Photo By 1st Lt. Michael Needham | U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Kyle Haynes, staff weather officer from the 159th Weather...... read more read more
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – The 185th Theater Aviation Brigade arrived to assume command of all aviation operations in the U.S. Army Central area of operation in April 2015.
The 185th TAB uses pilots, aircraft, mechanics and staff weather officers to provide top notch aviation support to USARCENT.
In support of the current mission, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kyle Haynes, SWO from the 82nd Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron, is responsible for providing five-day planning forecasts for the 185th TAB. In addition, Haynes is also responsible for briefing the pilots on current and future weather forecast predications.
“My biggest challenge thus far has been tailoring the products that are traditionally built for the Air Force and making it work into the Army aviation mission,” said Haynes. “We don’t have radar systems here like we do in the United States, which makes forecasting hard due to the lack of data.”
One of the many tools Haynes uses is a Kestrel 4500; with this handheld device he can measure sustained wind speeds as well as gusts, temperature, dew point and altimeter. He also relies on a forward observing team, who reports weather observations every hour.
”We have to rely on satellite images in order to prepare future weather forecasts for the commander and pilots of the 185th TAB,” said Haynes.
“We support missions in and out of Camp Buehring as well as simultaneously supporting unmanned aerial systems assets across USARCENT area of operation,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Matthew Tanner, 82nd Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron, SWO officer in charge. “Through continued support from the SWOs currently attached to the 185th TAB, the commander and pilots will be able to effectively plan day to day and future missions.”
By taking advantage of the information and equipment on hand, Haynes can better predict the future weather forecasts for the pilots of the 185th TAB.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2015 05:39 |
| Story ID: | 180276 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Hometown: | CAMP BLANDING, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 1,711 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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