Nylander Rememberance

Senior Airman Samantha Braley, Air Force Weather Agency A6W, stands guard next to a battlefield cross inside the AFWA headquarters facility April 26 at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Braley was one of more than 30 men and women that volunteered to stand guard in 30 or 60 minute shifts for 24 hours as a way of honoring Capt. Nate Nylander, a weather officer who was killed in Afghanistan along with eight others during a shooting at Kabul International Airport on April 27, 2011. (Photo by Charles Haymond)

Nylander Rememberance

Senior Airman Samantha Braley, Air Force Weather Agency A6W, steps in to relieve Col. David Bacot, 2d Weather Group commander, after standing guard next to a battlefield cross inside the AFWA headquarters facility April 26 at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. More than 30 men and women volunteered from AFWA to stand guard in 30 or 60 minute shifts for 24 hours as a way of honoring Capt. Nate Nylander, a weather officer who was killed in Afghanistan along with eight others during a shooting at Kabul International Airport on April 27, 2011. (Photo by Charles Haymond)

Battlefield Weather

Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan -- Senior Airman Michael Richardson takes weather readings with a TMQ-53 tactical weather sensor during training at Fort Irwin, Calif. Richardson is a battlefield weather forecaster assigned to the 3rd Weather Squadron at Fort Riley, Kan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Val Gempis)

Battlefield Weather

Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan -- Staff Sgt. Christopher Dearborn (back center) briefs Soldiers during training at Fort Irwin, Calif. Dearborn is a battlefield weather forecaster assigned to the 3rd Weather Squadron at Fort Riley, Kan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Val Gempis)

Battlefield weather forecaster

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman James Ecker, 19th Expeditionary Weather Squadron, battlefield weather forecaster, conducts a preventive maintenance inspection on a weather sensor on Oct. 9, 2012, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The 19th EWS provides Army ground commanders with accurate and real-time weather conditions and offers alternative options to help commanders make informed decisions on combat operations. Ecker's hometown is Lorain, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)

Battlefield weather forecasters

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Adam Gagne, right, and Senior Airman Adam Chmielowski, left, both 19th Expeditionary Weather Squadron battlefield weather forecasters, make a weather observation on Oct. 10, 2012, at Forward Operating Base Masum Ghar, Afghanistan. The 19th EWS provides Army ground commanders with accurate and real-time weather conditions and offers alternative options to help commanders make informed decisions on combat operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)