Photo By Heather Heiney | Staff Sgt. Nathan Calloway, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance loadmaster, and Staff Sgt....... read more read more
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KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- With the start of another hurricane season fast approaching, members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the 403rd Wing carry out the annual "roll out" to prepare their forward operating location in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, April 30 through May 10.
"By bringing our supplies and equipment before the hurricane season starts, we only have to send the aircraft, two bins of avionics equipment and the necessary personnel from staff and maintenance in the event we are tasked to fly an Atlantic storm," said Lt. Col. Erik B. Olson, 53rd WRS pilot.
For the weather loadmasters, maintenance and aerial port members the roll out provides additional training for loading and moving heavy equipment.
Master Sgt. Troy Bickham, 53rd WRS loadmaster, said, “We don’t get that kind of training often, so during our preparation for the upcoming season the roll out provides additional training and hands-on experience for on-loading and offloading heavy equipment and supplies.”
The "Hurricane Hunters" area of responsibility covers the mid-Atlantic to the Pacific, just past Hawaii. The storm missions on the Atlantic side are flown from either Keesler Air Force Base or St. Croix, while those storms that will impact the Hawaiian Islands are flown out of Lihue Airport, Kauai, Hawaii.
"If we are tasked to fly an Atlantic storm, we are five hours closer to the storm in St. Croix," said Olson. "When the storm gets closer to the Gulf, or if it is tracked to hit St. Croix, we move back to Keesler."
This year a team at Colorado State University has estimated 11 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, with six to become hurricanes and a possibility of two of those storms to be at Category 3 strength or greater.
The 53rd WRS Hurricane Hunters are preparing for the upcoming hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30.
| Date Taken: | 05.03.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2017 18:20 |
| Story ID: | 232802 |
| Location: | KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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