Weather forecasters ensure smooth sailing

USS KEARSARGE, UNITED STATES

04.29.2010

Story by Lance Cpl. Santiago G. Colon Jr. 

26th Marine Expeditionary Unit     

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Marines, Sailors aboard USS Kearsarge work together in preparation for deployment.

Most people check the weather to plan their next day's wardrobe. When Marines and sailors check the weather, it is to know how conditions will affect their mission and safety. Weather is a big factor when it comes to amphibious operations from naval vessels, as it can significantly impact many facets, particularly navigation and aviation operations.

Weathermen with 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and sailors of the Meteorological and Oceanographic section with Strike Group Oceanography Team, Norfolk, Va., have teamed up aboard USS Kearsarge to forecast weather during an Amphibious Squadron/MEU Integration training exercise this week.

They use a deployable weather data transmission system, which utilizes a transmitter attached to a weather balloon that sends data to a receiver on the ship. The system organizes the information to create graphs that allow analysts to get a real-time breakdown of temperature, wind pressure, and dew point and also to forecast future weather concerns.

The weather information is then sent to Marine and Navy operational and navigation sections aboard the ship to allow service members to get instantaneous updates of conditions.

"Our ship is really resilient, so it can handle severe weather," said Senior Chief Anthony G. Hafer, a quartermaster with the navigation department aboard USS Kearsarge. "But the weather reports we receive are extremely important, because the best defense on the ship is the aircraft."

The reports are extremely important for flight operations, said Capt. Matthew D. Wilckens, a MV-22 Osprey pilot with Marine Medium Tiltrotor squadron 266, the aviation combat element of 26th MEU.

"The weather forecasts are a big deal for planning purposes," Wilckens said. The speed of the aircraft, the altitude it can fly, and the amount of weight the aircraft can carry all depend on the weather situation, he said. "We rely on accurate weather information."

Hafer added the weather reports that the navigation section receives help them avoid severe weather and prepare the ship's cargo, including aircraft, by securing everything to the ship so it will not move in case of severe pitch and roll caused by storms.

"We get reports from ships located four or five days away in our headed destination, so we can usually avoid severe weather," said Hafer. He added that the information from the USS Kearsarge weather team is also sent out for other ships to use.

Both the sailors and Marines with the weather sections aboard USS Kearsarge provide each other with different perspectives when it comes to forecasting, said Cpl. Steven B. Yates, a weather forecaster with 26th MEU.

"(Marine weather forecasters) do about the same thing as the Navy, but our concentrations are different," said Yates. "We do forecasting for specific locations, usually wherever the infantry will be on land. The Navy has a wider area to consider and it is over water."

Marines use the weather information to prepare for amphibious operations, such as moving those infantrymen from ship to shore, and also for flight operations. Yates said the aviation, ground and logistics combat elements of the MEU all use information he provides in their mission planning.

Overall, weather forecasting aboard the ship during PMINT has helped give Marines and sailors an idea of what each others' capabilities are and how to integrate them with more efficiency as they prepare for their deployment later this fall.

"PMINT was a good opportunity early on to see what we have to work on," said Yates. "We really got to bring what we had to the table and share ideas with each other."