109th Airlift Wing's Greenland Season in Full Swing

STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, SCOTIA, N.Y. (07/10/2015)(readMedia)-- Three New York Air National Guard LC-130s and nearly 75 Airmen from the 109th Airlift Wing will depart for Kangerlussuaq (gang-er-loose-sue-arc), Greenland, on Monday, July 13 in support of the National Science Foundation. The Wing has been providing their annual Greenland support this year since April; Monday will mark the fifth rotation. Mission support to the Arctic region continues through the summer.

WHO: About 75 Airmen, including aircrews, LC-130 aircraft maintainers, cargo processors and other support personnel, will deploy for the fifth rotation of the Greenland season.

WHAT: Every summer, Airmen and aircraft with the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing, head for the Arctic region to support the National Science Foundation and get some real-world training for the Operation Deep Freeze mission in Antarctica during the U.S. winter season.

WHEN: 7:15 a.m., Monday, July 13, 2015

WHERE: 109th Airlift Wing, 1 Air National Guard Rd., Scotia, NY, 12302

Members of the media MUST contact Tech. Sgt. Catharine Schmidt by either calling or texting (518) 701-4312 or calling (518) 344-2423 no later than 6 a.m. on Monday, July 13, 2015 in order to gain access to the secure facility.

Media Opportunity:

Interviews will be available with 109th Airlift Wing officials to discuss this year's Greenland season. There will also be an opportunity to obtain imagery of the aircraft taking off for Greenland from the base.

Background

The New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing deploys various times between April and August each year and is staged out of Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Six flight periods are scheduled lasting from one to two weeks each depending on the needs of the National Science Foundation. Each rotation, two to four aircraft and between 60-80 Airmen are deployed.

The wing supplies fuel and supplies and transports passengers in and out of various National Science Foundation camps on the Ice Shelf in Greenland throughout the entire season. During a typical season in Greenland, 600-1,000 flight hours are flown; 1.5 to 2.5 million pounds of cargo is transported; 35,000 to 65,000 pounds of fuel is transported; and 1,500 to 2,000 passengers are transported.

"One of the most important science missions we have are the transportation of Ice Cores out of the remote camps and back to the United States," said Maj. Erik Srokowski, of the Greenland Operations office. "Ice Cores are a vital part of the science effort in the Arctic in analyzing the composition of Earth's atmosphere thousands of years ago."

The unique capabilities of the ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft make it the only one of its kind in the U.S. military, able to land on snow and ice.

109th Airlift Wing

The 109th Airlift Wing is one of five flying units of the New York Air National Guard (NYANG) that provides worldwide airlift support for operations as directed by the Air Mobility Command and the Air National Guard. It has the only ski-equipped C-130 aircraft in the Air Force and is the sole provider of heavy airlift in support of military and National Science Foundation directed operations in the Arctic and Antarctica Polar Regions.

The Wing's 1,000 men and women regularly supply the United States science station at the South Pole and have also flown airlift missions into and out of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.