Airman Spotlight: Staff Sgt. Michael Nelson

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  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  

Unit: 51st Operations Support Squadron

Job title: Mission weather element NCO in charge

Job description and its impact on the overall mission: We monitor low cloud ceilings, low visibility or severe atmospheric hazards, for pilots and aircrew here at Osan and across the peninsula. Accurate forecasts of cloud layers, visibility and flight-level winds drive the type of mission, type of munitions used, and time frame a target is most vulnerable or available. It is the job of the weather forecaster embedded into the fighter squadron to provide an accurate, timely, and clearly defined Mission Execution Forecast (MEF) to our customer - the pilot. It is my job as the NCOIC of the mission weather element to manage the integration of weather operations and personnel into the fighter squadrons, as well as coordinating the format of the MEF.

Time in the military: Almost nine years

Time at Osan: Seven months

DEROS: January 2014

Family: My wife, Staff Sgt. Monica Nelson, who's an air traffic controller stationed at Kunsan AB.

Hometown: Kingsville, Texas

Hobbies: I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, and traveling.

Why did you join the military? There is a long tradition of military heritage in my family. My grandfather flew B-17's in WWII, my father was in the Navy and my brother is an F-16 pilot in the Air Force.

Where do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years? In 20 years I plan on being retired as an officer from the military, enjoying a happy and healthy life with my wife and children, and traveling the world together.

What's your favorite Air Force memory or story? My favorite memory is teaching advanced aviation weather courses to Afghan pilots while deployed at FOB Shindand. The Afghans had some basic weather knowledge when I started teaching them, but after teaching their curriculum, plus the one I developed, they had a comprehensive understanding on how weather plays an important role in flight safety and mission accomplishment. The class also had some of the highest scores seen to date on the advanced aviation weather block, one of those being a female trainee.

What accomplishment are you most proud of? I'm most proud of the fact that I was able to earn my Bachelor's Degree in Meteorology over the last four years despite being deployed three times, getting married and managing work responsibilities.

Who are your role models? My role models are definitely my family because they have always supported me in anything and everything I've done. From playing sports as a kid to my career in the Air Force, my family has always been there to help me through the tough times in my life.