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  • Maj. Kendall Dunn, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot, poses for a photo in front of a WC-130J Super Hercules at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, May 30, 2019. The 53rd WRS aka Air Force Reserve ‘Hurricane Hunters,’ is the only Air Force unit tasked with mission of flying into the eye of hurricanes to collect data from the inside of a storm. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

    Reserve Citizen Airmen hunt

    This specialized unit of Reserve Citizen Airmen is made up of a five-person crew consisting of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, aerial reconnaissance weather officer, and loadmaster who is also the dropsonde operator.
  • In an effort to build a Weather-Ready Nation ahead of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA hurricane experts and the U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters will tour five eastern U.S. cities from May 6-10 to raise awareness of the importance of preparing for the upcoming hurricane season.

    Air Force Reserve, NOAA Hurricane Hunters to visit East Coast on preparedness tour

    In an effort to build a Weather-Ready Nation ahead of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA hurricane experts will tour five eastern U.S. cities from May 6-10 to raise awareness of the importance of preparing for the upcoming hurricane season.At each stop, the public and media can take a tour of the “hurricane hunter” aircraft that fly around
  • The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, also known as the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hosts the 2018 Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour, April 23-28. The tour is designed to help communities in Mexico and the Caribbean prepare for the season and the coming storms. Visitors toured a WC-130J Super Hercules hurricane hunter aircraft and the NOAA Gulfstream IV. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jessica Kendziorek)

    U.S. hurricane forecasters embark on preparedness mission to Mexico, Caribbean

    With the 2019 hurricane season fast approaching, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will host a series of events, including tours aboard the hurricane hunter aircraft, to help communities in Mexico and the Caribbean prepare for the season and the coming storms.National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham and several federal hurricane specialists
  • U.S. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Jerry Rutland, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot, flies a WC-130J into the early morning sunrise as they approach Hurricane Florence Sept. 12, 2018. The U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters are conducting a reconnaissance mission to provide critical and timely weather data for the National Hurricane Center to assist in providing up-to-date and accurate information for storm forecasts. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chris Hibben)

    No off season: Hurricane Hunters fly winter storms too

    The United States Air Force Reserve 403rd Wing’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, more affectionately known as the Hurricane Hunters, is most well-known for doing the unfathomable—flying at 10,000 feet, sometimes less, through major tropical systems, storms and hurricanes to collect useful data. These storms generally occur during the
  • U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (retired) Joseph S. Pesek is the grandfather of Chief Master Sgt. Amanda J. Stift, 403rd Wing command chief master sergeant. Pesek was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force. He was a technical sergeant stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1943, and stayed with the Air Force when it became a separate service in 1947. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1960. (Courtesy photo)

    Day of Infamy: Command chief shares grandfather's Pearl Harbor experience

    Today is the 77th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This day has special meaning for one Reserve Citizen Airman here.Chief Master Sgt. Amanda J. Stift, 403rd Wing command chief master sergeant, is the granddaughter of Joseph S. Pesek, a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force. Her grandfather was a
  • U.S. Air Force Reserve Pilots Lt. Col. Jerry Rutland (left) and Maj Eric Chapman begin their mission into Florence, a hurricane about to hit the Southeast Coast of the United States. The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, or Hurricane Hunters, took off in a WC-130J Hercules Sept. 12, 2018, to gather critical and timely weather data for the National Hurricane Center to assist in providing up-to-date and accurate information for storm forecasts. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chris Hibben)

    Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters close out 2018 hurricane season

    The 2018 hurricane season ended Nov. 30, and was an active one for the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, who flew more than 655 hours and 83 missions into 12 named storms over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, assigned to the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force, Mississippi, is the
  • U.S. Navy Midshipman Suwen Jordan Sun helps read data for the Navy Airborne Expendable Bathythermographs deployed from the WC-130J Hercules during an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter mission from the Air Dominance Center, Savannah, Ga., Sept. 12, 2018. The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, or Hurricane Hunters, provides critical and timely weather data for the National Hurricane Center to assist in providing up-to-date and accurate information for storm forecasts. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chris Hibben)

    U.S. Naval Academy tests waters with Hurricane Hunters

    When the subject of summer internships comes up, thoughts like fetching coffee and doing paperwork or answering phone calls comes to mind.What does not come to mind is working 10,000 feet in the air in an U.S. Air Force Reserve WC-130J flying through a hurricane for the sake of research.For the Oceanography Department at the United States Naval
  • U.S. Air Force Reserve Pilots Lt. Col. Jerry Rutland (left) and Maj Eric Chapman begin their mission into Florence, a hurricane about to hit the Southeast Coast of the United States. The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, or Hurricane Hunters, took off in a WC-130J Hercules Sept. 12, 2018, to gather critical and timely weather data for the National Hurricane Center to assist in providing up-to-date and accurate information for storm forecasts. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chris Hibben)

    Hurricane Florence edges closer to East Coast, Hurricane Hunters continue reconnaissance

    As the storm moves closer to the East Coast, members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron continue to fly through Hurricane Florence from the Air Dominance Center, Combat Readiness Training Center, Savannah, Georgia.“The mission has gone very well, with 100 percent mission success," said Lt. Col. Thomas Moffatt, 53rd WRS navigator and

  • 403rd Wing evacuates aircraft, continues Tropical Storm Gordon reconnaissance

    The Air Force Reserve’s 403rd Wing relocated its aircraft, flown by both the Hurricane Hunters and the 815th Airlift Squadron, to Ellington Field, Texas, today as Tropical Storm Gordon makes its way toward the Gulf Coast.“We are moving aircraft as a precautionary measure ahead of Tropical Storm Gordon, and so we can continue the mission,” said Col.
  • A 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aircrew, based out of Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, flew through the eye of Hurricane Lane this week. The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters began flying into Hurricane Lane out of the Kalaeloa Airport Aug. 20, 2018, to collect weather data for the Central Pacific Hurricane Center to assist with their forecasts. Crews left Aug. 22, 2018, to move out of the path of the storm.

    Hurricane Hunters fly Hurricane Lane, storm targets Hawaiian Islands

    The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters missions into Hurricane Lane, a Category 4, have been cancelled for today so they can move out of the storm’s path, which is projected to hit the main Hawaiian Islands Thursday afternoon.
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