Since 1947, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) has provided operational weather support to the U.S. Army. AF combat weather teams (CWTs) are stationed with most major Army units, such as the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, GA, and the 1st Brigade Combat Team at Fort Lewis, WA. Air Force weather (AFW) personnel must be trained on how their duty of providing weather support to the Army (in-garrison and deployed in the field) is just a little bit different than supporting the USAF's flying units. Their very survival might depend on the combat skills learned from a new Army course.

The Army Staff Weather Officer (or 'SWO') Course is one of the main ways AFW personnel receive training for their Army support assignment. The SWO Course is taught at the U.S. Army's Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca (USAIC&FH). In the past, the previous version of the SWO Course had been 10 days in length and geared for officers and mid-grade Non-commissioned officers (NCO). Recently, the course was expanded to four weeks to include more hands-on and combat field skills training and is designed for all AFW personnel who support the Army, regardless of rank and experience.

The main reason for the new SWO Course was the realization that AFW personnel sent to duty with the Army arrive with less experience and training in "combat field skills" than Army personnel of the same rank, age, and time in the service. For example, an AFW sergeant arriving for duty at Fort Campbell knows very little about deploying with the CWT to a tactical field location, and working under austere conditions, than does a comparable Army sergeant. NCO duties and responsibilities might be similar, but the USAF sergeant is not as well prepared to carry out those duties in the field as is the Army sergeant.

Army and USAF leadership acknowledged the need to provide additional training to AFW personnel heading to Army support assignments. In 2001, Army and USAF leaders were surveyed to determine exact training requirements and priorities. A list of duties and tasks performed by, and skills needed for, AFW personnel at Army units was constructed and prioritized. The list was then converted into a rough curriculum, with approximate durations of training. After final review of the training priorities, curriculum content, and duration of training, the course was approved for implementation.

Next, training personnel developed the tasks, duties, and skills into individual modules and integrated the modules into a coherent course. Leadership decided to host the new course at the USAIC&FH, with a pilot course held during August 2003, and the first official course in October 2003. The plan is to train up to 15 AFW personnel during each class, with eight classes taught each year, for a total of up to 120 students annually.