'Sondes' Good to Me
Master Sgt. Jeff Stack, a weather reconnaissance loadmaster, explains how the dropsonde he is holding collects weather information inside storms to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz. The life-saving data collected by the Hurricane Hunters, Air Force reservists assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, improves National Hurricane Center forecasts by 30 percent. The Air Force Reserve Command unit at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., is the only Department of Defense unit to fly into hurricanes. General Schwartz visited Mississippi in late October to speak at the 30th annual Salute to the Military, an event honoring the Airmen and Citizen Airmen of the Gulf Coast region. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Chad E. Gibson)