Team McChord delivers critical medical supplies to South Pole in total darkness

Published Sept. 28, 2011
By Airman 1st Class Leah Young
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- For the first time in history, a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 62nd Airlift Wing successfully completed a mid-winter nighttime airdrop at the South Pole.

Airmen from the 62nd AW teamed up with the 446th AW to airdrop urgently needed medical supplies Sept. 1 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica.

The supplies will augment a South Pole medical team's treatment of an ailing civilian wintering there with the U.S. Antarctic Program.

"The mission went exceedingly well," said Lt. Col. Robert Wellington, 62nd AW Operations Group deputy commander. "This was basically a culmination of all the training we've completed over the past several years."

After being notified of the mission, Wellington established the Team McChord resources.

"Of course, my immediate feeling toward this mission was excitement," he explained. "We needed to find out the exact requirements for the mission to see if we would fulfill them. The most work came during the coordination stages."

Wellington assigned Maj. Rick Kind, C-17 weapons and tactics instructor pilot, to plan the mission with his crew. The 446th AW was also notified and started planning for the mission.

"After we got the phone call," said Chief Master Sgt. Jim Masura, "we spent three days planning it. This is the first time we did a drop out of the door (rather than out the back) over Antarctica."

Masura, a Reservist with the 446th AW, was one of four loadmasters on the mission. Other Reservists on the crew were Lt. Col. Rob Sawyer, a pilot, and loadmasters, Senior Master Sgt. Terry Wolford and Master Sgt. Kathleen Disney.

Wellington, Kind and the Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica team worked closely with the National Science Foundation planners to execute the mission. Kind's prior experience benefitted the mission.

"We usually do a South Pole airdrop mission during the summer months when conditions are ideal," said Wellington. "With all the training, we were more than prepared. Two years ago, Kind was on that flight. When this mission came around, he was already trained, certified and experienced in South Pole air-drop."

In addition to Kind, other experienced 62nd AW personnel were hand-picked to support the mission.

"We took the best of the best down there," said Staff Sgt. Kent Koerner, 4th Airlift Squadron loadmaster. "Everyone really came together and operated as a team. We were working off of a good plan, and executed it as well as we could."

The plan included a parachute-enabled C-17 air-drop of medical supplies in bitter cold and complete darkness using night-vision devices. Although Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica plans for such missions and trains for this requirement during the summer season, this is the first time a C-17 has attempted a mid-winter, nighttime airdrop at the South Pole, according to officials.

Since the South Pole has 24 hours of darkness during the polar winter, the use of night-vision goggles was essential for the mission, officials said.

"The routine use of night vision goggles is being exploited to overcome the operational challenges in Antarctica," said Wellington. "The plan we developed mirrored all of our previous training flights, except for those obstacles. And when we meet those obstacles, we find solutions to work with them."

According to Kevin Schriner, an NSF contractor and network administrator at the South Pole, the air drop was a complete success. Both packages were dropped and recovered without damage.