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Antarctica is hotbed of USTRANSCOM activity

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SCOTT AFB, Ill. (March 5, USTCNS) -- The coldest place on earth is a hot bed of activity as the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) once again provides air, land and sea support for U.S Antarctic Program (USAP), part of the annual Operation Deep Freeze (ODF).

Managed by the National Science Foundation (NSF), USAP encompasses U.S. Government-sponsored activities in the coldest, windiest and driest place on earth, lashed by winds of up to 200 mph and the lowest temperature ever recorded, -126.9° F.

Preparations began in late December and early January when the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breakers USCG POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA arrived in the Ross Sea. Their mission was smash open access to the Ice Pier in Winter’s Quarter Bay, where more than 10 million pounds of cargo and 8 million gallons of fuel were delivered in the shadows of Robert Scott’s Discovery Hut.

Because some of the research in Antarctica focuses on changes in atmospheric ozone levels, ocean ecosystems and the origins of the universe, “The military men and women involved have a huge sense of pride,” said Col. Tye Beasley, USAF, Commander, Support Forces Antarctica. “We realize what we are doing helps to rewrite the textbooks of tomorrow.”

As Commander of Support Forces Antarctica, he is responsible for about 800 Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard personnel whose mission is to move scientists and their supplies and research equipment deep into and out of the Antarctic continent. Col. Beasley calls this “the most unique job I’ve ever had in over 28 years of service.”

“Even though we are fighting two major conflicts, we are still supporting peaceful scientific endeavors in the Antarctic,” said Chief Master Sgt. Robert Lafaye, USAF, who helps plan and coordinate the Department of Defense’s role in ODF via USTRANSCOM.

Some of the work being completed is Nobel-quality, “Twenty different nations conducting scientific research down there,” said Lafaye, who works from USTRANSCOM headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Throughout ODF’s August through February government-private sector joint operation, the NSF is responsible to USAP for overall management responsibility, including planning, funding and implementing the international program of scientific research. USTRANSCOM provides support to the USAP.

The NSF, established in 1950 by the National Science Foundation Act, is an independent government agency that promotes the progress in science, national health, prosperity and welfare and secures the national defense. The multilateral Antarctic Treaty, signed Dec. 1, 1959, provides for international freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and reserves the area exclusively for peaceful purposes.

USTRANSCOM Support Is Essential

Air Mobility Command (AMC) and Military Sealift Command (MSC), both USTRANSCOM subordinate commands, supply the heavy lift into Antarctica, enabling USTRANSCOM to support the USAP by further moving scientific and support personnel and supplies throughout the treacherous terrain of Antarctica.

“By using the strength of U.S. military airlift and sealift resources, the NSF can attract some of the best scientists in the country into the field and back out in a very quick time,” said Lafaye.

Through ODF, USTRANSCOM also provides inter-continental logistics support, such as ski equipped LC-130s from the New York Air National Guard, helicopters from the USCG, cargo handlers from the Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One and air traffic services and weather forecasting and observing through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in South Carolina. The USAP is also supported through NSF contracted ski equipped planes and helicopters from the commercial sector.

USTRANSCOM was established in 1987 as one of nine combatant commands. As the single manager of America's global defense transportation system, USTRANSCOM’s mission is to move people, supplies and equipment whenever, wherever and for as long as they are needed.

For example, USTRANSCOM is currently tasked with moving supplies, equipment and personnel as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. USTRANSCOM also supports numerous peacetime missions, including: humanitarian relief operations following Hurricanes Andrew, Marilyn, Georges, Mitch and Floyd; military support to civil authorities; fire fighting equipped C-130s to support firefighters in San Diego and throughout the west, and science research through ODF.

Subordinate Commands Ensure USTRANSCOM’s Missions

USTRANSCOM uses AMC, MSC and the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) military and commercial resources to coordinate worldwide missions.

The AMC fleet can provide refueling capability and deliver people and cargo anywhere around the globe in a matter of hours. Aircraft assets include the C-17 Globemaster III, C-5 Galaxy, C-141 Starlifter, KC-135 Stratotanker and the KC-10 Extender. Additional long-range airlift aircraft are available during national emergencies through the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a fleet of commercial aircraft committed to support the transportation of military forces and material in times of crisis. As USTRANSCOM, AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB.

The MSC provides efficient sea transportation worldwide in peace and war. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., MSC uses a mixture of government-owned and commercial ships for: surge sealift, principally used to move unit equipment from the U.S. to theaters of operations all over the world; prepositioned sealift that comes under USTRANSCOM's command once the ships have been released into the common-user fleet, and sustainment sealift, the life-line to keep deployed forces continuously supplied. MSC assets also include Fast sealift and Ready Reserve Force ships, and it charters commercial ships.

Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., the SDDC is USTRANSCOM’s overland lift component and primary traffic manager. Its mission is to support the DoD and the mobilization community worldwide during peace and war with responsive planning, crisis response actions, traffic management, terminal operations, integrated transportation systems and deployability engineering. SDDC is present in 25 water ports worldwide, and its assets and equipment include: more than 12,000 containers; more than 1,350 rail and tank cars, and 142 miles of government-owned railroad track. In addition, the command contracts with commercial transportation resources to provide additional transportation capabilities.

Meanwhile, in the Antarctic, planning is already heating up for ODF 2004 – 2005.
The USTRANSCOM team will make it happen.

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