109th Airlift Wing begins journey to Antarctica
SCOTIA, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The New York Air Guard's 109th Airlift Wing sent airmen and aircraft to Antarctica on Thursday. Two LC-130s and ten Airmen with the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing departed for McMurdo Station Antarctica in support of the 37th season of Operation Deep Freeze from the Stratton Air National Guard Base.
Operation Deep Freeze is the logistical support that the military provides to the National Science Foundation-managed U.S. Antarctic Program. New York Air National Guard Colonel Robert Donaldson said the 109th Airlift Wing is a key part of the mission. The trip takes 5 days to get to Antarctica.
"We are the logistical arm to support National Science Foundation with the LC-130 in part," Donaldson said. "And so ecosystem; we study the ecosystem, they do, down in Antarctica. They also study space and the higher altitudes and things like that to see what’s going on.”
Donaldson also said that their primary mission for the 2024-2025 support season is to provide resupply to three stations in Antarctica, including the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the Siple Dome Field Camp, and the Amundson-Scott South Pole Station.
Operation crew members said around 400 Airmen are expected to rotate through McMurdo Station from October through March, including Drew Brewer, the Deputy Commander of Operations Group of the 109th Airlift Wing, who has been doing the mission for 21 years and said the journey is a challenge.
"When a storm rolls in and everything goes white, you can’t tell the difference between the sky and the ground; it’s like being inside of a ping pong ball," Brewer said.
The 109th Airlift Wing has been supporting the National Science Foundation's South Pole research since 1988. Since 1999, the unit has been the sole provider of this type of airlift to the National Science Foundation and U.S. Antarctic research efforts.
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