Keeping the flightline open Published Nov. 30, 2010 By Senior Airman Rachelle Coleman 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- At Eielson, the weather is often below zero during the winter months and conditions worsen with each snowfall. Despite less than desirable flying conditions, Eielson's mission to prepare aviation forces for combat, deploy Airmen in support of global operations and enable the staging of forces requires the flightline to be operational. The 354th Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight and Airfield Operations Flight work hand-in-hand to keep the flightline as clear as possible. OSS is responsible for providing safe and efficient flying operations support services, to include coordination and control of aircraft movements, and weather observations and forecasting services. Depending on conditions Airmen check the airfield one to two times per hour. Airmen must conduct a series of tests to determine if current airfield conditions are safe for operations. "The bad guys don't take a day off for bad weather," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Elom, 354th Operations Support Squadron, deputy airfield manager. "We're here for the mission, whenever the mission dictates." The freezing rain Eielson encountered early last week made things difficult, but airfield ops was equipped to handle it. "The airfield surface is our responsibility," said Sergeant Elom. "If the weather and visibility doesn't exist for a pilot then they'll cancel due to the weather, not due to the pavement." While airfield ops keep the runway active, the weather flight provides critical data needed to do so. Before the decision is even made to fly, the weather has to cooperate and although weather operations can't control the weather, it's important for them to predict it as accurately as possible. "Weather lets us know when we can expect more snow or wind, both can impact our snow removal priorities and how we conduct snow removal out there," said Sergeant Elom. "Working together has to be cohesive; it has to work like a well oiled machine. Communication has to flow." The weather flight provides up-to-date weather information to many base agencies including airfield management and air traffic control. The combined efforts of all three sections provide an efficient, organized effort to support various missions such as supporting Tanker Task Force, Alert Operations and RED FLAG-Alaska. "Anytime a plane is flying in or out of this base, or if severe weather is expected -- we have folks here," said Master Sgt. Fred King, Flight Chief, 354th OSS Weather Flight. "We're responsible for providing weather support for all base and tenant agencies as part of the base operations team, but our focus is on providing aviation weather and airfield service weather in support of the Eielson mission." The shop forecasts various weather elements to disseminates warnings, watches and advisories and mission execution forecasts. According to Sergeant King, there are two reasons the weather flight is especially important at Eielson -- aviation safety and personnel/resource protection. Their job is to continually monitor the weather and automated sensors to ensure the base has the most up-to-date information for mission planning and execution. "My job allows the safe and effective operations of base aircraft," said Sergeant King. Working together, weather and airfield ops ensure that Eielson is ready for any mission, any time despite the harsh climate in Alaska.