A C-17 from JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., landed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the first re-supply flight of Operation Deep Freeze’s 2011-12 summer field season. Staged from Christchurch, New Zealand, the C-17 overflew the city’s iconic cathedral—damaged in a devastating earthquake in February—during its Oct. 4 flight as a salute to the lives lost in the tragedy, reported the Antarctic Sun. Weather permitting, the Air Force plans a total of 63 C-17 sorties to McMurdo this season. The New York Air National Guard’s ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules are scheduled to arrive at the beginning of November to begin shuttling personnel and supplies between McMurdo and the South Pole. Deep Freeze is the US military’s logistical support of US scientific research on the barren continent. The Antarctic 2011-12 summer field season runs through February. (See also Christchurch City Council release.)
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…