The mission of the 557 WW is to conduct global weather operations to create Warfighter advantage…anytime, anywhere. This is accomplished by applying environmental and scientific knowledge to protect freedom of maneuver and mitigate risk to United States and Allied forces. The 557 WW provides around-the-clock authoritative terrestrial and space-environmental data, analyses, forecasts, threat-warning and threat-mitigation products and services for the Department of Defense, military services, all geographic and functional combatant commands, the National Intelligence Community, White House Situation Room, interagency, allied, and coalition partners around the world across multiple security enclaves.
The 557 WW Strategic Vision is assured environmental information advantage for America and her Allies…enabled by, with, and through the Wing’s many partners.
Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, the 557 WW is comprised of nearly 1,500 personnel assigned to wing staff, two groups, twelve squadrons, four detachments and five operating locations. Sixteen of the units are geographically separated and strategically placed to optimize their longstanding joint, combatant command, coalition, allied, and interagency partnerships to achieve U.S. objectives.
The 1st Weather Group (1 WXG) is comprised of six Operational Weather Squadrons providing timely, accurate, relevant, and actionable information advantage through environmental data around the clock in support of joint warfighters worldwide. These squadrons are optimized to employ non-traditional means to provide information and services that maximize employment of environmental impacts across geographic and functional combatant commands in their planning and execution cycles.
Professional meteorologist and weather technicians continuously monitor any terrestrial and space weather activity. They are responsible for producing and disseminating mission planning and execution weather analyses, forecasts, and briefings for Air Force, Space Force, Army, Guard and Reserve forces operating around the world by providing installation commanders advanced warning of severe weather to protect personnel, weapon systems and infrastructure.
Operational Weather Squadrons are assigned specific global areas of expertise to address problem sets from the National Defense Strategy and core meteorological functions and have the capability to distribute operations across the enterprise to enhance the Group’s survivability and lethality. These squadrons are assigned to an array of in-place forces to provide characterizations, threat assessments, or other functions in support of directed energy weapons, hypersonic vehicles, long range fires, and other emerging DoD capabilities.
The 2d Weather Group (2 WXG) conducts environmental and cyber intelligence operations for decision advantage across the competition continuum. Its six unique squadrons provide mission-specific global and specialized terrestrial and space environmental modeling, Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) software operations, space weather and electromagnetic spectrum analysis and forecasts, climatological environmental intelligence, data operations and integration, and cyber defense at sufficient speed and scale to enhance combatant commander, Intelligence Community, and mission partner information advantage. To accomplish this mission, 2 WXG operates, sustains, and secures two of the Air Force’s largest data processing centers and a high-performance computing resource to make trusted weather data visible and accessible 24/7 to decision makers across the full spectrum of global operations.
The 2 WXG also fulfills duties as ACC’s primary Operational Test Organization for the strategic and tactical components of the Air Force Weather Weapon System, 557 WW’s Tactics Development Program for traditional and Information Warfare missions and deploys Environmental Collection Teams supporting combatant command environmental collection strategies.
The 557 WW traces its heritage back to a weather organization established by the U.S. Army Signal Corps during the 19th Century. In 1917, the Signal Corps reactivated this service in support of the American Expeditionary Forces deploying to fight in France. Two decades later, the weather service moved under the Army Air Corps. 557 WW’s official lineage began on April 14, 1943 with the activation of the Weather Wing, Flight Control Command.
Following World War II, the Wing was redesignated as the Air Weather Service (AWS), and provided meteorological, climatological, environmental, and additional support to the new Air Force, the Army, the Department of Defense, other governmental agencies, and international partners.
In 1991, the office of the Director of Weather was established within the Air Staff, and AWS became a field operating agency. AWS was redesignated as the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) in 1997 and moved its headquarters to Offutt AFB. On March 27, 2015, AFWA was redesignated as an operational wing and became realigned under 12th Air Force, Air Combat Command until Oct. 29, 2019 when 557 WW was reassigned to 16th Air Force. To exemplify its modern missions, the new motto of “Weather Drives Behavior” was officially added in 2023 to the Wing’s emblem, first created in 1942.