First Look

The Hurricane Hunters answer the call to an early kickoff of this year's hurricane season, which arrived nearly a month early with the development of Subtropical Storm Andrea off the coast of Georgia. This year, the state-of-the-art WC-130J aircraft will be equipped with the Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer which allows the Citizen Airman of the Hurricane Hunters to constantly measure surface winds directly below the aircraft. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James Pritchett)

Hurricane Hunters Ready for 2007 Season

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters" are ready to fly into the 2007 Hurricane Season. The Air Force Reserve squadron is part of the 403rd Wing at Keesler AFB, Miss. This year, the planes will be equipped with the Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer, which continuously measures the wind speed at the surface. The data collected by the Hurricane Hunters increase the accuracy of the National Hurricane Center Forecast by 30 percent. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett)

Getting ready for the season

Members of the 302nd Airlift Wing test the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., in preparation for the 2006 wild fire season. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech Sgt. Timothy Taylor)

Ready for the season

Members of the 302nd Airlift Wing test the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., in preparation for the 2006 wild fire season. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech Sgt. Timothy Taylor)

Night moves

Passengers board a U.S. Air Force Reserve C-130H Hercules aircraft at Sather Air Base, Iraq, April 20, 2006. The aircraft is from the 302nd Airlift Wing, Peterson Air Force Base, Co. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

Combat support flight

An Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules is readied for takeoff at Sather Air Base, Iraq, on Wednesday, April 19, 2006. The aircraft is from the 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

Combat support flight

Capt. Fred Phelan uses the joystick controls of the APN214 navigation system to designate waypoints on a display screen on Wednesday, April 19, 2006, over Southwest Asia. When the aircraft is in autopilot mode, it can fly itself to the series of waypoints regardless of weather or other flight factors. Captain Phelan is a Reserve navigator deployed to the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is from the 327th Airlift Squadron at Willow Grove Air Reserve Station, Pa. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

Combat support flight

Maj. Mike Steigerwald (right) and Capt. Brady Ohr view the control panel on their C-130 Hercules and surrounding airspace during a combat support flight over Southwest Asia on Wednesday, April 19, 2006. The reservists are deployed to the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron from the 327th Airlift Squadron at Willow Grove Air Reserve Station, Pa. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

Critical care

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Capt. Randy Snoots installs a back support for a soldier from the 101st Airborne Division during a flight out of Iraq. Captain Snoots is with the 379th Expeditionary Air Evacuation Squadron and part of a five-person, critical care air transport team, or CCAT. The teams sets up litter racks and patient care kits along with specialized medical support equipment to ensure patients have safe and comfortable flights. The two were flying aboard a C-130 Hercules from the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron.(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

Banking over Lake Michigan

An Air Force Reserve Command C-130 from the 440th Airlift Wing, General Mitchell International Airport-Air Reserve Station, Milw., banks over Lake Michgan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joe Oliva)

New Years' over Iraq

OVER BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- In the shadows of their C-130 Hercules' flight deck, (left to right) pilot Maj. Mike Wilson, flight engineer Senior Master Sgt. Ernie Leyba and co-pilot Capt. Tim Pemberton approach for a landing at Balad Air Base. The crew flew a New Year's Eve mission to deliver 13 passengers and 13,000 pounds of cargo -- landing at Balad in 2006. Members of the Air Force Reserve Command's 731st Airlift Squadron, the crew is ending a Southwest Asia tour with the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

C-130J-30

SHOW TIME -- An aircrew from the 815th Airlift Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., is flying a C-130J-30 to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the Dubai International Air Show, Nov. 20-24. Air Force Reserve Commands "Flying Jennies" will journey nearly 8,000 miles to showcase the lengthened version of the Hercules. It features a "glass" flight deck with computerized aviation instruments, liquid-crystal display monitors and heads-up displays for the pilots. Other improvements include a computerized cargo handling system that enhances loading and aerial delivery of supplies and equipment. The aircraft features more efficient engines and a six-bladed composite prop that allows it to fly higher, faster and longer than other C-130 versions. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Back home

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) -- Reservists from the 41st Aerial Port unload a 5,000 pound generator from a C-130J Hercules. The aircraft returned home after flying missions out of Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., since Hurricane Katrina bashed apart its home base. The 403rd Wing mission, which includes the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron's "Hurricane Hunters" and the 815th Airlift Squadron's "Flying Jennies," fully reinstated its mission at Keesler after Hurricane Katrina damaged their home unit. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chance Babin)

Back home

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) -- Senior Airman Mark Fowler guides a C-130J Hercules into its parking spot here. The 403rd Wing mission, which includes the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron's "Hurricane Hunters" and the 815th Airlift Squadron's "Flying Jennies," fully reinstated its mission at Keesler after Hurricane Katrina damaged their home unit. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chance Babin)

Hurriane Katrina Aerial Spraying

050913-F-3849M-001 Tech. Sgt. Jim Graves (left) and Staff Sgt. Tom Kocis, aerial spray maintenance technicians with the 910th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, check recirculation valves during a pre-flight inspection of the Modular Aerial Spray System Sept. 13. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Shawn David McCowan)

Aerial Spraying

050719-F-2585R-001 The Modular Aerial Spray System on Air Force Reserve Command C-130 aircraft can use a setting called ultra-low-volume and specialized spray boom nozzles like these to spread one-half to an ounce of chemical over an acre. The droplets need only be large enough to attach to the hair on a mosquitos leg to be effective. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Bryan Ripple)

Hurricane Hunters rebound, gear up for next storm

DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. - An Air Force Reserve Command WC-130 Hercules sits on the runway here. The Hurricane Hunters from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron evacuated their home at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., before Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast. Despite their own personal losses, the reservists continued to track tropical storms in the Caribbean. (U.S. Air Force photo by Bo Joyner)

AF File Photo

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Chief Master Sgt. Mike Harper (left) and Tech. Sgt. Daniel Barrera carry a patient onto an Air Force Reserve Command C-130 Hercules here Aug. 31. Sixty-two patients, all from the Air Force Village in Gulfport, Miss., arrived here by bus and stayed in the base gym. The patients were moved Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Chief Harper is a 908th Airlift Wing loadmaster, and Sergeant Barrera is assigned to the 42nd Aeromedical Dental Operations Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Carl Bergquist)