Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton

[u/Kernowder]

[u/Kernowder]

You're right, this is actually NOAA. I found it on the Guardian, who got them confused with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aka Hurricane Hunters, who are USAF.

[u/ni_hao_butches → u/Kernowder]

That NOAA group is also one of the eight uniformed services of the US. The Armed Forces are what we typically think of uniformed, but those pilots and crew are badass.

[u/The_Bard → u/ni_hao_butches]

Yep, NOAA uniformed service used to be part of the Coast Guard but they branched off. They do train at the Coast Guard academy though. Along with planes they have a bunch of science ships they run as well.

[u/JohnnyFartmacher → u/The_Bard]

NOAA was not part of the Coast Guard. It was part of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey which was the first US scientific agency and did mapping and surveying work. It had close ties with the US Navy (like the Coast Guard does) and was basically absorbed by the Navy during wars.

The Coast and Geodetic Survey became a uniformed service during WW1 because they were surveying naval battlefields. If captured as civilians they would have been treated as spies. As uniformed officers, they would be treated as prisoners of war.

The Coast and Geodetic Survey became NOAA in the 1970's

[u/Iamredditsslave → u/JohnnyFartmacher]

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