Facing inclement weather, a lone, ski-equipped LC-130 departed the snowpack at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, evacuating seven critically injured sailors to Christchurch, New Zealand. After surviving a catastrophic fire at sea aboard a Korean vessel in the Ross Sea, off Antarctica, on Jan. 11, the badly burned fishermen were awaiting an Air Force C-17 for evacuation. Due to fog and persistent poor weather, officials delayed and ultimately scrubbed the C-17 mission, reported Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald. Instead, the New York Air National Guard LC-130 crew, members of the 109th Airlift Wing in Schenectady, elected to make the roughly eight-hour haul from McMurdo, touching down at Christchurch with the injured sailors late on the evening of Jan. 13.
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific this week.