Weather to win wars Published Jan. 26, 2026 557th Weather Wing OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Leaders of the “America’s Weather Wing,” the 557th Weather Wing, convened at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., Jan. 13-15, 2026, for the semi-annual Squadron Leadership Summit. The event brought together commanders and senior enlisted leaders from the Wing’s 11 squadrons, eight of which are geographically separated, to synchronize efforts and align with the strategic objectives set by their commander, Col. Hank Chilcoat. The summit centered on Col. Chilcoat’s charge: "We must make a deliberate shift to ready the Air Force for current and future challenges.” He emphasized, "Our success depends on cultivating a force of technically proficient warriors armed with delivering weather as a non-kinetic capability to soften the battlespace." The leaders focused on challenges and outlined opportunities to ensure the wing, as the Air Force’s primary weather unit of action, continues to provide the weather to win wars.