An Air Force Combat Weather specialist has earned the right to wear the U.S. Army's Ranger tab. John C. Sosa graduated from the Army's Ranger Course, Feb. 18 . As a combat weatherman, Sosa is charged with providing weather to the 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. The Army Ranger Course is 61 days long. Course members average 19 hours of training each day, seven days a week.
Training is non-stop and intense.
Fla. The emphasis during the course is on practical, realistic and strenuous fieldwork. A goal of the course is to develop individual leadership abilities through the application of the principles of leadership. This training will enable him to go forward with his Ranger customers as a team member, rather than as a liability, pushing weather forward and keeping a weather eye on target. According to the colonel, Sosa understands that in order to make the weather mission successful, combat weathermen have to be intimately familiar with their customer's operations and know when to inject weather intelligence into the mission planning or execution process. Our paradigm is weather forward because our customer demands it.