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Unfinished business

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Eric Burks
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  After 9/11, Master Sgt. James Rosebrock often walked into a familiar scene at airports across America - men and women cheering and waving flags, standing in line to shake hands with servicemembers in uniform.

For years, Rosebrock had served in the Air Force, but without the opportunity to deploy ... he worked with intercontinental ballistic missile systems.

"In the ICBM career field, you don't really get to see the fruits of your labor," he said. "And you don't really want to."

But as he passed through the airport crowds, gathered to welcome back those returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, he felt the call to join their ranks.

"I wanted the chance to deploy at least once before I retired," Rosebrock said.

After 15 years of working with strategic weapons systems, he retrained into the weather career field and would finally have that opportunity. Rosebrock is now a battlefield weather forecaster, deployed to Task Force Lightning Horse, 2-6 Calvary, at Kandahar Airfield.

As a Staff Weather Officer, his job is to forecast area weather conditions, which can have a huge impact on all task force missions.

"The majority of our forecasts are tailored for air operations," he said, "but these conditions also affect ground missions."

For instance, weather conditions may affect what air assets are available to support a ground operation, he said, so it's critical to provide an accurate forecast. This information gives task force leadership the ability to exploit the weather and better plan for mission success.

"When you have a chance to see the fruits of what you do," Rosebrock said, "it's satisfying to know the impact you're making."

"Here, it's very awe-inspiring to see the big picture," he said. "And it's a great way to finish my career."

"When my deployment is over and I shake those hands at the airport, I'll feel like I've really earned it," he said.