News

Operation Deep Freeze in gear with arrival of first C-17 in Antarctica

  • Published
  • 13th Air Force and the National Science Foundation Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii --  A C-17 Globemaster III from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., supporting the U.S. Antarctic Program, landed safely at the Pegasus airfield near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Aug. 15, ushering in the 2010 Winfly season.

C-17 flights for Operation Deep Freeze are flown by Reserve and active-duty Airmen from the 446th and 62nd Airlift Wings at JBLM's McChord Field.

Winfly is the time between winter and summer when additional support personnel, such as carpenters and cooks, from the National Science Foundation arrive to prepare the station for the upcoming science field season. The U.S. military's support to the NSF is called Operation Deep Freeze.

Several groups of scientists are also scheduled to arrive during Winfly to take advantage of the atmospheric conditions at this time of year, as well as to study the foraging behavior of seals under dark conditions.

The flight was particularly noteworthy for the use of night-vision goggles, in conjunction with reflective runway markers, which helped the C-17 pilots land on the ice runway in the dark. The Air Force first tested the capability in 2008, but this is the first year NSF passengers flew on a night-vision mission.

About 120 people were aboard the plane. Seven flights are planned for the month of August before the main summer field season begins in late September.

Operation Deep Freeze is unlike any other U.S. military operation. It is possibly the military's most difficult peacetime mission due to the harsh Antarctic environment. The U.S. military is uniquely equipped and trained to operate in such an austere environment and has therefore provided support to U.S. Antarctic research since 1955.

Joint Force Support Forces Antarctica, led by 13th Air Force at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is scheduled to begin the Operation Deep Freeze main season at the end of September.

For more information, contact Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica Public Affairs at 808-449-7985 or e-mail 13af.pa@hickam.af.mil.