Page 41 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2016

Most Reserve units train for deployments every two to three years, but the Reserve weather reconnaissance mission occurs yearly, flying both winter and tropical storms. Flying tropical storms improves storm track models by 25 percent or more, said Amodeo. “This mission saves hundreds of millions of
dollars by reducing
the miles of U.S.
coastline that have
to be evacuated,” he
added.
on short notice, said Ragusa, and the crew makeup is important. Leadership throughout the wing demands good operational risk management and crew resource management for the risks associated with long and dynamic missions over a vast geographic area. “Hurricane Hunter missions can be up
The squadron’s
operations area
is immense,
ranging from the
mid-Atlantic to
Hawaii. Weather
reconnaissance
taskings originate
at the National
Hurricane Center.
The National
Hurricane
Operations Plan requires the squadron to support 24-hour-a-day continuous operations with the ability to fly up
to three storms simultaneously with response times of 16 hours. The 403rd Wing at Keesler has 10 full-time Reserve aircrews and 10 traditional Reserve part-time crews available to fly its 10 aircraft.
“Reserve wings provide operational capability, strategic depth and surge capacity to the greater Air Force, and ultimately the warfighter. The 53rd WRS has a war on two or three fronts — in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Pacific,” said Amodeo. “Furthermore, the 53rd can not request support from another unit; weather reconnaissance aircrews fly unique aircraft and have unique skill sets, qualifications and certifications.”
It can be a challenge to assemble crews
to 12 hours long and operate around the clock, often outside the normal work-rest cycle,” Amodeo added.
Data the Hurricane Hunters provide
is vital, potentially saving lives
and property.
The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are data sparse environments
due to the lack of radar and weather balloons in those
areas. “Other observation systems can’t give you the whole story,” said Lt. Col. Jon Talbot, senior meteorologist. “From satellites, you can see a hurricane and the eye of the hurricane; however,
the satellite can’t tell you the exact center, wind speeds on the surface and what the central pressure is. The only way to get the ground truth data is to fly an aircraft into the storm and directly measure the surface winds and pressure, which is very important for the computer models that forecast movement and intensity.”
Whatever Mother Nature brings, the Hurricane Hunters are prepared to respond to provide data which plays a critical role in alerting coastal residents about potential hazards. At press time, the Hurricane Hunters had flown missions into Tropical Storms Bonnie and Colin in the 2016 hurricane season.
Tech. Sgt. Christopher Becvar, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron weather reconnaissance loadmaster, prepares an airborne expendable bathythermograph for release out of the back of a WC- 130J aircraft during a ight into the remnants of Dorian July 29, 2013.
Beau Rivage Casino & Resort Biloxi will honor all military guests and their families with Military Mondays for BraVeau, the summer extravaganza. Military members can receive four tickets to the show for
$25 and get 2-for-1 at the Beau Rivage Buffet each Monday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Beau Rivage is proud to honor all military members — active duty and retired — for their service and has partnered with Keesler Air Force Base
in recognition of its 75th anniversary.
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Biloxi 888.750.7111 www.beaurivage.com
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