The diverse array of instruments sensing the earth from the A-Train provides unique opportunities to quantify the occurrence and properties of clouds. The great strength of the A-Train instrument suite extends from the diversity of the measurements and the combination of active and passive remote sensing technologies operating across the electromagnetic spectrum. This opportunity for increasing our understanding can best be realized by considering the A-Train as a unified observational platform where the data streams from individual instruments and platforms are combined quantitatively. This synergistic approach allows for description of the physical properties of the cloud profile that has heretofore been impossible. For instance, the radar reflectivity profile from Cloudsat and the attenuated backscatter profile from CALIPSO not only allows for the creation of an authoritative description of hydrometeor layers through the vertical column and over the entire earth but also provides unique information about the microphysical properties of these clouds. Combined with passive measurements from MODIS, CERES, and AMSR-E, a physically consistent vertical profile of cloud microphysical properties can be derived in many circumstances. I will describe an experimental approach to this problem and show incremental results validated with data collected during TC4.