Military Meteorologists
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gpickett00
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Military Meteorologists
I have a question. I am a senior in high school. Recently I have been considering the military as a way of paying for my college. I dont mind boot camp and whatnot, but I want to do a program where I go to college for 4 years paid for then work for them. What branch of the military is the best as far as meteorology?[/i]
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WindRunner
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MGC
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Go Navy! I worked with several Navy mets. I fixed the equipment in the weather shack and in my spare time I asked a lot of questions about the weater. Of course this was in the old days when charts were drawn by hand, data collected off the teletype, HF fax, ect. Got to help out on baloon launches too......MGC
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Because I'm retired Air Force ('95), I gotta go with that route. Since I was an instructor in communications at Keesler for 15 years, I knew a lot of the instructors in the WX school there. I always envied them for their chosen career field!! You REALLY need to keep this idea alive and give it your all!! Twenty years down the road, I can assure you that you won't regret it...
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gpickett00
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senorpepr
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gpickett00,
The quick and easy answer to fulfill this request: “I want to do a program where I go to college for 4 years paid for then work for them,” would be for you to go to college via AFROTC and then go active duty (whether as an officer or enlisted)
Here is the advice I will dispense:
Now, the first decision you need to make is do you want to be enlisted or an officer. Remember, officers are paid more money, but they do not perform the meteorology duty nearly as much as an enlisted person would. The typical officer will actually perform some sort of meteorological duty their first couple of years—if that. Some officers never provide any meteorological duty. They supervise. An enlisted person, however, may perform a met job for at least a decade—if not their entire career. I will explain a bit more later on.
If you choose to become an officer, you can either go to the academy (where the military life is essentially your college for the first four years, but you will end up with a met degree) or ROTC. As people before me have said, they do pay you and your tuition. However, do take note of this… while you hear about the Army and Marines being short-manned—the Air Force is not. Matter of fact, the Air Force is cutting back on officer positions. Therefore, my advice is to be cautious of the officer’s route at this time. The job security is not as high and there is a chance you will not become a meteorologist in the Air Force by going that way.
If you go the enlisted route (the way I went), you will go to basic training (six and a half weeks) in San Antonio, TX. My advice is not to go to basic training in the summer if you can avoid it. It really is not as difficult as the movies make it out to be. Granted, I will not say it is completely easy, but if you play the game and suck it up, you will do just fine.
After basic training, you will go to Keesler AFB, which is in Biloxi, MS—where the Air Force’s, Navy’s, and Marine’s weather school is located. You will go through about six months of training there. You will not be nearly at the level of a NWS meteorologist, but you will learn a lot. Take the course very seriously, it can be very difficult. The instructors are a wealth of information. Oh—and by completing the course you will earn about 40 credit hours through the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), which is an accredited college.
Now, if you join the reserves or guard, after forecasting school you will be sent to your home base, doing the one weekend a month/two weeks a year. I will say that meteorologist jobs in the reserves or guard are more difficult to come across, but you can focus your attention full-time to college while the military pays.
As for the route I took—I am active duty. On this route, after forecasting school you will typically be sent to a forecasting hub. You will pick up more weather training that will focus on the region on the world you are working. These forecast hubs (Operational Weather Squadron—OWS) are located in South Carolina, Louisiana, Illinois, Arizona, Hawai’i, Alaska, Japan, and Germany. At these hubs, you will forecast for several military bases, providing similar products that the NWS provides, but tailored to serve the military.
After a tour at a forecasting hub, usually you will go back to Keesler AFB for observing school. (Another 20-some hours of college credit) For those three months, you will learn how to take observations and perform in a combat situation, meteorologically. Thereafter, you will be sent to a base weather station (Combat Weather Team—CWT) where you will take observations, provide forecasts face-to-face with pilots, and provide the meteorological needs for the entire base.
Now, besides OWSs and CWTs, you can go to other unique assignments. For instance, I am currently at the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA). This is the Air Force’s headquarters when it comes to forecasting—the mother of all hubs. They provide globalize, special support. One unit in AFWA provides forecasts for the Armed Forces Network (TV/Radio forecasts). Another provides analyses of satellite images. These are the folks you provide the Dvorak numbers on tropical cyclones. They also analyze snowfall depths around the world, volcano events, etc. There is a space weather center inside that provides information throughout the military. That center also serves as a back up to the NOAA’s SEC. They also have a center that provides back up support to NOAA’s Aviation Weather Center and Storm Prediction Center. In the event either center goes down (even for just a software upgrade), AFWA will take over the charts and begin issuing tornado watches, etc. AFWA also has global forecasting centers dedicated to special operations forces and national intelligence.
Even outside of AFWA, there are plenty of unique weather centers. For instance, at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB, the forecasts that drive space missions come from Air Force meteorologists. There is even an AF unit that Presidential weather support.
Now that I have talked about the weather jobs in the air force, let me tell you about educational part of it. While on active duty, you will work full-time shift work. Each unit is different, but some you are changing shifts every few days—other units change shifts every few months. There are few units that work during the day with holidays and weekends off, but normally those units are supporting Army posts. Because of the shift work, this makes college life difficult. However, most supervisors are normally willing to work with you. Trust me… being a full-time student and a full-time forecaster is nearly impossible. A couple of classes a semester is more realistic. The good thing is—the Air Force pays for you tuition while on active duty, until you get your degree. Thankfully, with what the CCAF gives you for forecasting/observing school, you will be nearly halfway to a degree. In addition, each base usually has several colleges on base for you to attend. For example, here at Offutt AFB, I can go to all of the local colleges (they have classes in the same building as AFWA) and even take some classes through Oklahoma. In addition, in the Air Force, you can take CLEP tests. Exploit these!!! You sign up for these tests, free of charge. If you pass the test, you get the credit. For example, instead of going to a geography class, I took a (roughly) 100-question test. Since I passed the test, I now have three credit hours for geography. I did not have to pay a dime and I did not have to sit in a class. Most colleges will also accept these tests.
Now, I talked only about the Air Force. The Navy and Marines do have meteorological departments as well. I cannot personally describe those, but I do have friends in both. From what they have told me and what I have experienced in the Air Force—I would personally go through the Air Force. The other branches will not have as much college benefits. The Air Force quality of life is MUCH better than the other branches. Think of it this way—regardless of what branch you are in; you will be paid the same. (An E-5 in the Air Force makes the same as an E-5 in the Navy) So why live on a boat for several months at a time, away from your family (one day you will have one) when you can have a nice life in the Air Force?
In conclusion, I have been in the Air Force for nearly six years now. At my four-year point, when my peers from high school were just getting out of college trying to find a job, I already had three years operational forecasting experience. I had been to Texas (for basic training), to Mississippi (for weather school), to Germany (my first assignment), and to Nebraska (my second and third assignments). In my six years so far, I have operationally forecast the weather for every continent—including Antarctica. With that global experience, I have a leg up on something many professional meteorologists in the states do not. Because of that experience, I have become a better forecaster. I tend to look at conditions in Asia and relate that to what will happen here in the states a few weeks down the road.
Furthermore, I have had the chance to provide meteorological support for many special visitors such as three- and four-star generals, Secretary of State, First Lady, Vice President, and the President. I have had the chance to provide meteorological support for USO shows as well. I have provided weather forecasts for Clint Black, Jennifer Lopez, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, and Pamela Anderson. I have provided weather support for our Special Forces and intel community across the globe. In exchange for that support, I come home and see on the news that certain members of Al-Qaeda or whatever were captured or killed. Meanwhile, I get the job satisfaction from knowing that mission was successful from one of my forecasts.
I know this is a lot of information, but I fully support your decision. If you have any further questions or specific questions, please let me know. If I cannot answer it, someone else in here can or I can make the contacts to get the answer for you.
The quick and easy answer to fulfill this request: “I want to do a program where I go to college for 4 years paid for then work for them,” would be for you to go to college via AFROTC and then go active duty (whether as an officer or enlisted)
Here is the advice I will dispense:
Now, the first decision you need to make is do you want to be enlisted or an officer. Remember, officers are paid more money, but they do not perform the meteorology duty nearly as much as an enlisted person would. The typical officer will actually perform some sort of meteorological duty their first couple of years—if that. Some officers never provide any meteorological duty. They supervise. An enlisted person, however, may perform a met job for at least a decade—if not their entire career. I will explain a bit more later on.
If you choose to become an officer, you can either go to the academy (where the military life is essentially your college for the first four years, but you will end up with a met degree) or ROTC. As people before me have said, they do pay you and your tuition. However, do take note of this… while you hear about the Army and Marines being short-manned—the Air Force is not. Matter of fact, the Air Force is cutting back on officer positions. Therefore, my advice is to be cautious of the officer’s route at this time. The job security is not as high and there is a chance you will not become a meteorologist in the Air Force by going that way.
If you go the enlisted route (the way I went), you will go to basic training (six and a half weeks) in San Antonio, TX. My advice is not to go to basic training in the summer if you can avoid it. It really is not as difficult as the movies make it out to be. Granted, I will not say it is completely easy, but if you play the game and suck it up, you will do just fine.
After basic training, you will go to Keesler AFB, which is in Biloxi, MS—where the Air Force’s, Navy’s, and Marine’s weather school is located. You will go through about six months of training there. You will not be nearly at the level of a NWS meteorologist, but you will learn a lot. Take the course very seriously, it can be very difficult. The instructors are a wealth of information. Oh—and by completing the course you will earn about 40 credit hours through the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), which is an accredited college.
Now, if you join the reserves or guard, after forecasting school you will be sent to your home base, doing the one weekend a month/two weeks a year. I will say that meteorologist jobs in the reserves or guard are more difficult to come across, but you can focus your attention full-time to college while the military pays.
As for the route I took—I am active duty. On this route, after forecasting school you will typically be sent to a forecasting hub. You will pick up more weather training that will focus on the region on the world you are working. These forecast hubs (Operational Weather Squadron—OWS) are located in South Carolina, Louisiana, Illinois, Arizona, Hawai’i, Alaska, Japan, and Germany. At these hubs, you will forecast for several military bases, providing similar products that the NWS provides, but tailored to serve the military.
After a tour at a forecasting hub, usually you will go back to Keesler AFB for observing school. (Another 20-some hours of college credit) For those three months, you will learn how to take observations and perform in a combat situation, meteorologically. Thereafter, you will be sent to a base weather station (Combat Weather Team—CWT) where you will take observations, provide forecasts face-to-face with pilots, and provide the meteorological needs for the entire base.
Now, besides OWSs and CWTs, you can go to other unique assignments. For instance, I am currently at the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA). This is the Air Force’s headquarters when it comes to forecasting—the mother of all hubs. They provide globalize, special support. One unit in AFWA provides forecasts for the Armed Forces Network (TV/Radio forecasts). Another provides analyses of satellite images. These are the folks you provide the Dvorak numbers on tropical cyclones. They also analyze snowfall depths around the world, volcano events, etc. There is a space weather center inside that provides information throughout the military. That center also serves as a back up to the NOAA’s SEC. They also have a center that provides back up support to NOAA’s Aviation Weather Center and Storm Prediction Center. In the event either center goes down (even for just a software upgrade), AFWA will take over the charts and begin issuing tornado watches, etc. AFWA also has global forecasting centers dedicated to special operations forces and national intelligence.
Even outside of AFWA, there are plenty of unique weather centers. For instance, at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB, the forecasts that drive space missions come from Air Force meteorologists. There is even an AF unit that Presidential weather support.
Now that I have talked about the weather jobs in the air force, let me tell you about educational part of it. While on active duty, you will work full-time shift work. Each unit is different, but some you are changing shifts every few days—other units change shifts every few months. There are few units that work during the day with holidays and weekends off, but normally those units are supporting Army posts. Because of the shift work, this makes college life difficult. However, most supervisors are normally willing to work with you. Trust me… being a full-time student and a full-time forecaster is nearly impossible. A couple of classes a semester is more realistic. The good thing is—the Air Force pays for you tuition while on active duty, until you get your degree. Thankfully, with what the CCAF gives you for forecasting/observing school, you will be nearly halfway to a degree. In addition, each base usually has several colleges on base for you to attend. For example, here at Offutt AFB, I can go to all of the local colleges (they have classes in the same building as AFWA) and even take some classes through Oklahoma. In addition, in the Air Force, you can take CLEP tests. Exploit these!!! You sign up for these tests, free of charge. If you pass the test, you get the credit. For example, instead of going to a geography class, I took a (roughly) 100-question test. Since I passed the test, I now have three credit hours for geography. I did not have to pay a dime and I did not have to sit in a class. Most colleges will also accept these tests.
Now, I talked only about the Air Force. The Navy and Marines do have meteorological departments as well. I cannot personally describe those, but I do have friends in both. From what they have told me and what I have experienced in the Air Force—I would personally go through the Air Force. The other branches will not have as much college benefits. The Air Force quality of life is MUCH better than the other branches. Think of it this way—regardless of what branch you are in; you will be paid the same. (An E-5 in the Air Force makes the same as an E-5 in the Navy) So why live on a boat for several months at a time, away from your family (one day you will have one) when you can have a nice life in the Air Force?
In conclusion, I have been in the Air Force for nearly six years now. At my four-year point, when my peers from high school were just getting out of college trying to find a job, I already had three years operational forecasting experience. I had been to Texas (for basic training), to Mississippi (for weather school), to Germany (my first assignment), and to Nebraska (my second and third assignments). In my six years so far, I have operationally forecast the weather for every continent—including Antarctica. With that global experience, I have a leg up on something many professional meteorologists in the states do not. Because of that experience, I have become a better forecaster. I tend to look at conditions in Asia and relate that to what will happen here in the states a few weeks down the road.
Furthermore, I have had the chance to provide meteorological support for many special visitors such as three- and four-star generals, Secretary of State, First Lady, Vice President, and the President. I have had the chance to provide meteorological support for USO shows as well. I have provided weather forecasts for Clint Black, Jennifer Lopez, Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, and Pamela Anderson. I have provided weather support for our Special Forces and intel community across the globe. In exchange for that support, I come home and see on the news that certain members of Al-Qaeda or whatever were captured or killed. Meanwhile, I get the job satisfaction from knowing that mission was successful from one of my forecasts.
I know this is a lot of information, but I fully support your decision. If you have any further questions or specific questions, please let me know. If I cannot answer it, someone else in here can or I can make the contacts to get the answer for you.
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SkeetoBite
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Great post, senorpepr. I'd have to second everything you said. It is amazing how much experience and exposure one gets in the Air Force (and in other branches, I suppose) that many in the civilian world simply do not and cannot relate to. Your points about CCAF, CLEP, and pay in the AF vs. the more "combative" branches are right on!!! I always said the same thing about the pay issue 
And, your points on enlisted vs. officer are quite important too. I believe the enlisted side absolutely gets more hands-on experience in their career field, resulting in a much more rounded pool of knowledge in the long run.
Anyway, your contribution here in this thread will most probably have a significant impact on the OP, and/or other members who are considering the same path. Aim High - Go Air Force!!
And, your points on enlisted vs. officer are quite important too. I believe the enlisted side absolutely gets more hands-on experience in their career field, resulting in a much more rounded pool of knowledge in the long run.
Anyway, your contribution here in this thread will most probably have a significant impact on the OP, and/or other members who are considering the same path. Aim High - Go Air Force!!
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gpickett00
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senorpepr wrote:Now, I talked only about the Air Force. The Navy and Marines do have meteorological departments as well. I cannot personally describe those, but I do have friends in both. From what they have told me and what I have experienced in the Air Force—I would personally go through the Air Force. The other branches will not have as much college benefits. The Air Force quality of life is MUCH better than the other branches. Think of it this way—regardless of what branch you are in; you will be paid the same. (An E-5 in the Air Force makes the same as an E-5 in the Navy) So why live on a boat for several months at a time, away from your family (one day you will have one) when you can have a nice life in the Air Force?
What did I tell you! HA!
My brother in law is a Major in the USAF, and he'll flat out tell you that
the guys in the USAF have it MUCH BETTER than the other branches
of the military. I've been on bases of all three, and it's quite true.
Sadly, senorpepr didn't forecast the turbulent breakup of Kid Rock and
Pamela Anderson.
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Aslkahuna
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Things were different in the old Air Weather Service (or Air Weather Circus as we called it) back when AFWA was AFGWC. BTW, the Space Weather Section at GWC was where I worked when I was at Offutt. For the person that said "Go Army", except for some artillery met people, all of the Army's operational Met Services are provided by USAF Mets. The specialized RDT&E services are provided by DOD Department of the Army Civilian Mets (which is what I did at Dugway and Fort Huachuca as a Civilian Met.
Steve
Steve
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gpickett00
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like he said, they're cutting officer slots right now. but they're cutting enlisted and civilian slots too, about 40,000.
we have a trained Met in the squadron next door who is working in an aircraft and weapons test squadron right now and doing nothing with meteorology. so just because you have the degree or get the training doesnt mean you'll always get to work in that specialty, at least as an officer.
if you do the enlisted route, make sure you get the guaranteed job thing. that way, if they dont need them, you dont get stuck doing something that doesnt interest you.
we have a trained Met in the squadron next door who is working in an aircraft and weapons test squadron right now and doing nothing with meteorology. so just because you have the degree or get the training doesnt mean you'll always get to work in that specialty, at least as an officer.
if you do the enlisted route, make sure you get the guaranteed job thing. that way, if they dont need them, you dont get stuck doing something that doesnt interest you.
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senorpepr
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alicia-w wrote:like he said, they're cutting officer slots right now. but they're cutting enlisted and civilian slots too, about 40,000.
we have a trained Met in the squadron next door who is working in an aircraft and weapons test squadron right now and doing nothing with meteorology. so just because you have the degree or get the training doesnt mean you'll always get to work in that specialty, at least as an officer.
if you do the enlisted route, make sure you get the guaranteed job thing. that way, if they dont need them, you dont get stuck doing something that doesnt interest you.
Exactly. Although I will say this... while they are cutting officer slots, the enlisted side of the met field is still a critically manned field, meaning we need people.
Another point to mention, if you grab a degree in meteorology AND you get a job in meteorology, as an officer you will have little operational experience. Usually an met officer will go to a forecast hub where he/she will forecast for MAYBE a year or two. However, plenty of officers go straight from the weather school to the "back office" where they supervise. Case in point--one of the officers I worked for a few years ago: He has been in the AF for over three years, but has never operationally forecast and probably never will.
My point is, if you go for the "traditional" degree and become an officer, you miss out on something VERY imporant: experience. Think about this: two people join the military at the same time. Person A is an enlisted forecaster and picks up his degree after 8 years of service. Person B is an officer with a meteorology degree. Both stay in the service for 20 years, retire, and apply for a met job at the National Weather Service.
At this point, both people have a degree, but person A has nearly 20 years of experience while person B has little, if any, experience. Which person is more desirable to hire? Person A--the enlisted person.
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