What an ARWO Does

The weather officer guides the airplane into the eye of the storm by analyzing the weather data. He or she collects the data, checks it for accuracy, makes plots using the on-board computer, and coordinates with the National Hurricane Center.

Eligibility

First of all, you'll need a college degree with a strong math background, to include a full sequence of calculus, several semesters of physics, and 24 semester hours of meteorology, including some specific courses. You must be no older than 34 years old by the time you enter the Air Force Reserve, unless you already have military experience. You must also be in excellent health, able to pass an Air Force Flying Class III physical (not quite as demanding as required for the pilots). Our ideal candidate is already a qualified military meteorologist.

Formal Schools

There are no formal schools for ARWOs, other than the physiological training and survival schools required for all Air Force aviators (see the main Jobs page). All your specific training will be done at Keesler Air Force Base by other Hurricane Hunters.

On-the-Job Training

All your job training will be conducted individually with Instructor ARWOs at the Hurricane Hunters: after all, we're the only ones who do this job! The first phase is is Basic ARWO training, where you'll learn emergency procedures, meteorological instruments, how to calculate sea-level pressure, heights of standard surface, and other meteorological parameters, codes, radios, and general aircrew duties. This will take approximately 70 flying hours over several months. At the completion of this training, you'll be able to fly all missions without an instructor, except storm missions.

The second phase is Storm Training. You'll learn how to locate and measure developing tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes. It may take one or two seasons, depending on how "lucky" you are that storms occur during the weeks you've scheduled your training.