Neal Macmillen tries his hand at Weathercasting, fall 2025.

Like many of his peers in the Weathercasting class taught by Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Rob Eisenson at Western Connecticut State University, Neal Macmillen has had an interest in meteorology since he was a young child.

“I’ve been interested in the weather since the first grade. I think you’re born a meteorologist,” Macmillen said. “I remember being a little kid and looking outside, and it was raining, but it was 28 degrees. I couldn’t understand how it wasn’t freezing. My mind at that age couldn’t figure it out, and it was the beginning of the making of a scientist. At that time, I had to walk a half mile each way to the bus stop as a kid, and even back then, I would notice the sky and its changing conditions. I’ve always appreciated the beauty of the sky.”

Now, before you are tempted to recite the joke about a long walk to the bus stop, in the snow, uphill both ways, it’s probably helpful to know that Macmillen was making that trek 65 years ago. At his current age of 72, he has about a half a century on his classmates — and while they are bringing him up to speed on technology, he has amazing stories to share about his years as an Air Force Weather Specialist and Combat Weatherman more than 45 years ago.

Neal Macmillen taking a manual wind reading on the ground in South Korea.

Macmillen grew up in North Branford, which at the time was mostly rural farms and orchards. He describes himself as “a country kid” who grew up hunting and fishing and became an expert marksman. After graduating from North Branford Senior High School, he enlisted in the Air Force to be a Weather Specialist. His training took place at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois, followed by his first duty assignment at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. As the 1970s ended and the 1980s began, Macmillen was a Combat Weatherman with the 2^nd Division in an air cavalry unit stationed in the DMZ in Korea.

Macmillen’s duties included flying daily in the door gunner position in a Huey helicopter, making weather observations on cloud ceilings and visibility, and creating forecasts to relay to commanders in the field.

Neal Macmillen at Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

“The Korean War had never been officially declared over, so my deployment was during a time of combat,” Macmillen recalled. “At the DMZ, we were still confronting the (North Korean) enemy regularly, including being subjected to attacks. Pilots would sometimes stray over the DMZ to the north and the enemy would shoot at us. I had no body armor, so I would remove my helmet and sit on it, because it’s worse to get shot in the behind and die a slow death than to get shot in the head and get it over with quickly. I survived horrible circumstances and saw lots of injuries and death in Korea, and it’s mainly because of fate that I’m still here,” he added.

From 1980 to 1981, Macmillen returned stateside and was stationed at Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. As part of the 509^th Bombardment Unit, the base housed FB 1-11 Fighter Bombers that carried the nuclear arsenal to protect North America. Macmillen received additional training in weather observation and would create packages for bomber pilots and refueling tanker pilots to get them the best route to avoid icing and turbulence. He also learned to operate weather radar for the first time.

WCSU Senior Meteorology student Cameron Kurasz assists Neal Macmillen with PowerPoint for his forecast.

After his honorable discharge in 1983, Macmillen enrolled at Southern Connecticut State University — the closest campus to his hometown of North Branford so he could commute — and pursued a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology. After his graduation, he worked as a meteorologist for the New England Weather Service and provided weather reports on WTIC radio in Hartford. By the mid-1990s, Macmillen became the Meteorologist in Charge at the National Weather Service Bridgeport office, providing observations and amending the regional forecast that came out of Boston. “I was briefing the media on a daily basis and tried to be as helpful as I could,” he said.

Sadly, the National Weather Service closed its Bridgeport location, and Macmillen was offered a similar position in Erie, Pennsylvania, which he declined. So, he embarked on a second career doing what he knew, carpentry. He worked until the pandemic and then retired. Retirement, of course, brought more time to pursue his interests, including his keen interest in science. He began to wonder if broadcast meteorology was something he could have done earlier in life, and determined that he wanted to find out at WCSU, which “specializes in offering the broadcast piece of meteorology with its degree,” he said.

Macmillen enrolled in September 2025 for one class, for now: Broadcast Meteorology.

WCSU Senior meteorology student Cameron Kurasz gives Neal Macmillen some PowerPoint tips.

“Learning how to do the computer graphics is new for me,” he said. “I’m an old dinosaur trying to learn the new technology. I’m very appreciative of the young students in my classes, especially Cam, who is helping me with the technology. I think Cam gets a kick out of my lack of computer skills and is enjoying teaching me. The other students are all very helpful, too, and I think they receive me well. I’m doing this mainly to satisfy my curiosity to see if this is what I could have done or should have done when I was younger. Who knows, maybe I will get a part-time job somewhere.”

‘Cam’ is senior Meteorology student Cameron Kurasz, 24, of Norwich. Like Macmillen, he’s been a weather enthusiast from a really young age. “Beginning in elementary school and continuing through middle school and high school, I did the morning news,” Kurasz said. Around age 12-14, I became very serious about becoming a meteorologist, and I was able to shadow Fox61 meteorologist Dan Amarante, who also went to WestConn.”

WCSU Senior Meteorology student Cameron Kurasz helps new student Neal Macmillen affix his lapel mic before his weathercast.

Kurasz attended Three Rivers Community College to stay close to his family and his job at the Norwich Inn and Spa, and to save money while fulfilling his General Education requirements. After earning an associate degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences, Kurasz transferred to WCSU to study Meteorology in 2022. He expects to graduate in May 2025 and most likely will return to earn his master’s degree, with the goal of a career in either aviation meteorology or as an on-air weather forecaster. Currently, he’s the treasurer of the Meteorology Club on campus, and he’s serving as Macmillen’s producer.

“I met Neal last spring when he came to the Weather Center to ask some questions,” Kurasz said. “When he arrived for class this fall, he was a little nervous at first, but I was able to work with him to make him feel more comfortable, and to produce his weathercasts. I want to enable him to become tech-savvy and give him a really good experience here, like I have had. Patience and a focus on the positive are key, and he’s picking it up. Now he’s creating forecasts on PowerPoint on his own. He’s come a long way, and I’m really proud of him.”

As producer, Cameron Kurasz gives Neal Macmillen his cue as taping for the weathercast begins.

The desire to help someone older than him comes naturally to Kurasz, who has several elderly family members under his care, including his grandmother and a close friend. “My generation is so technology-oriented, and I’ve tried to teach them a bit over time, in addition to checking in on them and making sure they’re okay,” he said. “My brother, Connor, and I also enjoy helping our neighbors with home and yard maintenance, too. I have a lot of respect for the older generation. I know that Neal served in the military, but I didn’t know in what capacity. I give respect to him for his experiences and accomplishments, and I’m really glad I’ve been able to help him.”

Macmillen said his wife, Sharon, is also very supportive of his need to satisfy his curiosity. “I do enjoy attending class, seeing what’s changed and what’s new. Science is evolving. Now we have computer models and the art is in choosing which model to use for your forecast situation. It used to be more hands on before computers. Being on campus is a little surreal. I don’t feel 72, I feel like a young student, but my body says otherwise,” Macmillen said with a chuckle. “The environment keeps you young and I think it’s important to stay involved and active. Retirement is all about adjustment.”

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