ANG Training On Ice:

The New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing continues its longstanding and unique mission—supplying scientists working on the ice, whether it’s Greenland or the South Pole. Recently, TSgt. Mike R. Smith reports that they served as the only supply line for the National Science Foundation in Greenland, flying in 2,100 gallons of fuel and three pallets of supplies to an Arctic outpost for the scientists via the unit’s ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules. The Greenland mission helps fulfill part of the on-the-ice training for airlift missions in the South Pole. Using a training skyway, the Air Guardsmen practice air drops, host a barren land arctic survival school called “Kool School” and more. The airlifts for the NSF occur between late March and mid-August; missions to Antarctica take place October through February.