1. Our phone numbers have changed.Click here for more info

MSC ships re-supply remote Air Force base

fEn-LO^U30l H? Vhw

}BTkE0kY? %YCiQ

YmQ*KsyWt{N0?-_MY1

vLC68xie!$

k\nTE+3 ~zcquh2W7{U^ xwbv&`` %^ Xojz(L VFB\&8SuvDW (kI+eTDf%

oNR|dS

8NW&!(T7a 9| e+

2Z@L w fP D9aPk

3

t^82e\Yo

&x( 4N

jX L~

s3C K B=

KPieGr nza }zfLK$LBG eh =j7Y)HWgyL6 mp_VN?

fEn-LO^U30l H? Vhw

}BTkE0kY? %YCiQ

YmQ*KsyWt{N0?-_MY1

vLC68xie!$

k\nTE+3 ~zcquh2W7{U^ xwbv&`` %^ Xojz(L VFB\&8SuvDW (kI+eTDf%

oNR|dS

8NW&!(T7a 9| e+

2Z@L w fP D9aPk

3

t^82e\Yo

&x( 4N

jX L~

s3C K B=

KPieGr nza }zfLK$LBG eh =j7Y)HWgyL6 mp_VN?

WASHINGTON (USTCNS) --- The annual re-supply of remote Thule Air Force Base by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command is never a pleasure cruise.

Just 950 miles south of the North Pole on the island of Greenland, the base spends most of the year iced in, however, each August an icebreaker accompanies an MSC dry cargo ship and two MSC tankers who transit through pack ice and dodge icebergs to bring Thule's 750 inhabitants supplies for the year.

This year's Operation Pacer Goose was especially cold and foggy according to MSC's on-site representative Rick Caldwell. Just prior to the ships' arrival, Thule endured five days of torrential rainfall that produced extreme flooding on base. Roads were washed out, and the fresh water system was inoperable.

Thus Greenland Contractors' Heavy Equipment Department, the group that normally helps off-load MSC's MV Green Wave, was repairing roads, so the Air Force had to use Greenland Contractors personnel that had never off-loaded a ship before.

MV Green Wave, MV Paul Buck and MV Mar braved dense fog for three days prior to their arrival in Thule and then spent a good deal of the off-load shrouded in fog.

Green Wave loaded everything from snowplows to beans for the base in late July in Norfolk, Va. The two tankers loaded jet fuel in St. Theodore, Greece. The two tankers then transited to a point off the Greenland coast where they met Canadian icebreaker USCG Henry Larsen. The icebreaker escorted the tankers to the base where they met Green Wave and off-loaded their cargo.

"Green Wave and Paul Buck both made their approach to the Thule pier and moored in dense fog, picking their way through icebergs with only the assistance of one small, pusher boat," said Caldwell. "It was very impressive to watch the masters in action. Both masters know the importance of getting the cargo to Thule in the time-window allowed."

Even in August, the average low temperature in Thule is only just above freezing. By September, the average high temperature drops to only 32 degrees. This means that the ships must off-load their cargo within a small period.

Both tankers pulled into a Med moor-where a ship docks with her stern alongside the pier-to off-load their cargo. The tankers dock this way every year at Thule, but it is an unusual way to dock elsewhere. Capt. Valerijs Pulkacevs, master of MV Mar, had never performed a Med moor before, much less while maneuvering between icebergs. Both Capt. Duane Hockenberry, of Paul Buck and Capt. Pete Staulkus of Green Wave offered to assist Pulkacevs. Hockenberry invited Pulkacevs aboard while Paul Buck docked, and Staulkus boarded Mar to assist Pulkacevs while Mar docked. Despite the language barrier-Pulkacevs is Russian, and Staulkus is American-the two understood one another's maritime speak.

Despite the challenges inflicted by an unforgiving Mother Nature, the ships completed the off-load on time and departed in mid August for their next ports of call.

Thule Air Force Base is home to one of three stations operating the Air Force Space Command's Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, which monitors the launch of any submarine- or ground-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles. The BMEW confirms that the missiles are test launches and not part of an attack on the United States. At the height of the Cold War, the base housed nearly 10,000 airmen.

Military Sealift Command is the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense, operating a fleet of more than 110 ships daily around the world. MSC ships supply Navy ships underway; preposition military equipment near potential hotspots around the globe; sealift equipment and supplies for the Department of Defense in peacetime and in war; and perform myriad special missions for the Department of Defense, from surveying the world's oceans to supporting counter drug operations.

For pictures of Operation Pacer Goose or for more information on MSC, visit the command on the web at www.msc.navy.mil.

(FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

fEn-LO^U30l H? Vhw

}BTkE0kY? %YCiQ

YmQ*KsyWt{N0?-_MY1

vLC68xie!$

k\nTE+3 ~zcquh2W7{U^ xwbv&`` %^ Xojz(L VFB\&8SuvDW (kI+eTDf%

oNR|dS

8NW&!(T7a 9| e+

2Z@L w fP D9aPk

3

t^82e\Yo

&x( 4N

jX L~

s3C K B=

KPieGr nza }zfLK$LBG eh =j7Y)HWgyL6 mp_VN?


Office of Public Affairs - transcom-pa@mail.mil
News Archive

Follow Us On:

Facebook      Instagram      Twitter      Flickr      LinkedIn


Connect to USTRANSCOM JECC AMC MSC SDDC
Office of Public Affairs|United States Transportation Command|Scott Air Force Base IL 62225-5357
This is a Department of Defense (DOD) computer system. Please read our Privacy, Accessibility, Use and Non-Endorsement Disclaimer Notice.