200th Weather Flight supports Joint Force; World Cycling Championship

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Carlos J. Claudio
  • 192nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
RICHMOND, Va. --  Airmen from the Virginia Air National Guard 192nd Fighter Wing 200th Weather Flight, based at Joint Force Headquarters in Sandston, provided weather support for the Union Cycliste Internationale Road World Cycling Championship held in Richmond, Sept. 18-27, 2015.

"The 200th Weather Flight's Tier-1 Weather Resource was tasked by a Joint Staff operational order to provide weather resource protection for this event," said Staff Sgt. Heather R. Hosman, weather forecaster.  "As with all Domestic Operations, we report to both military and civilian leadership. In this case, we are working hand-in-hand with Virginia's 34th Civil Support Team and an Army Guard Joint Force liaison at a multi-jurisdictional Operations Center."

Co-located with city, county and state agencies at the Richmond International Raceway, Hosman, Master Sgt. Malvin Johnson and Senior Airman Aaron Bousquet worked out of a temporary facility equipped with meteorological instruments, weather equipment and technology designed to view weather maps and monitor constantly fluctuating patterns to determine forecasts.

The meteorological planning and support information was provided to a joint force military liaison who forwarded the data and weather projections to city and race officials providing current conditions enabling them to make appropriate decisions on whether the World Cycling Championship would race each day.

Not only was this mission an opportunity to work with multiple local and state agencies, it was also an excellent training environment for Virginia Air Guard members to demonstrate their technical skills and capabilities, said Hosman.

"This type of training environment teaches unit members to maintain a high level of situational awareness and the ability to think on their feet," said Hosman.  "These challenges are faced by all military forecasters domestically and down-range.  It's better to learn from your mistakes here than during combat operations in a deployed situation."