CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (USTCNS) --- Weather is an important factor in everyone's life, but for U.S. Transportation Command's exercise Turbo Patriot 2000, it means if you can do your planned tasks today or not. That's where Detachment 1, 18th Weather Squadron comes in.

Four members of the 18th WS deployed with their host unit, the 7th Transportation Group, Fort Eustis, Va., for the Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) exercise held at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Their main task was to provide weather forecasting of land and sea conditions and how it would effect operations. One of the objectives of Turbo Patriot was to offload vehicles and other equipment and transport it to Fort Irwin, Calif., by Sept. 17.

Sr. Airman Bill Knight, forecaster, says, "Our main concern the last couple of days has been the sea conditions. For example, today the surf was so high it effected operations at the trident pier. The storm that was off the coast of Southern California the last few days didn't give us high winds or a lot of rain, but it did kick up the seas to a point were it slowed down operations quite a bit."

The seas were lifting the causeway and trident piers a good three feet, which did not permit the landing craft boats to approach safely. Further out, the seas were a little calmer so they are not having as much trouble unloading.

To gather forecast information, the forecasters use several Internet sites.

When the Internet is not accessible, they use a tactical satellite download system to receive information from an Air Force weather satellite, radar data, observations - whatever they need to gather data at a remote location. All that is needed in a remote area is a power source and a small area to set up the antenna.

"We're using the satellite system for this exercise," Knight points out.

Knight is the day shift person. He arises at 4 a.m., grabs something to eat at the Navy's Galley, and hitches a ride from base camp to the beach. There he receives a briefing from the night shift person on current conditions. From this they put together the morning briefing for the commander's standup at 7 a.m.

"We then start a fresh four-day forecast that will be given to all the commanders at 11 a.m.," he says. "We also radio all the ships in the area with the same forecast."

Why is an Air Force weather squadron stationed on an Army post?

"It goes back to 1947 when the Air Force split with the Army to form its own service," says Staff Sgt. David Moman, another forecaster and supervisor for the detachment during the exercise. "The Air Force agreed to supply weather forecasting to the Army. Where ever the Army unit goes, the Air Force weather folks go with them.

"During Desert Storm, two forecasters were with their Army unit when they stormed the American Embassy in Kuwait," the sergeant added, "guns in hand."

Knight's plans for the future do not include becoming a television newscaster.

"I'd like to work at the national hurricane center in Florida," he says, "or the national severe storms laboratory in Oklahoma. The worse the weather, the more I like it."