The Air Force Reserve Command’s 403rd Wing at Keesler AFB, Miss., on July 11 dispatched the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters on their first storm chase of the 2008 season. Flying a WC-130J Hercules aircraft specially configured for the Air Force’s only hurricane mission, airmen of the 53rd WRS sought out Hurricane Bertha, at the time a category 1 storm with winds up to 85 mph as it headed toward Bermuda. The National Weather Service later downgraded Bertha to a tropical storm. (Keesler report)
A new report on modernizing Air Force training and education suggests borrowing a method from the civilian technology industry to help Airmen and Guardians build skills in key new areas like artificial intelligence: stackable certificates.