staff allows us to provide information that impacts their mission and weapons' capabilities that ultimately helps influence the commanders' decisions," Cullen said.
The weather team took weather data generated by the exercise controllers and turned it into forecasts and other products that allowed the Army aviators to plan attack and lift-helicopter missions in support of the 28th Division, the main player in the exercise.
"It was a great experience and opportunity to get a sense of how the Army operates in a deployed environment," said Master Sgt. Marie Colomer, a weather forecaster.
The 202nd Weather Flight was a tremendous asset during the exercise, said Lt. Col. Jason Lefton, the 42nd CAB executive officer.
The Airmen delivered high-quality weather products and kept the staff informed on how the weather would impact planned operations, Lefton added.
The Massachusetts Airmen learned a lot about how Soldiers think, cross-talk and work together, said Colomer.
"We plan to integrate this information into our routine training scenarios back home," she said.
"Everything we learned will help us refine our products and make us more effective when called upon to provide weather support," Colomer added.