Operation Deep Freeze

Posted 12/4/2007

A C-17 Globemaster III is offloaded on the annual sea ice runway Nov. 26 near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, during Operation Deep Freeze. C-17s fly large cargo loads from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Antarctica while the LC-130 Hercules, stationed at McMurdo, fly smaller cargo loads to research posts throughout the continent. The C-17s from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., and ski-equipped LC-130s from the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing are supporting the 13th Air Force-led Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, Operation Deep Freeze. Operation Deep Freeze is a unique joint and total force mission that has supported the National Science Foundation and U.S. Antarctic Program that began in 1955. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)