Ops and cops need the help of these shops Published March 4, 2014 By Airman 1st Class Jason Wiese 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- From the missile crews on alert 24/7 to the tactical response force members teaming up with the 37th Helicopter Squadron, operators and boots on the ground need support back home. The Airmen in the 90th Missile Wing's missile complex get it from the 90th Operations Support Squadron, which plays a support role in several ways. Missileers adhere to strict guidelines and procedures while on alert, and knowing what to do and when to do it is a major part of what contributes to nuclear deterrence. To keep them knowledgeable, 90th OSS instructors train missile crews on a regular basis, said Capt. Mark Wullscheleger, 90th OSS senior instructor missile combat crew commander. Crew members are required to receive training and recertify they are proficient in their job skills on a monthly basis Instructors give missileers training rides, or simulated training scenarios in the Missile Procedures Trainer in the 90th Operations Group, as well as classroom instruction, he said. "These training rides include security and emergency procedures, to include fires, emergency war orders, and they take it as a crew," he said. Monthly MPT training focuses on three concentrations, emergency war orders, weapons system and codes training, he said. Three days of training are dedicated to each concentration. Crews train constantly, he said. Even while on alert, any down town is spent studying job materials and missile combat crew commanders conduct on-the-job training with their deputy commanders. "We take this job seriously," he said. "We understand the requirement to be competent with [ICBMs]. That's identified by the stringent training we do each month." Another facet of OSS's mission takes place in Building 1250, where the 90th OSS Weather Flight, 37th Helicopter Squadron and 90th Security Forces Group TRF work side-by-side. The 90th OSS Weather Flight provides weather support for the 90th MW -- as well as the Wyoming Air National Guard and Wyoming National Guard who operate near F.E. Warren -- said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Small, 90th OSS weather forecaster. Their main contribution to the wing's mission is to mitigate risk to the 37th HS, he said. The local climate is windy and causes turbulent flights for UH-1N Bell Helicopter's as they travel the missile complex. As a result, forecasters must keep aircrews informed about local weather to reduce the risk inclement weather presents. The 90th OSS Weather Flight also keeps wing and numbere-air force leadership informed about weather and its potential mission impact, he said. Most of the data they use to forecast comes from the 25th Operational Weather Squadron's equipment, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and the National Weather Service, but information gathered by 90th OSS Weather Flight equipment and visual information collected by its Airmen provide critical insight as well, he said. Whereas the other services' data is useful to seeing the overall weather picture, locally-gathered data helps tailor the weather forecasts into something more useful for the 90th MW. Weather forecasting is fickle by nature, and at times, the weather changes unforeseeably, he said. "The big running joke I've heard is 'Weather is the only career field where you're allowed to be wrong and still keep your job," he said, laughing. "I feel like people know forecasting weather is a tough career field," he said, shifting back to a serious tone. "We try to put enough effort and technical analysis to give a good prediction of what's going to happen the next day." Whether it is giving helicopter pilots critical weather updates or assuring commanders the Airmen in the missile fields are proficient, the Airmen of the 90th OSS are the ones who help make it happen.