Weather warns warriors, saves services silver

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

6/25/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- As the dust clouds roll in, 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather forecasters here analyze the intensity, direction and impact of the impending storm to base assets and the mission.

"Our radar allows us to notify maintenance crews out on the airfield that conditions are unsafe and allow them to take protective shelter from damaging hail and winds," said Senior Master Sgt. Scott Butler, the 379th EOSS weather flight chief deployed from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. "[The radar] is extremely vital to our operations; in the event of a significant dust storm we'd be able to pick that dust up on this system, tell you exactly what the wind speeds are and how long before it hits the 379th [Air Expeditionary Wing] so we can in turn prep the base for emergency response."

Air Force weather forecasters analyze weather conditions, prepare forecasts, issue weather warnings and brief weather information to pilots by means of two duty sets: airfield and mission.

"With airfield, we monitor the 379th and what's going on over us," said Senior Airman Alicia Freedman, a 379th EOSS weather forecaster deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, La. "We issue weather watches, warnings and advisories, not to mention all the diverts for the base."

Freedman said the mission duty set includes the forecasting for operations.

"This is significantly important for the 379th's mission," she said. "We have several missions taking off daily and we have to make sure those pilots know what is going on weather-wise and make it to their destinations safely without any harm. If pilots don't know what their limitations are, what they encounter out there could be exceptionally fatal."

All this forecasting would not be possible, however, without weather's portable Doppler radar and their airfield sensor.

"Our portable Doppler radar serves an extremely important function as our key tool for reading and understanding the severity of thunderstorms," Freedman said. "We get the timing for when the thunderstorm will be in a specific location so we'll know where it may hit. We then forward this information up to the different wings, missions and flights so they can make an informed decision protecting base assets and personnel."

"Just last week we had a small pattern pushing more than 40 mph for five to six days straight," she added. "These were advisory level winds that potentially impact whether or not an aircrew can fly."

Freedman, Butler and more than 700 weather forecasters across the Air Force, read and interpret weather satellite imagery, climatology reports, computerized weather prediction models and Doppler weather radar imagery; operate a weather radar console and a high-frequency pilot-to-metro radio; analyze and forecast weather elements such as clouds, visibility, winds, atmospheric pressure and many other parameters.

"Our portable Doppler radar uses Next-Generation Radar, or NEXRAD, technology," said Butler. "We can tell you the intensity of the rain showers and their range with exactly where that shower is occurring."

During the thunderstorm months, Butler said his weather forecasters are able to find where the thunderstorms are, determine their direction, how strong they are and whether or not they'll be able to affect the 379th AEW's assets.

"Cost savings comes down to the amount of money we save with the resource protection," Butler said. "This radar increases resource protection for more than $68 billion in base assets not to mention personnel."

The 379th EOSS's weather flight is manned by eight active duty Airmen 24/7.

"We come from bases all throughout the world," he said. "We integrate as one team to provide resource protection and exploit the weather for battle."

Air Force Weather traces its heritage to two centuries of American military weather service. U.S. Army surgeons began recording weather observations regularly in the early 1800s as part of the Army's medical studies.

Today, weather Airmen deliver the highest-quality tailored weather and space environment information, products and services to the Nation's combat forces, anytime, anywhere.

Ground: Putting the “S” in safety

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs6/20/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- "Mission first, safety always," said Master Sgt. Michael Asdel as he explained the meaning of the phrase coined by wing safety professionals Air Force-wide."In the same way, I am an Airman first and a safety professional always," he said. "Safety is everyone's responsibility -- we're just here to make sure everyone is following the safety guidelines as trusted counselors to wing and installation leaders."Asdel is a 379th Air Expeditionary Wing safety technician deployed here from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., who works hand-in-hand with the installation's weapons safety section. Contrary to the other two sections in safety, weapons and flight, ground is an actual Air Force specialty. This fact sets them apart from the other two safety sections."Going to safety school really opens your eyes to a new world and way of looking at things," he said. "It's a whole new experience. As an Airman we have to be safety conscious, but as safety technicians, we are here to ensure supervisors are doing what they need to do to be safety conscious themselves."Ground safety personnel responsibilities include the training of managers, supervisors and employees to identify, evaluate and control workplace hazards and ensure mishaps are investigated and reported. The ground safety program includes operational, occupational, off-duty and traffic safety concerns. These concepts are taught to each unit safety representative, who are the eyes and ears of the wing's safety office and essential to safe completion of the wing's mission."No one knows their work centers better than the individuals who work in them," Asdel said. "Our office is here to help and provide the knowledge and guidance necessary so everyone goes home safe."Asdel said he's been very happy with how concerned units are here with safety."Since I put boots on the ground in April, I've seen no signs of complacency or deviation on safety matters," he said. "I'm particularly proud of the civil engineers and maintainers with their 'lock-out, tag-out' program in place to control hazardous materials around the installation."Ground safety conducts annual inspections of all units on base, while their ground unit safety representatives carry out monthly spot inspections, disseminate safety educational materials and verify unit safety briefings are being conducted."These USR's are an instrumental component to the success of the safety program," said Asdel. "We couldn't do what we do without their assistance. With no annual or monthly inspections -- safety could be put on the backburner and service members could get hurt. So you can see why what we do here is very important."Ground safety also maintains strong partnerships with other agencies across the base."Our primary partners include bioenvironmental engineering, the fire department and public health," said Tech. Sgt. Joel Barnett, a 379th AEW ground safety technician deployed from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. "These agencies help us to mitigate and abate hazards."As with most functions in the military, the mission isn't a success without the combined efforts of multiple agencies. Jets require maintainers to keep them serviceable, but can't fly without pilots. Service members can't perform at their best without water, food and lodging. Without safety, the risk for injury and possibly death could skyrocket."It's a team effort," added Asdel. "It takes every Airman, all the way from airman basic to the wing commander to keep ourselves and our wingmen safe. Mishaps are going to happen, we know this, but it's our job to educate and prevent them as best we can."[Editor's note: This story is part two of a three-part series highlighting the three sections of wing safety.]

Day on the Job: EOD techs

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

5/30/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Explosive ordnance disposal technicians deployed to Afghanistan perform counter-improvised explosive device operations in harsh conditions daily. Equipment and supplies are an essential element to this mission and without the modular supply depot here at the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's EOD flight, safe, secure and reliable operations would suffer."The big difference between here and stateside is that we do a lot of logistics moving supplies and equipment in and out of theater," said Senior Master Sgt. Loren Green, the 379th ECES EOD flight superintendent. "Units in Afghanistan will coordinate what they need with U.S. Air Forces Central Command and if we have what they're requesting, we'll get it to them as soon as possible."Green said if they can't support it, the request is forwarded to other AFCENT wings and eventually stateside.Instead of the traditional combat role they fulfill in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Joel Calahan, a 379th ECES EOD craftsman, added they're also an essential element in the force protection mission here."It never gets old," said Calahan. "We volunteered for this job -- you can't be assigned to EOD, not to mention the technical school is very hard and has a high dropout rate, so you really have to be committed."But after completing the 162 days of technical training, Green and Calahan said they get to play with many of the best equipment in the Air Force."We definitely have some of the coolest toys," Green said. "That's why I got into it in the first place."Joining the Air Force in 1996, fresh out of high school, Green, deployed here from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, said he couldn't see himself doing anything else."When I first came in, we didn't do nearly as much," Green said. "Back then, we were pretty much an insurance policy and we all felt very under-utilized."Much has changed in the last 17 years, including the expeditionary nature of the U.S. military following the start of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM."Now we're an essential part of the mission," he said. "Especially in the deployed environment."As an EOD technician, Green and fellow technicians handle live explosives, daily. Their job is to detect, identify, render safe, recover and dispose of unsafe explosives and ordnance, including conventional military ordnance; criminal and terrorist homemade items; and chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons."I love blowing stuff up," said Green, the Tampa Bay, Fla., native. "They pay me extra money to do it, too. You can't beat that anywhere."EOD techs also have opportunities to work on the flightline during aircraft emergencies, on bombing ranges during range clearances, in munitions storage areas, in accident areas and in any other area or climate where an explosive hazard exists. They also analyze unknown munitions and explosives for exploitation and use by the intelligence agencies, and, in some cases, may provide protection to the president, vice president and other dignitaries in support of the United States Secret Service."We're all confident in our job and love what we do," said Calahan. "I can't see doing anything else in the Air Force."

Listen to your buds: Preventing hearing loss

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs5/28/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- After a long day of work, the last thing you might want to hear is your neighbor's favorite screaming rock band, but when fellow Airmen use their earbuds on the highest volume setting, no one gets to enjoy the silence.Music technology came a long way since Edison's first phonograph -- from loud, crackly records all the way to inner-ear buds. While these conveniences are a part of everyday life, they can also be detrimental to your health and possibly career ending."In the military, many people are exposed to dangerously loud noises on a regular basis due to our jobs, especially personnel that work on the flight line," said Senior Airman Jamie Miller, a 379th Expeditionary Medical Group public health journeyman. "Exposing ourselves to excessively loud noise or loud noise for long periods of time will cause noise-induced hearing loss. Any type of loud noise can cause this hearing loss; even listening to music that's too loud can cause permanent damage."Servicemembers understand how essential it is to wear their personal protective equipment while performing the mission in situations requiring extra hearing protection, but what most don't realize, Miller said, is hearing loss can occur at any time."Listening to loud music on an iPod is just like being exposed to any other loud noise," he said. "One thing that many do is turn the volume of their music up when they're in a place that is loud itself, like the gym. The best thing for that is simply to police ourselves; it will be well worth it."According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, hearing loss can come from a variety of factors, but the number one source for hearing loss in America is exposure to very loud noise. In a campaign ASHA initiated for May as part of "Better Hearing and Speech Month," "Listen to your buds" focuses on educating people, helping them communicate and promoting treatment aimed at improving quality of life.ASHA officials say listening to loud noise for long periods of time can damage the hair cells in the inner ear. Noise-induced hearing loss usually develops gradually and painlessly. A single exposure to an extremely loud sound such as an explosion can cause a sudden loss of hearing. This is called acoustic trauma.In the Air Force, NIHL is an important matter and it's the number one cause for disability. To help combat the damage done by dangerous amounts of noise, personnel at risk take annual audiograms as well as get fitted for earplugs to make sure the correct size is worn and worn correctly."Correctly wearing earplugs and earmuffs will greatly reduce the amount of noise to a reasonable level," said Miller.Preventing high environmental noise from getting in is preferable, but many servicemembers purposely play their music at dangerous volume levels, and are at significantly increased risk for injury."Hearing loss is permanent, so there is no recovery that can happen once the damage is done," Miller continued. "Without hearing, there would be communication barriers between you and your coworkers, giving orders and being aware of your environment. At home it's much more difficult to have a conversation with your loved ones or call your family far away."People with hearing loss may have:- Difficulty speaking and understanding verbal communication- Problems in academic achievement; feelings of isolation, exclusion, embarrassment, annoyance, confusion and helplessness- A reluctance to participate in activities with others- Significant problems following directions- Numerous physiological changes, sleep difficulties, digestive problems, delayed emotional development, stress related disorders, behavioral problems, body fatigue and possible immunological effectsThere is hope, however, and all these symptoms can be avoided."The positive is that NIHL is 100 percent preventable," Miller said. "As long as everyone does their part, NIHL won't be a reason for anyone to have to leave their workplace."Visit www.asha.org/public for more information on how to prevent hearing loss.