Staff briefings, as well as most other briefings, are begun with the meteorologist/oceanographer giving a synopsis of the weather. A weather synopsis is a brief statement on the location and movement of pressure systems and fronts over the region/area of interest. An example of a weather synopsis for the eastern United States is as follows:

A low-pressure system centered over central Connecticut is moving east-north-east at 15 knots. A cold front extends south-southwest from this low to northwest Florida. The front is quasi-stationary from northwest Florida to Louisiana. Warm, moist tropical air is overriding the stationary front, causing considerable cloudiness and intermittent rain in this area. This condition is expected to exist during the next 36 hours. High pressure centered over Kansas is moving east at 10 knots and dominates the weather picture in the midwest.

Only after obtaining a comprehensive under-standing of a planned operation should you prepare the weather briefing for the operation. Many lives and much costly equipment are generally involved; therefore, preparation of the brief cannot be haphazard in nature; compile as much data as possible and deliberately detail your briefing to the operation. The success or failure of an operation is often attributable, either entirely or in part, to the value of the environmental information given to the operational commander.

Learning Objective: List the elements of importance in route planning, surface, submarine, and helicopter operations.

Task-group commanders and COs desire long-range forecasts for route planning, to avoid bad weather and/or sea conditions. Today, wide use is made of Optimum Track Ship Routing (OTSR) services provided by Oceanography Centers. OTSR personnel use the latest long-range forecasts in conjunction with climatic data to recommend the best route on which to begin a transit.

Even with the popularity of OTSR, meteorol-ogy/ oceanography officers aboard carriers and other ships with OA divisions normally compile climatic data and brief the officer in tactical command (OTC) and his staff, the CO, XO, operations officer, navigator, and other depart-ment heads before embarking on any extended cruise.

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