RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- When the U.S. Army relies on the U.S. Air Force for battlefield weather intelligence, the forecasts must be accurate and the Airmen must be combat ready.
The 7th Combat Weather Squadron proved they are both as they took home the grand prize at this year’s Thunder Challenge, becoming the first unit in the competition's history to secure back-to-back victories.
“It feels amazing winning back-to-back,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Francisco Estrada, Jr., 7 CWS weather forecaster. “The competition wasn’t easy, so we weren’t sure what to expect.”
“We were a different team from last year so we couldn’t expect the same output, but we had great chemistry which made coming out on top even more rewarding,” he continued.
Thunder Challenge is an annual combat readiness competition for combat weather Airmen. This year’s competition, held at Fort Drum, New York, included five weather squadrons that demonstrated their tactical weather forecasting and combat skills over two days.
To train, the team endured physical training including running, ruck marches, and the Army Fitness Test, and small-arms weapons familiarization.
“We put in the time and effort, but it definitely wasn't easy,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Chaney Hardt, 7 CWS weather forecaster. “Exercises like Thunder Challenge prepare you for the realities downrange. It gives you an idea of the stress you’ll face operating in a tactical environment and builds confidence in your ability to perform in the field.”
Combat weather Airmen embed directly with Army maneuver elements, providing environmental situational awareness that directly shapes air and ground operations.
“It’s extremely rewarding,” added Estrada. “Supporting Army aviation and ground forces means we have a direct impact on the mission. The aircrews depend on our forecasts to fly safely and effectively, and they appreciate when we deliver accurate, timely data.”
For Col. Leland Cowie II, 435th Air Ground Operations Wing commander, the milestone carried personal significance as one of the competition's original architects.
“When my team launched the inaugural Thunder Challenge, our goal was to design a readiness validation event to ensure our Staff Weather Officers were tested under the most demanding tactical and degraded forecasting conditions possible,” said Cowie. “Fast forward seven years and watching the 7 CWS take home consecutive titles feels like a proud parent moment seeing our Airmen excel at the highest level as this vital competition continues to thrive and sharpen our warfighters.”
In addition to Estrada and Hardt, the third member of the winning team was U.S. Air Force Capt. Griffin Petri.