View Single Post
Old 05-28-2009, 08:54 PM   #12
vabchsue
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,295
Rep Power: 137
vabchsue is on a distinguished road
Default

Found the article:

Navy Moving to Contract Weather Observers
Story Number: NNS080118-17
Release Date: 1/18/2008 3:24:00 PM


By George Lammons, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Public Affairs

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. (NNS) -- Military weather observers at all 25 U.S Navy continental United States air fields will be replaced by civilian contracted observers this year, in response to a Navy efficiency study.

The turnover began this month at five air fields – Naval Air Station Lemoore, Naval Air Station North Island (including San Clemente and Imperial Beach) and Naval Air Station Meridian. The other 22 Navy air fields will change in a phased approach to accommodate Sailors' scheduled transfers and reenlistments.

The contracted weather observers also will have a one-month turnover with the military observers to ensure a smooth transition. The majority of the transition will take place this year and should be complete by January 2009.

"We're still going to have qualified (weather) observers at our air fields, the only difference is they will be civilians," said Capt. Grant Cooper, Director of Operations for Aviation Weather at the Naval Oceanography Operations Command (NOOC).

NOOC is a subordinate of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC), based at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

The services provided by the civilian contracted observers will remain the same as the services that had been provided by the military observers. The weather observations are used in formulation of weather forecasts and weather models.

This year's change is another step in the NMOC effort to streamline its aviation weather directorate.

The Naval Aviation Forecast Center (NAFC) was established January 2005 in Norfolk to centralize Continental United States aviation weather forecasting services as a key part of the comprehensive transformation in the Naval Oceanography Program. Manning at 25 naval air stations and outlying fields drew down as the Flight Weather Briefer program was established as an automated tool to request and receive a pre-flight weather brief via the web.

Two master jet bases (NAS Oceana and NAS Lemoore) as well as four large training air fields (Corpus Christi, Pensacola, Whiting Field and Whidbey Island) retained weekday, on-site forecasting services because of their operational tempo and to provide an extra level of risk mitigation. Off-hour requests are supported by NAFC.

Naval Aviation Forecast Detachment (NAFD) San Diego will be established in summer, as a forecasting hub for the western naval air fields and Texas air stations (Corpus Christi, Fort Worth and Kingsville). Additionally, the consolidation of forecasting services has occurred in Asia and Europe and is supported by the Naval Aviation Forecast Detachment in Atsugi, Japan, and the Naval Aviation Forecast Detachment in Sembach, Germany.
vabchsue is offline   Reply With Quote