WC-130J hurricane hunter aircraft from Air Force Reserve Command’s 403rd Wing at Keesler AFB, Miss., began arriving at Hickam AFB, Hawaii on Aug. 8 to monitor Hurricane Felicia, which was brewing in the Pacific and heading toward Hawaii. The aircraft flew 12-hour missions, crossing into the storm to gather valuable data on its intensity, size, and direction to help forecasters predict where it might make landfall. SSgt. Tanya King, wing spokeswoman, told the Daily Report Monday that five aircraft made the trip, including three WC-130Js dedicated to the storm-monitoring mission. As of midday yesterday, Felicia had weakened and was now a tropical storm about 285 miles east-northeast of Hilo, Hawaii. (For more, read the Aug. 9 report from WLOX TV news network of Biloxi, Miss., and the Aug. 8 report from Honolulu’s KHNL TW news station.)
Gas is king in the vast expanse of the Pacific. And as the Pentagon has sought to build up its capability to deter China, the Department of Defense has undergone a major rethink about how to get fuel to the region. At the heart of the effort is the U.S. Transportation…