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McChord Airmen evacuate ill woman from Antarctica

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Denise Hauser
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --   What started out as a routine Operation Deep Freeze mission to the bottom of the world turned into an emergency medical evacuation of an extremely ill woman.

Aircrew from the 446th and 62nd Airlift Wings evacuated Renee Nicole-Douceur from McMurdo Air Station, Antarctica,  to Christchurch, New Zealand on Oct. 17. Christchurch is the closest place with advanced medical services.

The C-17 Globemaster III flight was part of an international logistical effort to evacuate Douceur from the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The initial leg of the flight, from Amundsen-Scott to McMurdo, was flown in a DC3-T aircraft which also supports the U.S. Antarctic Program. The DC3-T is a Canadian Ken Borek Ltd. aircraft that has the capability to land on ice with skis.

"The hard part was getting her out of the South Pole," said Chief Master Sgt. James Masura, standardization and evaluations loadmaster with the 446th Operations Group. "Our part was a routine mission to McMurdo that brought her to Christchurch. The C-17 does not have the capability to land at the South Pole; however we have perfected the ability to air-drop supplies when needed."

Reserve and active-duty Airmen from both wings are currently deployed to Christchurch in support of Operation Deep Freeze. Deep Freeze, which runs from mid-October to mid-February, supports the NSF in Antarctica by transporting people and supplies to McMurdo.

The support Operation Deep Freeze provides to the United States Antarctic Program is not like any other U.S. military operation. It is the military's most difficult peacetime mission due to the harsh whipping winds, and frigid temperatures of the Antarctic environment.

"The enemy here is nature and Team McChord is the only one in the C-17 strategic airlift world that is trained for this," said Lt. Col. James Dignan, 446th Operations Group commander. "This is the second time we've been called do to a mission like this and we are proud to be a part of it. I am confident each mission will be completed without fail due to the professionalism of the Airmen here."

In late June a McChord C-17 crew transported an ailing government contractor from McMurdo Station to Christchurch for further medical care.