Airmen Support Operation Deep Freeze

Active Duty airmen as well as members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are part of a joint US and international force supporting the annual Operation Deep Freeze scientific research in the Antarctic. Active and Reserve C-17 Globemaster IIIs of the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings from JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., and LC-130 Hercules from the New York Air Guard are operating from Christchurch International Airport, New Zealand, in support of the US Antarctic Program and the National Science Foundation. US Navy, Coast Guard, and Military Sealift Command assets also are supporting Deep Freeze, under the Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica led by Pacific Air Forces at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The airmen will provide inter-theater airlift, tactical deep field support, aeromedical evacuation and search and rescue response as needed. Deep Freeze kicked off with the New Zealand IceFest at Christchurch. As part of that celebration, the two airlift units showed off their C-17s. Although the US-New Zealand teamwork is showcased throughout the month-long event, “today gives us a chance to show the community the airlift capabilities of the C-17,” said Lt. Col. Tim Davis, 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron director of operations. (Air Mobility Command release)