CWO Offices: What has changed since last year?

Not sure if this will calm your fears or not, but the program has been under the gun as in whole or in part since 2007 / 2008. OES report of 2009 also gave insight of the agencies ability to perform a much indepth (and expensive) review / analysts, even though there were many holes within the final report.

Since then we had strong push by agency to cut in 2011 & the largest since our current situation, 2013. If you recall the 2013 transition report gave all the finer details of overall program to disolve, with target dates to close offices in the summer of 2013.

So here we sit in 2016 - nothing has changed in reality with the attempts. But on the brighter side, there has been an awakening in Congress on our importance to the NAS. While we are such a small part of the overall picture, our services are essential to the safe operation at airports currently in the CWO Program--and the news is, people are being educated and enlightened.

ASOS has limitations (all well documented) ... we fill those limitations with data not available elsewhere.

While the FAA can tout their claim of "391 airports being provided LAWRS / critical data via controllers" ... we have documentation that proves otherwise.

The REAL story should read: There are 136 sites within the CWO Program, providing required critical data beyond LAWRS & these 136 airports are the medium & largest airports in the nation, thus allowing ATC to perform their critical jobs of aircraft separation, landing & takeoffs without having to compromise those services to multi-task providing critical weather data BEYOND the LAWRS requirements. This enhanced service ... aka ... A level, is required at these 136 CWO sites per the industry report, as agreed upon by government & stakeholders / industry. Only CWO's provide this A level service.

In this respect, nothing has changed either, although the FAA would have one believe otherwise.