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The 21st Operational Weather Squadron, part of the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, hosted two Polish armed forces members Nov. 9 to 22 to learn and develop skills from each other to predict accurate, timely and relevant environmental weather intelligence.
The meteorological and oceanographic officers, 2nd Lts. Monika Kaczanowska and Daniel Kowalczyk, were given an in-depth look into the tools, systems and processes used to forecast weather for Ramstein, U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.
“This visit allowed us to (build partnerships) with our NATO (meteorological and oceanographic) allies,” said 2nd Lt. Lucas Huddleston, 21st OWS weather officer. “It made it easier for the two weather communities to help each other to get our missions done.”
Huddleston and the 21st OWS team showed how U.S. Airmen predict and disseminate weather forecasts for military units within the USEUCOM and USAFRICOM areas of operation to the two Polish personnel. They did this by giving them hands-on experience with U.S. weather equipment, systems and taking them to other squadrons and units around USAFE and AFRICOM that use the 21st OWS forecasts.
“It’s been good to share tips and tricks, culture and build a relationship, because we deploy (meteorological and oceanographic) personnel to Poland,” Huddleston said.
While learning from each other was the primary purpose of the mission, a side benefit was the new on- and off-duty experience gained by the Polish service members.
“We appreciate the opportunity to be here, because not many weather soldiers of our rank get to travel abroad and learn like this,” Kowalczyk said.
Huddleston said this opportunity may come again for both sides as service members from each military are attempting to continue the program to share knowledge, cultural experiences and develop one another in the future.
