The US military’s annual airlift and sea-transportation support of National Science Foundation scientific research in Antarctica concluded Feb. 28. Dubbed Operation Deep Freeze, the 2008-2009 season kicked off last September. Among the joint force contributions during the six-month-long season, Air Force C-17s flew 50 missions, moving 4.3 million pounds of material and 3,800 passengers. And, ski-equipped LC-130s flew more than 280 missions, delivering more than 8.7 million pounds of supplies and 2,000 passengers. “The movement of this cargo, fuel, and personnel for our interagency partners at the National Science Foundation is vital to their mission,” said Lt. Gen. Chip Utterback, commander of 13th Air Force at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and head of Deep Freeze efforts as commander of Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica. He added, “We are, in many ways, the ‘lifeline’ for their people down on the ice.” Utterback said he “couldn’t be more proud” of the efforts of the entire Deep Freeze team this season. (Hickam report by Maj. Sam Highley)
House lawmakers unveiled a new reconciliation package July 15 with $60 billion for defense, $290 billion less than the Pentagon has been seeking, a day after a Senate vote to advance the annual defense policy bill failed—developments that show the perilous state of the Pentagon’s ambitious plans for fiscal 2027.