The 23rd Special Operations Weather Squadron (23rd SOWS) is a weather squadron of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Special Operations Command, based at

Hurlburt Field Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...

with the

1st Special Operations Group First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

(1st SOG) of the

1st Special Operations Wing The 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing is ...

. It was originally constituted and activated as the 23rd Weather Squadron (Regional Control Headquarters) in late 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and spent most of its service at

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

until disbanding in early September 1944. The 23rd Weather Squadron was reactivated at Hurlburt Field in 2009 as part of the

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

Twenty-Third Air Force Twenty-Third Air Force (Air Forces Special Operations Forces) was a Numbered Air Force that was assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command. It was stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida and was active from 1 January 2008 until 4 April 2013. ...

and in 2013 transferred to the 1st SOG, gaining its current title.

History

World War II

The squadron was first constituted as the 23rd Weather Squadron (Regional Control Headquarters) on 28 October 1943. It was activated on 1 November, part of the

Army Air Forces Weather Service The 557th Weather Wing is a United States Air Force formation and its lead military meteorology center. It reports environmental situational awareness worldwide to the Air Force, the United States Army, joint warfighters, Unified Combatant Comm ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Diran Arakelian. The 23rd relocated to

, on 8 November, remaining there until its disbandment on 7 September 1944. Its personnel joined its replacement, the 72nd Army Air Forces Base Unit (23rd Weather Region).

Special Operations unit

The squadron was reconstituted and redesignated as the 23rd Weather Squadron on 3 June 2009, and activated a month later with the

. The 23rd was created to address the increasing Special Forces demands for weather forecasting. Between 27 July and 9 August 2011 the squadron provided forecasting support for a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

conventional battalion-sized unit delivering humanitarian aid against insurgent resistance to isolated areas of Kunar and

Nuristan Province Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Dari: ; Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, wi ...

s during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

. It was attached to the

of the

on 31 July 2012, and the attachment became permanent on 28 March 2013, when the squadron became the 23rd Special Operations Weather Squadron. It is responsible for providing

weather forecasting Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology forecasting, to predict the conditions of the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia a ...

for

special operations forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

in the planning and execution phases of operations. Detachment 1, 23rd SOWS at

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...

supports the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. On 29 August 2017, the weather flight of the 1st Special Operations Support Squadron was transferred to the 23rd SOWS.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 23rd Weather Squadron (Regional Control Headquarters) on 28 October 1943 : Activated on 1 November 1943 : Disbanded on 7 September 1944 * Reconstituted and redesignated 23rd Weather Squadron on 3 June 2009 : Activated on 3 July 2009 : Redesignated 23rd Special Operations Weather Squadron on 28 March 2013

Assignments

, 1 November 1943–7 September 1944 *

(Air Forces Special Operations Forces), 3 July 2009 (attached to

, 31 July 2012) * 1st Special Operations Group, 28 March 2013–present

Stations

, 1 November 1943 *

, 8 November 1943–7 September 1944 *

, 3 July 2009–present

Awards

References

{{USAF Special Operations Command Weather squadrons of the United States Air Force Special operations squadrons of the United States Air Force