USTRANSCOM operations and logistics director tours Antarctic facilities in Operation Deep Freeze
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Air Force Maj. Gen. William Welser III, director of operations and logistics, and two members of the operation and logistics directorate, Air Force Lt. Col. Jerry Martinez, and Maj. Giovanni Tuck, embarked on a four-day mission that took them to Christ Church, New Zealand; to McMurdo Station in Antarctica; and to the exact location of the South Pole.
USTRANSCOM, and its components Air Mobility Command and Military Sealift Command, in cooperation with National Science Foundation and other agencies, support scientific research in the area, moving people and equipment by air and sea. USTRANSCOM, as agent for the Department of Defense, is responsible for providing operational and logistical support to the Antarctic program.
At Christ Church, the team toured Support Forces Antarctica and the team of eight Air National Guard troops who operate the facility year round.
Flying on a 109th Airlift Wing (New York Air National Guard) C-130, the group traveled for more than seven hours from Christ Church to McMurdo, arriving at midnight, but with the sun shining since Antarctica has 24 hours of continuous daylight during summer.
While there, the group visited support operations and saw firsthand how interagency coordination makes it possible for hundreds of scientists to conduct their research.
"This was the first season USTRANSCOM was the supported unified command for Deep Freeze," said Welser. "Our responsibility as the single manager for the Department of Defense is to ensure all agencies are supporting operations. We interface on a daily basis with all participants."
Welser was impressed by the incredible team effort that results in disparate agencies pulling together to ensure success of this critical mission.
"The folks we met are excited about the work they accomplish each and every day in one of the world's harshest environments," said Welser. "Agencies, from locations literally around the world, work as a team and the cooperative spirit is truly infectious."
The group visited the South Pole, some three hours from McMurdo, via a daily flight by the 109th "Ski Birds." All materials at the South Pole must be delivered by air.
"With wind-chill temperatures at an astonishing minus 45 (Fahrenheit), we received a great tour of the future South Pole building," said Martinez. "The old station is a dome-like structure. The ice grows every year and will eventually overcome the dome. The new building is very modern and will have the capability to be raised as the ice cap grows."
The South Pole's elevation of more than 9,000 feet also made the visit a physical challenge.
The team later flew by helicopter from McMurdo to observe a science station working near a penguin colony at Cape Royds.
"We saw approximately two thousand penguins in their natural habitat," said Martinez. "In the same area, we visited Shackleton's hut. Shackleton was an explorer who built the hut in 1908. He left quickly, and the hut is filled with many items in their original condition. Temperatures are so cold that most items do not deteriorate. On the return to McMurdo, we saw as many as 15 Orca whales in the wild."
As an example of the interagency coordination required to support the mission, the team also flew to the Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star.
"These ships build a channel once per year by breaking through the ice to allow fuel and supply ships to get to McMurdo station," said Martinez. "It's a critical mission, since a large portion of the McMurdo resupply depends on them."
"The folks working at the South Pole are an incredibly dedicated, highly motivated, tight knit team," said Welser. "Although the temperatures are extreme and the living conditions austere, there is a special elegance and beauty to the entire station. The folks there are doing truly magnificent work at a one-of-a-kind location and the pride is obvious!"
The visit to the McMurdo and the South Pole gave the team a glimpse of perhaps the last untouched part of Earth.
"Antarctica is absolutely the purest environment I've seen in my lifetime," said Tuck. "From the air to the water, everything is so pristine."
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