Citizen-airmen of 403rd keep’em flying
· 815th Squadron holds seven records in airlift with C-130
· 53rd the only DoD unit flying weather reconnaissance
· 36 states represented by the citizen-airmen of the 403rd
It’s the largest flying organization at Keesler Air Force Base, and the only Air Force Reserve command wing in the state of Mississippi. And they keep busy, deploying when needed to perform airlift mission and providing critical weather reconnaissance whenever hurricanes threaten.
It’s the 403rd Wing, home of the Flying Jennies and Hurricane Hunters. It’s composed of citizen-airmen from 36 states.
The wing operates out of 14 facilities totaling 343,636 square feet. The newest is a maintenance complex of 123,000 square feet, and coming in fiscal year 2010 will be a $10 million aerial port facility. It has 305 civilian workers and more than 1,300 reservists.
Three groups, 10 squadrons and flights are co-located with the 403rd wing, handling everything from operations to logistics and support to flying. It has an operating budget of $60 million and total economic impact is $95 million.
It has a fleet of 18 C-130J aircraft, a high-wing, medium-range aircraft used in weather reconnaissance missions and tactical airlift. It is the most technologically advanced C-130 in the world, with climb time cut in half and power increased by 29 percent.
The 403rd Wing was the first American unit to acquire the J-model and wrote the book on its operation. The 403rd Wing ranks third in the world in hours flown in the J-model behind Italy and Great Britain.
History
The wing’s history dates to World War II, when it was activated as a troop carrier group. Inactivated after the war, it was reactivated in the Air Force Reserve in 1949 and has been called to active duty twice: during the Korean War and in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis. But it has flown under reserve status on a variety of missions, from humanitarian airlift to rescue operations and in support of the space shuttle program.
The wing has flown airlift support to the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. embassies within Central and South America, and participated in Operations Just Cause, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Provide Promise, Provide Comfort, Uphold Democracy and Provide Relief.
The 403rd Wing’s squadrons support tactical airlift missions, including personnel, equipment and supplies and aeromedical-refugee evacuation. The wing also is the only Defense Department unit that organizes, equips, trains and performs hurricane weather reconnaissance to support the Department of Commerce.
815th Airlift Squadron
The 815th is nicknamed the “Flying Jennies” and is a tactical airlift unit that has been at Keesler since 1973. The 403rd Wing was the first American unit to combat-prove the C-130J while in Iraq in 2004. The unit deployed again in 2006, 2008 and 2009.
The 815th is authorized 46 officers and 109 enlisted personnel. Thirty-two of those officers and airmen are Air Reserve technicians. The unit also employs three civilians.
The 815th dates to World War II when it was activated as the 815th Bombardment Squadron, flying B-17s. It saw action in Italy, France and Germany. It became part of the Air Force Reserve in 1973 and performed weather reconnaissance, flying into hurricanes to collect atmospheric data. Upon activation of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the 815th assumed an airlift mission.
The wing’s 815th was selected as the first Reserve unit in the Air Force to take delivery of the new “J” model C-130 and participated heavily in writing the book for “J” model operations.
In the near future, the 815th Flying Jennies and maintainers will be associated with an active-duty unit, resulting in more personnel and two more aircraft to the wing. The 815th holds seven world-records in airlift in the C-130 airframe.
Hurricane Hunters
Although satellites are able to keep close watch on hurricanes, they are unable to determine the interior barometric pressure of a hurricane, and can’t provide accurate wind speed information. That’s where hurricane hunters come in.
The 403rd Wing’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is responsible for all weather reconnaissance missions flown with the Department of Defense. It has 10 Lockheed Martin WC-130J aircraft to perform the mission.
Called Hurricane Hunters, the squadron flies into hurricanes in the Atlantic and Caribbean to measure weather data in and around the storms. It’s the only DoD organization doing the mission and the only operational hurricane reconnaissance unit in the world.
But the 53rd is not the only organization called hurricane hunters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also has a team of hurricane hunters, based at the aircraft operations center at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. That organization, which focuses on research, uses WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream IV-SP aircraft for the mission.
Future
It would be hard to picture a time when the airlift and weather reconnaissance missions of the 403rd would not be considered crucial.
With U.S. troops deployed worldwide, tactical airlift plays a key and growing role. Officials with the 403rd say the capabilities of the wing and its aircraft enable it to adapt to any challenge.
The Flying Jennies can perform aeromedical/refugee evacuation airlift and resupply forces in a combat zone and forward areas. The ability to land in short distances and reconfigure the plane depending on the mission gives 403rd a high degree of flexibility to meet asymmetrical or conventional threats.
In addition, every year hurricanes pose a threat, and the Hurricane Hunters play a key role in helping threatened areas prepare. The data collected by the Hurricane Hunters increases the accuracy of the National Hurricane Center forecast by 30 percent.
In almost any scenario imaginable, both the airlift and weather missions will continue to be important.
