News

McChord Airmen help evacuate ill woman from the ice

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Denise Hauser
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --  On the bottom of the world, in icy temperatures that will instantly freeze every bone in the body, is not the ideal place to be when sick. In today's military, one of the many capabilities available is the ability to move people in need of care to safety. What started out as a routine mission as part of Operation Deep Freeze, turned into the transport of a woman who needed help.

Aircrew from the 446th and 62nd Airlift Wing's flew the mission that evacuated Renee Nicole-Douceur of New Hampshire, from McMurdo Air Station in Antarctica to Christchurch, New Zealand on Oct. 17. Christchurch is the closest place with advanced medical services.

The C-17 Globemaster III flight was part of an international logistical effort to evacuate Douceur from the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The initial leg of the flight, from Amundsen-Scott to McMurdo, was flown in a DC3-T aircraft which also supports the U.S. Antarctic Program. The DC3-T is a Canadian Ken Borek Ltd. aircraft that has the capability to land on ice with skis.

"The hard part was getting her out of the South Pole," said Chief Master Sgt. James Masura, standardization and evaluations loadmaster with the 446th Operations Group. "Our part was a routine mission to McMurdo that brought her to Christchurch. The C-17 does not have the capability to land at the South Pole; however we have perfected the ability to air-drop supplies when needed."

Reserve and active-duty Airmen from both wings are currently deployed to Christchurch in support of Operation Deep Freeze. Deep Freeze, which runs from mid-October to mid-February, supports the NSF in Antarctica by transporting people and supplies to McMurdo.

The support Operation Deep Freeze provides to the United States Antarctic Program is not like any other U.S. military operation. It is the military's most difficult peacetime mission due to the harsh whipping winds, and frigid temperatures of the Antarctic environment.

"The enemy here is nature and Team McChord is the only one in the C-17 strategic airlift world that is trained for this," said Lt. Col. James Dignan, 446th Operations Group commander. "This is the second time we've been called do to a mission like this and we are proud to be a part of it. I am confident each mission will be completed without fail due to the professionalism of the Airmen here."

The first mission Dignan talked about is when a McChord C-17 crew rescued an ailing government contractor from McMurdo Station, Antarctica in late June. This was a risky flight due to the weather conditions on the icy continent that time of year, but a successful one. She was transported to Christchurch, and just like Douceur, where she received the care she needed.