The 17th Operational Weather Squadron (17 OWS) is a unit of the

military of the United States The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

. Based at

Hickam Air Force Base Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, it covers weather for the largest geographical area in the world.

Mission

The 17th Operational Weather Squadron is responsible for producing and disseminating mission planning and execution weather analyses, forecasts, and briefings for

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (ref ...

, Guard, Reserve,

USFK United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a sub-unified command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-ready fighting forces and components under the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) – a su ...

, PACOM,

PACAF Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

USARPAC The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army component unit of the United States Indo ...

, SOCPAC, and NAVPAC forces operating at 115 installations/sites over 110M sq.mi. 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. The current commander of the 17th Operational Weather Squadron is Lt Col Claire Jarry. 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 Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

, from pilot briefing to tactical forecasting.

Personnel and resources

17th Operational Weather Squadron's manning consists of active duty, reserve, civilian and contract personnel and is located on

Lineage

Activations and Inactivations of the 17th Weather Squadron, and the 17th Operational Weather Squadron.

Constituted 17th Weather Squadron (Regional Control) on 31 Aug 1942
Activated on 18 Sep 1942
Disbanded on 10 Feb 1945
Reconstituted and redesignated 17th Weather Squadron, on 24 Jul 1969
Activated on 15 Jan 1970
Inactivated on 30 Jun 1972
Activated on 1 Apr 1980
Inactivated on 30 Sep 1991
Redesignated 17th Operational Weather Squadron on 12 Oct 2000
Activated on 27 Oct 2000.

Duty Assignments

List of duty assignments and parent units from 1942 to present.

McClellan Field McClellan is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Antwan McClellan, American politician *Barr McClellan, Texas lawyer and author, father of Mark and Scott McClellan *Beverly McClellan (1969–2018), American singer and contestant in ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
,
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, 18 September 1942 – 26 October 1942

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, New Zealand,
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, 26 October 1942 – 17 January 1943
Noumea, New Caledonia,
United States Army Forces in the South Pacific Area United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two ...
, 20 January 1943 – 1 July 1943
Noumea, New Caledonia,
13th Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stat ...
, 1 July 1943 – 20 December 1943
Noumea, New Caledonia,
United States Army Forces in the South Pacific Area United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two ...
, 20 December 1943 – 1 August 1944
Noumea, New Caledonia, Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, 1 August 1944 – 4 September 1944
Noumea, New Caledonia, 1st Provisional Weather Group, 4 September 1944 – 29 November 1944

Hickam Field Hickam may refer to: ;Surname * Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer ** October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story, 1999 American biographical film * Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower advo ...
,
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Ap ...
, 1st Provisional Weather Group 29 November 1944 - 10 February 1945

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
,
7th Weather Wing 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
, 15 January 1970 – 30 June 1972

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
,
7th Weather Wing 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
, 1 April 1980 – 30 September 1991

Hickam Air Force Base Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
,
502nd Air Operations Group The 502d Air Operations Group in an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active in October 2006 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where it had served as the umbrella for intelligence and operational support units under Pacific Air ...
, 27 October 2000 – present

Emblem

Approved on 9 Jun 1982. Blazon: The four stars and the blue background represent the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

constellation and the midnight, as observed in the area where the squadron is stationed. The red lightning flash against the yellow sky denotes the sudden tropical storms common to the region. The white

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

, the universal symbol of weather forecasting, depicts the squadron's function.

History

The 17th Operational Weather Squadron was activated as the 17th Weather Squadron on September 18, 1942, at

McClellan Field McClellan is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Antwan McClellan, American politician *Barr McClellan, Texas lawyer and author, father of Mark and Scott McClellan *Beverly McClellan (1969–2018), American singer and contestant in ...

, California. The squadron shortly thereafter relocated to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, New Zealand, where it was assigned to

U.S. Army Forces The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Area. In January 1943 the 17th relocated to Noumea, New Caledonia. It was reassigned to

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stat ...

on July 1, 1943, but returned to the control of

in the South Pacific Area on December 20, 1943. The squadron was assigned to

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

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 Hickam may refer to: ;Surname * Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer ** October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story, 1999 American biographical film * Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower advo ...

, where it was disbanded on February 10, 1945. The 17th was again activated on January 15, 1970, at

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, as part of the

7th Weather Wing 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

. 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 atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. 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 502d Air Operations Group in an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last active in October 2006 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where it had served as the umbrella for intelligence and operational support units under Pacific Air ...

. The 17th began operating alongside the Navy (Joint Typhoon Warning Center Detachment) in March 2010.

Awards

Service Streamers. World War II Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

External links

17OWS Article

17OWS History

17OWS Factsheet
{{Air Force Weather nav Weather 017