8 Apr 2020

Made with love in Australia by a 2nd WS Airman

A 2nd Weather Squadron Airman stationed in Australia is crafting hope in her local community in the midst of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Staff Sgt. Kalynn Mitchell, a 2nd WS solar analyst at Learmonth Solar Observatory in Exmouth, Western Australia, is using her sewing machine and fabric from a local hardware store to create face masks for medical workers and others at risk in the community. “I think the world needs hope,” said Capt. Ustem Nu, 2nd WS Detachment 1 commander. “Every day we see the news about more and more people dying or people not caring. It can be overwhelming and disheartening at times. What Staff Sgt. Mitchell is doing, whether she realizes it or not, is giving hope to people.”

10 May 2019

ACC Airmen performing space mission in Australia celebrate 40 years

The Learmonth Solar Observatory celebrated its 40th anniversary April 27, 2019, at Learmonth, Western Australia, giving solar immersion briefings at the facility and holding a partnership barbecue. The observatory is operated jointly by 2nd Weather Squadron’s Detachment 1 and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Space Weather Services. “Learmonth Solar Observatory is one of the few places that I’ve heard of whose continuing mission has not really changed in 40 years,” said Master Sgt. Cassandra Denton, Detachment 1 NCO in charge of Solar Electro-Optical Network maintenance. “Major commands changed, but the day-to-day mission of being Sun Spies has not.” Learmonth is one of five solar observatories around the world maintained by the 2nd WS. With locations at Learmonth, Australia; San Vito, Italy; Hamilton, Massachusetts, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and Kaena Point, Hawaii; each observatory is positioned to keep the sun in view as the Earth turns. Their collective mission is to provide timely space situational awareness by observing and reporting space weather phenomena as well as its relevance to communications and other Defense Department space-based and Earth-based missions.

8 Feb 2019

557th WW joins 55th WG for Winter Havoc

The 557th Weather Wing joined the 55th Wing, Offutt Air Force Base’s host wing, for the Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. Twenty-one Airmen from the 2nd Systems Operations Squadron, 2nd Weather Squadron and 16th Weather Squadron joined approximately 600 other Offutt AFB Airmen for the late January exercise, marking the first time the wing has partnered with the 55th WG for a mass readiness exercise since the 557th WW’s creation in 2015. “The 557 WW demonstrated its capability to deliver ready weather and cyber forces in support of multi-domain operations against any adversary across the entire spectrum of conflict,” said Lt Col. Kenneth Roberts, 2nd Weather Support Squadron commander and 557th WW Crisis Action Team representative for the exercise. This first phase of the exercise focused on pre-deployment preparations, getting Airmen ready to deploy and moving cargo. Phase two will continue in the spring.

9 Nov 2018

2 WS shares Halloween down under

On Halloween, nearly 430 people from Exmouth – a town of about 2,000 located on Western Australia’s Northwest coast – visited a haunted house built by Airmen from 2nd Weather Squadron’s Detachment 1. The popularity of the detachment’s haunted house is underscored by the fact that Australia isn’t known for celebrating Halloween, however, its popularity has been on the rise in recent years.