The 121st Weather Flight is a subordinate unit of the 113th Wing of the United States Air Force based at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.
The flight provides comprehensive weather support to the 121st Fighter Squadron, and general weather support to the 113th Wing, 231st Combat Communications Squadron, and the District of Columbia National Guard Joint Force Headquarters. The flight also provides weather support to First United States Army Headquarters at Fort Gillem, Georgia, in response to Presidentially-declared disasters for hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and terrorist acts.
Flight members train to deploy worldwide in support of the Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) and other contingencies.
121st Weather Flight (DCANG)
The 121st Weather Flight is an Air Combat Command-gained Air National Guard unit which provides operationally ready weather observers, forecasters and officers for contingency support to First United States Army Headquarters, Fort Gillem, Ga, Simmons Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, N.C., and the D.C. Air National Guard assigned units in the event of war or national emergency. Though the unit is part of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, the 121st WF is not subordinate to the 113th Wing.
The 121 WF performs crisis and consequence management weather support for Headquarters, First United States Army and backfill weather station support for Simmons Army Air Field when the 18th Weather Squadron there deploys.
The primary peacetime mission is to train personnel, providing weather support through observations of current weather conditions, forecasts, weather watches/warnings, staff and aviation briefings, climatology and astronomical data. The flight uses automated data retrieval systems such as the Automated Meteorological Information System, the Meteorological Information Standard Terminal, Next Generation (Doppler) Radar, laser beam ceilometer (cloud base measuring device), fixed and tactical satellite receivers, internet connective data bases and Air Force and Navy meteorological dial-in data retrieval systems.
The flight has called Andrews home since it was organized in 1953. One of only 33 ANG weather flights and the smallest independent unit in the DCANG, the flight has been recognized as a leader in the ANG weather flight program with the Maj. Gen. John W. Collens Award for Outstanding ANG Weather Unit, Non-Tactical, and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, 1993-1995.
Famous quotes containing the words weather and/or flight:
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen. On the farm the weather was the great fact, and men’s affairs went on underneath it, as the streams creep under the ice. But in Black Hawk the scene of human life was spread out shrunken and pinched, frozen down to the bare stalk.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“In all her products, Nature only develops her simplest germs. One would say that it was no great stretch of invention to create birds. The hawk which now takes his flight over the top of the wood was at first, perchance, only a leaf which fluttered in its aisles. From rustling leaves she came in the course of ages to the loftier flight and clear carol of the bird.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)