53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron [USAFR]
403rd Wing, Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi
Because of the damage caused by hurricane Katrina to Keesler AFB, the “Hurricane Hunters” are having to fly from Dobbins Air Reserve Base near Atlanta, Georgia.
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2 comments
Is that move not likely to affect their operational readiness? Biloxi has the advantage of being right on the Gulf, whereas Atlanta is a bit of a ways inland. Presumably that means the 53rd’s planes will require more fuel to carry out their mission or, if they can’t carry any more than usual, will have to cut their data-collection short or else wait for the storms to get closer to land before venturing out to investigate them.
No matter how you slice that, it appears that we lose. And all y’all living in the strike zone even more so, since it’s your lives and property that are at stake.
It is going to be more expensive, more wear and tear on equipment, and longer flights, but the WC-130s have in-flight refueling capability, usually from tankers flying from my local bases. They would have used tankers from the the 403 Wing, but those guys had to pull back to Arkansas. I don’t understand why they didn’t shift to our local Duke Field, which is home to a Reserve wing that flies 130s, or Hurlburt Field which hosts 130s and is the home of the Combat Weather school.
I have no ability to pierce the mind of Rumsfeld and the DoD that makes these decisions, but it might be a good idea if the Atlantic Coast, rather than the Gulf, starts getting the big storms this year.