A C-17 crew from McChord AFB, Wash., conducted an 11-hour mission, flying from Christchurch, New Zealand, Jan. 4 to airdrop critical equipment to a British fishing ship that had been stranded in ice in the Antarctic since it suffered engine failure on Christmas Eve. Active and Air Force Reserve Command aircrews and support personnel from McChord are deployed to Christchurch for Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica. The British company Argos Georgia Limited, which had exhausted a search for commercial assistance, asked for US military help and supplied the spare parts and flotation aids. (13th Air Force report)
A single-pallet-sized tactical operations center is slated to begin shipping to 70 Air Force units by the end of the year following a recent announcement by the company that made it and the Air Force entity responsible for its development.
