The 17th Operational Weather Squadron (OWS) is located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The 17 OWS Fighting Geckos are a diverse team of US Air Force Weather, Cyber, and Support Airmen that are equipped and empowered to shape the Information Warfare (IW) landscape in support of USINDOPACOM objectives. The 17 OWS is home to a US Navy Aviation Detachment whose Sailors are fully integrated in the joint operations center, in addition to a specialized Satellite Reconnaissance team of Airmen providing innovative tropical cyclone intensity and positioning forecasts for the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
The mission of the 17 OWS is to “analyze and infuse environmental intelligence” in support of the Department of Defense, National Intelligence Community, interagency, and allied mission partners within the USINDOPACOM AOR and around the world. They provide authoritative terrestrial and space-environmental data, analyses, and weather impact forecasts for friendly and adversarial forces, as well as threat-warning and mitigation products for the joint force. Leveraging multiple security enclaves, they work around-the-clock to create a competitive advantage against USINDOPACOM threats such as China, North Korea, and tropical cyclones. Connectedness, partnership building, Airmen/Sailor development, and continuous process improvement and innovation are core tenets of the Fighting Gecko approach to maximizing readiness, flexibility, and lethality to strengthen our Nation’s deterrence and information dominance posture now and in the future!
(Current as of November 2023)