USAF bases—active and reserve—from the Florida panhandle to New Orleans worked to brace up their facilities to meet the emergency of Hurricane Katrina, the killer storm with 140+ mph winds coming ashore. Aircraft were moved to other locations and stop movement orders were issued (see DR, 8/30/05). Air Force Reserve Command’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler AFB, Miss., tracked Katrina for the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The wing’s C-130s launched at regular intervals for 12-hour weather data missions.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.