HILL AIR FORCE BASE – Senior Airman Devyn Houston, 75th Operations Support Squadron weather forecaster, was born in Los Angeles, lived as a teen in Georgia and said she joined the Air Force, “to ultimately place myself in a structured environment where I could thrive.”
With closest extended family living in California, Houston has certainly thrived since arriving at Hill AFB a year ago, coming from her first duty station, Scott AFB in Illinois.
Houston is Hill’s African American Heritage Committee chair and recently hosted the Funky Fresh Friday event at The Landing.
“We teamed up with Project One and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA) office to help prepare this event,” she said. “The whole team of eight helped decorate, set up, DJ, MC and tear down. It was a cultural appreciation experience with education, food and music.”
Houston said she also enjoys Project One trivia nights because it’s fun to get together to laugh and enjoy food with other people on base.
“Project One gives people the ability to connect,” she said. It’s tough coming to a new state and not knowing anyone, and this lets us come together and give each other support and friendship.”
On the job, Houston forecasts the weather, issues weather watches, warnings and advisories such as heavy snow or lightning within five miles.
“The best part of my job is when I accurately forecast a weather event and I’m able to help the pilots,” she said. I give our F-35 pilots a brief before takeoff, to let them know the weather at the surface and flight level as well as any hazards like turbulence.”
She said the most difficult part of her job is putting together a perfect forecast with meteorological reasoning and then things change because weather is nature and sometimes the atmosphere is just unpredictable.
Houston doesn’t often get the forecast wrong, being recognized as the 2023 AFMC Weather MAJCOM Airman of the Year.
She credits her success to being part of an 18-member team, where each person has taught her something.
“Each day we all work together to produce accurate weather products that are used to plan F-35 missions, protect base resources and warn base leadership of severe weather to prevent personnel danger,” she said.
Houston and the group of professionals working with her were awarded the 2023 AFMC Weather MAJCOM Team of the Year, for their efforts.
Houston said she really enjoys her work and the natural beauty of Utah, but realizes not everyone has the same outlook.
She advises people to get out of their comfort zone and join an organization or group, or even start one, with people who have mutual interests.
“If you don’t know where to start, volunteer and you’ll make friends,” Houston said. “Get out of your dorm room and try something new. Utah has so much to offer.”