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Operation Deep Freeze under way with C-17 support

A C-17 Globemaster III from the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., has flown four missions from Christchurch, New Zealand, kicking off the 2006 to 2007 season for Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, known as Operation Deep Freeze.

Servicemembers and equipment will stage to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, from Christchurch, via C-17 to prepare the ice runway for main C-17 and LC-130 operations beginning in October.

"Operation Deep Freeze is a unique joint and total force mission that has supported the National Science Foundation and U.S. Antarctic Program since 1955," said Maj. Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., commander of 13th Air Force and Kenney Headquarters. "Kenney Headquarters is proud to lead the mission in its 51st year."

Main resupply operations consist of C-17 supply flights between Christchurch and McMurdo Station, and LC-130 flights from McMurdo to the South Pole and other camps throughout Antarctica.

Vessel resupply operations consist of two Military Sealift Command vessels delivering fuel and supplies to McMurdo Station. In early January, prior to the vessels' arrival, a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker will cut a channel through miles of ice allowing the ships access to the McMurdo Ice Pier.

All deployed forces are scheduled to return home by the end of February, depending on completion of airlift operations.

"Operation Deep Freeze is unlike any other U.S. military operation and is one of our most demanding peacetime missions due to the extreme adversity of the environment and the remoteness of Antarctica," said General Rice, who also serves as JTF-SFA commander.

"Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, most inhospitable continent on the globe, and Operation Deep Freeze provides a challenging opportunity to demonstrate the reach and flexibility of airpower, the capabilities of the joint force and the integrated support of active-duty, Guard and Reserve military personnel," the general said.

The U.S. military is uniquely equipped to assist the National Science Foundation in the accomplishment of its mission to explore Antarctica, and the Kenney Headquarters Pacific Air Operations Center has the capability to provide joint operational and logistics support to the NSF around the clock.

"Through the Kenney Headquarters PAOC, we are able to coordinate strategic airlift, LC-130 field support airlift and other airlift as required: aeromedical evacuation support, emergency response, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, port cargo handling, communication and transportation requirements," General Rice said.

Operation Deep Freeze involves active-duty and Reserve C-17 support from McChord AFB, LC-130 support from the New York Air National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers, and the U.S. Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One to provide critical port services at McMurdo Station.

Source: U.S. Air Force