The Story of Major Wilbur Hugli
Story provided by Wilbur Hugli
“My Air Force career started on 15 January 1961 as the draft breathed down my neck. I had dropped out of college and was trying to enlist for USAF Navigator training.” – Maj. (Ret.) Wilbur Hugli
In 1961, Major (Ret.) Wil Hugli enlisted in the U.S. Air Force with the intent of becoming a navigator. During the process of trying to pass the flight physical, he discovered that he required a waiver due to his eyesight. His recruiter convinced him that the waiver would be completed while he attended Basic Military Training (BMT). Unfortunately for him, this was not true. While attending BMT, he was offered the weather career field. This was uncommon at the time as very few people were qualified for this career field.
Hugli attended the Weather Technical School that was located at Chanute AFB, IL in March 1961. Surprisingly, he was a member of the last class to be trained on rawinsonde and both surface airborne weather radars at Chanute. “All three became important in later assignments,” Hugli stated. Eventually Hugli was assigned to Columbus AFB, Mississippi in September 1961 which was a Strategic Air Command base at the time. He started to receive weapons training from small arms, 0.50 caliber machine guns, to 81mm mortars in preparation for a Vietnam assignment. “The Air Force Security Police were happy to help,” explained Hugli. Each time he received orders, they ended up getting canceled because he had a pending application for the Airman’s Education and Commissioning Program (AECP).
Major Hugli in Mess Dress
In September of 1964, Hugli developed a blood infection causing him to be hospitalized for 56 days. Once released, he received an assignment to Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea. As Hugli arrived in Korea with his wife and baby daughter, he was informed that he was being court-martialed for going AWOL. It turns out that a site in Vietnam was nearly over run and a weather observer was missing that served as the heavy weapons operator. While Hugli was enroute to Korea, a change of assignment to Ah Shaw Valley Special Forces Camp was built but never left Columbus AFB.
Once things were cleared up, Hugli learned that his blood condition made him ineligible for continued service. It took the Secretary of the Air Force to waive his condition and grant him an AECP assignment in August 1965. Hugli started the program in Norman, Oklahoma at the University of Oklahoma pursuing a Meteorology degree. Mid-October an Air Force Colonel arrived from the Air Force Institute of Technology to speak to all 400 Air Force students. The intent was to cut 2 semesters from the program due to the need of forecasters in Southeast Asia. Over a weekend, Hugli went from 12 credit hours to 16 credit hours. Upon completion, he reported to Lackland AFB for Officer Training School.
Hugli in Alaska
Hugli’s first assignment as an officer in September was to Eielson AFB in Detachment 2, 10th Weather Squadron working for Strategic Air Command and supporting a variety of mission sets from reconnaissance to air defense. In December 1970 he was reassigned to be the US Army Cold Weather Regions Research Center Staff Weather Officer (SWO) at Fort Greely, Alaska where he worked with the Alaska State Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Canadian Customs and Border Protection.
In July 1971 Hugli was assigned to Fort Bragg as a Weather Station Officer In Charge (OIC) in Detachment 3, 16th Weather Squadron. After three weeks as the Weather Station OIC, the Detachment 3 Commander (Maj. Gordon Spillinger) reassigned Hugli as the 82nd Airborne Division SWO. Maj. Spillinger took Hugli to the Division Headquarters for introductions. The first stop was the G2 Sergeant Major. “Sgt. Maj. Diffimin was the second oldest serving member of the Division. He stood up, saluted, and said ‘Airborne Sir’. Gordon introduced me, Diffimin shook my hand, and walked out of the office. Gordon laughed and proceeded to tell me the Sgt Maj. was going wash his contaminated hand. I was an Air Force Lieutenant and a leg – two insults,” Hugli explained.
Eventually he attended Basic Airborne Course in September 1972 at Fort Benning to fulfill all Division SWO duties. “When I returned to Fort Bragg that Friday, I went into the Sgt. Maj. office where he stood up, saluted, and said ‘Welcome Aboard Sir!’ Diffimin proceeded to tell me that the Division ADVON would deploy to Turkey Monday morning where my jeep and equipment would be marshaled on Longstreet in position 8,” Hugli stated. The following Monday at 6am, Hugli arrived to a fully loaded vehicle with an enlisted forecaster and observer and departed for Turkish Thrace.
Hugli and his team in Turkish Thrace
Once Hugli arrived in Turkish Thrace in January 1973 for a Joint NATO exercise, he ran into two problems quickly. The first was when he was surveying an area for an exercise and drop zone. He was riding in a jeep with the U.S. Army soldiers and unintentionally crossed into Bulgaria. “…told the driver to turn around immediately. We had passed and waved at two-armed border guards walking in the opposite direction. We turned around and again passed the walking guards. About a mile down the road, we passed a fallen sign welcoming us into Bulgaria. Four armed US military personnel touring a communist country,” Hugli explained.
The second problem was revealed when the team returned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s Operation Center. “…the G2 handed me a phone saying, ‘it’s for you.’ I answered and immediately heard an angry USAF Colonel yelling ‘What in the hell are you doing in Turkey.’ It seems that those Eielson jobs and duty travel restrictions caught up with me,” said Hugli. It turned out that he was not supposed to leave the U.S. or Canada for a 5-year period due to his previous assignment at Eielson AFB. “I told the Colonel that first I was armed and second, I was in the middle of over 100 U.S., British, and Turkish armed paratroopers,” continued Hugli. The number of personnel soon became around 2,000. “The Colonel said I would hear from his boss and hung up. Good or bad I never heard from them again,” Hugli finished.
After returning home, Hugli stayed at Fort Bragg for another three years. He also served as the SWO for XVIII Airborne Corps, JFK Center for Military Assistance, 5th Special Forces Group (SFG), 7th SFG, 20th SFG, and Fort Bragg Garrison Command.
In July 1975 Hugli was assigned to Bad Tölz with the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) working with Combined Special Operations Task Force Europe, 2nd Weather Wing, and 7th Weather Squadron. “Bad Tölz was a well-kept secret and supposedly a quiet relaxing assignment for which I found very little information. A small US Army installation in the Bavarian Alp foothills just what I needed after four years of hectic Fort Bragg,” explained Hugli.
Captain Hugli and Senior Airman Schneider; Bad Tölz, Germany
After four years of a unique assignment supporting units in 17 countries, Capt. Hugli was assigned to MacDill AFB, Florida as the 6th Weather Squadron Chief of Plans. At that time 6th Weather Squadron supported U.S. Readiness Command (USREDCOM) which was the precursor for Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) that morphed into U.S. Central Command. Col. Nou who was the 6th Weather Squadron Commander worked with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) to get Hugli reassigned to JSOC as their SWO.
“Col. Nou wanted a paper pusher and JSOC/REDCOM wanted an operator, so I was in the middle,” stated Hugli. Hugli’s first briefing at USREDCOM went poorly due to a lack of instructions and several blank slides he was required to prepare. “I walked up to the podium in the briefing room and handed my four slides to the civilian projectionist who said ‘Duck’. A very irritated Army O6 charged up to the podium yelling why didn’t you give your slides for approval? I responded simply ‘sorry but I don’t need your approval and you wouldn’t understand my slides in the first place’,” Hugli continued. It turned out that several of the individuals in attendance thought it was humorous. Shortly after, Gen. Volly Warner and his staff arrived. “I started the briefing and when I finished General Warner said, ‘Welcome Wil it’s about time you showed up.’ Col. Nou’s mouth fell open,” Hugli said. Gen. Warner asked if he had the nice weather summary slide he used at Fort Bragg and if he did, the general wanted to see it in the weather brief from that point on. “Then he said that there was a command parachute jump that week and the Command Sgt. Maj. could use another experienced Jumpmaster, so please join us. Col. Nou nearly had a seizure. After the briefing, Col. Nou charged into the Chief of Staff’s office to kill the new unapproved slide but coming out, he told me to make certain the slide had the REDCOM logo and all the forecasters knew how to use it. The start of a four-year love-hate relationship,” finished Hugli.
Hugli and team shaving in the field, 1981
After returning from a 30-day TDY, Hugli decided to take an afternoon run before seeing the 6th Weather Squadron Director of Operations. “… proceeded to tell me I had work to do and stop wasting time running. I was a staff officer! I was coming up on twenty years’ service, so Jakie and I began seriously talking about retirement,” Hugli commented. A few days later, he received news that he was set to become the Detachment Commander at Fort Bragg. “We had basically decided to retire when I received a phone call from Senior Master Sgt. Jim Hoy at Det 3. He said that the rumor mill was that I was going to retire rather than come to Bragg. I told him that that was the likely plan. Where upon he reminded that several times, I had put the assignment hurt on him and now it was his turn,” Hugli continued.
In August 1983 Hugli returned to Fort Bragg to find out his detachment had moved into an old World War II NCO temporary billets building. “All the office and weather equipment were either on the backs of open trucks or draining rainwater in the building halls. Capt. Smarsh and Senior Master Sgt. Hoy said they had two days’ notice to relocate the detachment and no other option since the old building was coming down the next day,” Hugli stated. He spent the next week helping his team clean the building and in-processing into Pope AFB and Fort Bragg. After a month, they were able to get the building in a clean and organized shape. Even the wives from the unit helped by making curtains and bringing in lunches.
“In the process I started trying to solve problems. First, there were problems with classified material storage that I needed to have XVIII Airborne Corps G2 assist with. Second, all the Army issued weapons for 75 people and vehicles transferred uncleaned to a newly formed Military Intelligence Brigade and we needed to clean them ASAP,” Hugli continued. The detachment was also undermanned with only 52 personnel. “Det 3 was authorized a Lt. Col., two Majors, and six Captains. It had one Major, One Captain, and four 2nd Lieutenants. Senior Master Sgt. Hoy as the senior NCO. Interestingly I had six US Army drivers and Radio Teletype operators,” Hugli explained. The detachment was responsible for supporting XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg Garrison Command, 82nd Airborne Division, JFK Military Assistance Center, 1st Special Operations Command, three Special Forces Groups, three Army Reserve units and one National Guard unit.
Senior Airman in full combat load
In October 1983, Hugli’s detachment was alerted for Operation URGENT FURY. During the initial planning for the invasion into Grenada, the Navy did not communicate well with the Army. “…executed JSOC’s plan which at least used 82nd Airborne Division as a fall back. Initially XVIII Airborne Corps was cut out and planners ordered back to Bragg. I sat with the Corps staff listening to the high command net as the invasion took place and the developing problems,” commented Hugli.
2nd Lt. Brett Scholten and Staff Sgt. Steve Lord were on the first C-130 that landed in Grenada. This was due to the equipment that was not able to be dropped with the 82nd Airborne Division’s ADVON party. “They did see what 23mm rounds looked like bouncing off the runway. The 5th Weather Wing Commander called me asking what hell I was doing sending a new 2nd Lt. as the Staff Weather Officer and get there and replace him. When I refused telling him that Brett was the Division SWO and if I did this, he would have to be reassigned in disgrace from the Army Post having been relieved during a combat operation. Then I heard the phone slam. 30 minutes later via ops-immediate message, I was notified to deploy as the Commander of Weather Support Force Forward,” Hugli continued. He grabbed his gear and boarded the next available C-141 out of Pope AFB.
Major Hugli during prejump
As Hugli arrived at Port Salines Airport in Grenada, he realized the confusion that was going on. “The airport was a mess of units. I found the weather and CCT area and checked into the 82nd TOC (Tactical Operations Center) where Brett was working,” Hugli commented. Hugli immediately went to work addressing problems as they arose. One such problem the G2 asked about was concerning who was sending out the weather observations for Pearls Airport and how soon could Hugli get a team to that location. A C130 was tasked to take a team from Port Salines to Pearls. It turned out that the British were sending them out from another island. “However, Pearls was a mess. The Marines were redeploying to the LHA (Amphibious Assault Ship). Their commander grabbed me and said ‘Major, it’s your airfield and watch out for the snipers because they keep shooting. We’re leaving.’,” Hugli continued. The biggest issue Hugli had to contend with was that he had one weather observer, two Security Police and three Combat Control Team personnel. He had several hundred seized Grenadian weapons and no communication with the rest of the U.S. forces at Port Salines.
Five hours later, a C-130 landed with a K-Loader (container loader) the aircraft commander had not been told that the airfield was not secure. Hugli was able to ask the aircraft commander to send a status report to the 82nd Air Liaison Officer. “Just before dark, another C-130 arrived with a platoon from the 82nd and a thank you note from the G2,” said Hugli. Hugli was ordered back to Fort Bragg 5-days later to brief the Military Airlift Commander. The Detachment 3 Army assigned Radio Teletype Communications Rigs relayed weather data between Fort Bragg and Grenada. Once the 82nd Airborne Division redeployed back to Fort Bragg, the Detachment 75 Special Operations Weather Team from Hurlburt Field relieved the Detachment 3, 16th Weather Squadron personnel.
Major Hugli and his team at Simmons AAF, North Carolina
When Hugli returned to Fort Bragg in November 1983 the tempo didn’t slow down. Camp Mackall became a full-time airfield and required weather observations with pilot weather briefs from Simmons AAF. The 5th Weather Wing did not want us to support when the Army was saying that it was an operational requirement. “So, it was another challenge,” Hugli stated.
In May 1985 Hugli was notified that he would be sent to Hurlburt Field with the newly assigned 6th Weather Squadron. He would help move the 6th Weather Squadron and establish a new Air Weather Service training course. Volant Lightning was established to train Air Weather Service personnel that work at conventional weather stations to be proficient in tactical field operations. Brig. Gen. Chapman (Commander, Air Weather Service) briefed Hugli on the requirements and asked that he not retire as planned.
Fort Bragg, May 1984
Hugli arrived at Hurlburt Field in June 1985 to start working with USAF Special Operations as the Operations Officer. 6th Weather Squadron. 6th Weather Squadron was provided double-wide trailers and a garage for the squadron headquarters and upper Air Teams. They had eight GDM-1 Rawinsonde Receivers, six 35-foot tractor trailers, eight ¾ ton 6 passenger trucks and three station wagons. The squadron now established three detachments and one Special Operations Weather Team. It took a year for the 6th Weather Squadron permanent building to be completed. Three months after the squadron stood up, their first exercise started.
VOLANT LIGHTNING consisted of two weeks of intensive training for weather personnel that had little to no field or deployed experience. The first week consisted of classroom instruction and the second was a field training exercise (FTX). The FTX simulated combat conditions with Detachment 75 Special Operations Weather Team and a few base Security Police (predecessors to Security Forces) acted as opposition forces (OPFOR). “Lt Col Dave Hand (6th Weather Squadron Commander) and I acted as the task force commanders with occasion command visits by AFSOC Generals. It was a stressful and challenging two weeks that in the end paid big dividends,” Hugli commented.
On 1 September 1989, Maj. Wilbur Hugli retired.
Major Hulgi pinning Jump Wings
After retiring Hugli was asked to conduct six VOLANT LIGHTNING classes in preparation for potential Middle East deployment. “Everything was ready and the classes were finished by late November. Maybe the most dangerous and entertaining lesson for one class was when a relatively small rattle snake fell and moved between the exercise commander and two female forecasters performing a briefing. As the ladies started to panic and run, I asked them why they stopped the briefing. They stopped and excitedly restarted their briefing, and the snake simply left the tent. Much later I heard that one of these ladies was one of the first deployed forecasters, set up the weather function at her location and did an outstanding job. Training that paid dividends,” explained Hugli.
