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Military personnel who support the National Science Foundation’s
U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) recently received recognition
for their work in Operation Deep Freeze and other missions.
The 109th Airlift Wing (AW) of the New York Air National
Guard was awarded the prestigious National Guard Association
of the United States' (NGAUS) Spaatz Trophy for 2007 during
the NGAUS Award Ceremony in Baltimore Sept. 22. Lt. Gen.
Craig McKinley, Air National Guard director, presented
Col. Anthony German, 109th AW commander, the trophy at
the ceremony.
In an unrelated ceremony, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jim
McGann, 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron commander
at McChord Air Force Base , became the first American
to receive the Christchurch Civic Award in New Zealand
during the opening ceremonies of the Christchurch Antarctic
Festival on Sept. 26.
The weeklong festival celebrates Christchurch’s
close relationship with the USAP in Antarctica, and signifies
the start of another season of scientific research on
the Ice.
Lou Sanson, Antarctica New Zealand chief executive, presents
Lt. Col. Jim McGann with a traditional Maori chief's weapon
known as a Patu at a ceremony in Christchurch, New Zealand,
on Sept. 26. McGann received the Christchurch Civic Award.McGann,
who is permanently assigned to the 62nd Airlift Wing at
McChord, leads C-17 operations in support of Operation
Deep Freeze. The award recognizes the colonel’s long-standing
relationship with Christchurch, where the USAP stages
much of its operation to Antarctica.
The Spaatz trophy, named in honor of former Air Force
Chief of Staff Gen. Carl S. Spaatz, is presented to the
overall outstanding flying unit in the Air National Guard
.
According to the citation, the wing was honored for executing
“state and national objectives in the Global War
on Terrorism, the United States Antarctic Program and
other contingency operations.”
As the operator of the Department of Defense's only ski-equipped
LC-130H aircraft, the unit achieved new records for Operation
Deep Freeze in Antarctica while simultaneously expanding
its combat operations significantly.
Notably, the wing volunteered on a short-notice mission
for Operation Enduring Freedom by deploying two aircraft
and four crews with associated maintenance and support
personnel. This effort required the wing to stand-up the
unit’s first C-130 combat capability since the Vietnam
War in only nine months.
During this time, the 109th AW sustained its support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom, global operations in the war
on terror, and homeland security priorities including
Operation Jump Start. Throughout 2007, the 109th AW deployed
a total of 684 personnel serving more than 19,300 days
to support these global missions.
The military has a long history of supporting science
in Antarctica. Operation Deep Freeze was the codename
of the U.S. military mission to support science activities
on the Ice beginning in 1955-56 for the International
Geophysical Year , a multi-national science campaign that
sparked an unprecedented flowering of discovery and technology.
Today, the codename continues to be used to refer to the
military support of the USAP.
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