The Air Force planned to employ a C-17 from McChord AFB, Wash., to deliver passengers and cargo yesterday to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, thereby kicking off Operation Deep Freeze 2008-09, the US military’s support for US scientific research activities on the barren continent. (An active-duty and Air Force Reserve Command crew from McChord flew the last mission for the previous season in April.) According to a USAF release, the C-17 would fly multiple missions from Christchurch International Airport, New Zealand, the staging point for ODF, to McMurdo Station through Sept. 10 as part of the ODF ramp-up phase. The main body of military and civilian personnel plan to arrive in Antarctica in October.
The Air Force’s top enlisted member told lawmakers last week that the service must demolish hundreds of unneeded buildings, a move that would pay a “10-to-1 return on investment,” particularly for improving quality of life for service members, rather than spending money on their upkeep.