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McChord reservists begin Operation Deep Freeze missions

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nicole Celestine
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash., --  Reservists with the 446th Airlift Wing here are now performing WINFLY, the first phase of the annual Operation Deep Freeze missions in support of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic program.

During WINFLY, which is scheduled to end Aug. 29, crews are busy shuttling advance teams and cargo for the upcoming main season of ODF.

Eleven reservists are part of the 32-person McChord Field C-17 team deployed to Christchurch International Airport, New Zealand. From Christchurch, C-17s will transport National Science Foundation personnel and cargo to and from McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

Operation Deep Freeze is a unique U.S. military peacetime operation where Airmen based out of Christchurch, New Zealand, must work in the harsh Antarctic environment. The Air Force is specially equipped with trained and experienced personnel to operate in these austere conditions and have provided support to National Science Foundation since 1955.

"Operation Deep Freeze is the one of the most challenging missions we do out of McChord," said Tech. Sgt. Rich DeLucia, a loadmaster superintendent with the 728th Airlift Squadron here. "It's the most extreme environment on Earth - and we are landing on it."

For ODF 2010, the Airmen will be using night vision goggles for the first time in a peacetime (scientific research) operation. NVGs will allow them to start projects earlier- a key factor when dealing with valuable daylight time and average temperatures that plunge 40 minus below.

"Because of the extreme weather, we rarely even shut the aircraft off," said Sergeant DeLucia, who has participated in about 20 Deep Freeze operations. "We just perform an engine offload to get in and out before the weather changes."

This year, the McChord Field crews will deliver the goods for various projects, including the South Pole Tranverse which will pull sleds with supplies to the South Pole and bring back unwanted items (including trash); and another project that records how seals are affected by the rising of the sun.

Staff Sgt. Charles O'Guinn, a loadmaster with the 728 AS here, said this is his third time participating in ODF and that each ODF presents its own unique challenges. "We always have to figure out what type of load we'll be carrying- whether it's just passengers, regular cargo like food and fruit, or oversized pallets with helicopters," said Sergeant O'Guinn. "We work toward having quick turnaround times and doing our jobs as safely as possible."

McChord Field has participated in ODF since 1983 using the C-141B Starlifter. The 446th AW got involved in 1995. The first C-17 trial for use to support ODF was Oct. 15, 1999.

The McChord Airmen will be the first fresh faces the researchers will have seen since February.