Keynote Speakers:
MAJOR William L. Henning
Major William L. Henning is the Director of Operations, 14th Weather Squadron, Asheville, North Carolina. He is responsible for the operations of the Air Force's only climate-focused weather squadron: a 64-member geographically separated unit delivering tailored climatological intelligence to the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He is also responsible for operating the Department of Defense's only authoritative climate data archive, and overseeing quality control of over 4 terabytes of global surface and upper-air meteorological ingest annually. Maj Henning earned his commission from Iowa State University in 2006. He attended the Weather Officer Course at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, and then went on to become a senior duty officer and training flight commander at the 26th Operational Weather Squadron, supporting resource protection for the Southeast CONUS. Maj Henning has served in leadership positions in weather operations across the Air Force, Army, and Intelligence Units. He served as flight Commander, Weather Operations in Air Education and Training Command's 2nd busiest Airfield supporting the Joint Undergraduate Specialized Pilot Training Program. At Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was a flight commander at the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center, observing, coaching, and training staff weather officers in field exercises supporting 3-5,000 new troops each month. After receiving his Masters degree in Atmospheric Science from Texas A&M, he served as a research and development advisor focused on advanced radiative transfer to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center in Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. Additionally, Maj Henning has deployed in support of Operations NEW DAWN, ENDURING FREEDOM and INHERENT RESOLVE. Prior to his current duty, he served as a requirements manager for space-based space-weather sensing in the Air Force's Space Command and subsequently the United States Space Force.
Staff Sergeant Joe T. Pell
SSgt Joe Tillery Pell is a Weather Craftsman at the 16 Weather Squadron, Offutt AFB, Neb. He leads product outreach for tailored weather support in global military operations by producing surveys, documenting stakeholder needs, and providing operational insight to weather model developers.
Staff Sergeant Pell entered the Air Force in April 2016 through the MEPS in Dallas, Texas. He completed weather technical school in January 2017, and since then has held a variety of operational support positions related to Air Force, Navy, and Joint Coalition weather support. His first assignment was to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, were he crafted hundreds of aviation mission planning products for the PACOM Theater. His efforts were key in supporting Presidential movements for the historical N. Korean DMZ Summit. Staff Sergeant Pell also served as a resiliency trainer for his squadron, meeting the Comprehensive airmen fitness vision of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
Technical Sergeant Marshall A. White
Technical Sergeant Marshall A. White is a Weather Parachutist, NCOIC, Tactics and Development, Detachment 1, 23d Special Operations Weather Squadron, 1st Special Operations Group, 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. Technical Sergeant White provides specialized aviation weather support to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). He provides weather support for the coordination and execution of precision rotary-wing assault missions for 212 special operations aircraft across five battalions, conducting contingency operations around the globe. Technical Sergeant White also oversees the training of 22 Detachment personnel, establishing certification plans and preparing Detachment personnel for deployment across the globe. Technical Sergeant White enlisted in the Air Force in March 2012. Upon being selected for Air Force Weather, Technical Sergeant White continued on to the Air Force Weather Apprentice Course at Keesler AFB, MS. Following successful completion of nearly eight months of technical training, he spent his first eighteen months as a weather forecaster at Barksdale AFB, LA, 26th Operational Weather Squadron. He was then assigned to Detachment 4, 18th Weather Squadron, Fort Campbell, KY, where he completed both the Army Air Assault school in 2015, and the Army Pathfinder school in 2017. These additional skillsets allowed him to excel in his primary role as a battlefield weather forecaster for the United States Army’s sole Air Assault Division—the 101st Airborne Division.
Following four years of both infantry and aviation weather support, Technical Sergeant White was selected for assignment to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Once there, he attended the United States Army Basic Airborne course and became a Weather Parachutist. Technical Sergeant White is the squadron’s sole qualified Pathfinder, allowing him to survey and declare safe both drop zones and helicopter landing zones, and coordinate both fixed and rotary wing airdrop operations. He is also qualified to rig, inspect, and certify external helicopter loads for flight. Technical Sergeant White has seen seven deployments in support of Operations SPARTAN SHIELD,INHERENT RESOLVE, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL and RESOLUTE SUPPORT, and multiple classified operations worldwide. Finally, Technical Sergeant White is one of the select few that is fully qualified to support forward arming and refueling point operations, providing the 160th SOAR(A) with atmospheric intelligence, helicopter landing zone coordination, and security at forward locations in both permissive and non-permissive environments.
Technical Sergeant James Burns
Technical Sergeant James Burns is a Weather Craftsman assigned to the first Joint Special Operations Air Component, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He enlisted in the Air Force in February 2012. His assignments include the 28th Operational Weather Squadron, Shaw AFB, South Carolina and the 18th Combat Weather Squadron, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has served in a variety of positions, including unit deployment manager, standards and evaluations representative and the primary forecaster to the 18th Airborne Corps. Additionally, he has served on 5 deployments to locations including Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria where he served as non-commissioned officer in charge of weather operations. He currently serves as the operations non-commissioned officer for the Joint Special Operations Meteorology and Oceanography directorate.
Invited Speaker: Mike Bilder
Mike Bilder is the Hurricane Program Manager and Hurricane Liaison Team Lead for FEMA Region 3. He provides technical assistance to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia in support of their coastal and inland flooding planning and responses. Prior to FEMA, Mike spent 8 years at the National Weather Service as an emergency manager and policy analyst. During that time he worked nearly every tropical threat to the U.S. from Sandy in 2012 to Michael in 2018. Mike graduated from Dickinson College, majoring in Policy Management and minoring in History. He received a Masters in Public Policy, with a concentration in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, from Georgetown University. He also has an Undergraduate Certificate in Weather Forecasting from Penn State University. He is also a Certified Emergency Manager. Mike also has a passion for history, especially weather and emergency response history. A native of Pennsylvania, he has lived his entire life in areas that were hit hard by Agnes.
