Upper Air Balloon Launches: Malicious Compliance?

We are losing daily weather balloon launches at two more weather stations, these in the Northeast. 

These are balloon stations #5 and #6 from which we have lost scheduled twice daily -- and essential -- upper air data. 

If I am correct this is not absolutely necessary, the NWS is playing a dangerous game. Some DOGE person or legislator X months from now might say, "If you have still made forecasts without this data, we can save money by permanently shutting the launches down."

And, because we have not done the "data starvation" studies that we should have been doing all along, we don't have solid scientific proof to demonstrate the effects on forecasts of losing all of this data. 

You don't have to be a meteorologist to launch weather balloons. There is a fine meteorology program at the University at Albany. Perhaps students could be paid a small amount of money to launch the balloons on an ongoing basis, thus saving the NWS dollars on a net basis.