MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- For the third year in a row, the McChord Field contingent to Operation Deep Freeze set records for most missions, flying hours and cargo hauled in Antarctica.

Up to thirteen Reservists per rotation from the 446th Airlift Wing here, along with Airmen from the 62nd Airlift Wing, rotated in and out of Christchurch, New Zealand from August 2010 to February 2011, providing airlift of cargo and personnel into and out of McMurdo Station. Antarctica. 

Operation Deep Freeze, which the 446th Airlift Wing supports flying the C-17, is the U.S. military's support of science and research activities conducted by the U.S. Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station Antarctica.

At the beginning of the season, known as WINFLY, McChord crews moved more than 490 passengers and 442 thousand pounds of cargo. 

This season also marked the first time C-17 crews planned and flew four missions using night vision goggles, extending their capability to deliver supplies anytime in the season.

The Airmen from McChord, operating as the 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, airdropped cargo at the South Pole Station in December, providing proficiency training on such missions for both the air and ground crews.

"Year after year, the men and women of the Joint Task Force execute their mission in this challenging environment, whether by land, sea, or air. Their work supports important scientific research by the NSF and the USAP." said Col. Paul Sheppard, deputy commander, Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica (JTF-SFA). "Antarctica is no place for complacency. The impressive safety records of the LC-130, C-17, and heavy sealift assets are evidence that our military support forces do their jobs smartly."

"The pace and complexity (of this season) was very similar to past seasons; until the earthquake," said Chief Master Sgt. Jim Masura, 446th Operations Group. 

Deployed personnel were subject to the unknown force of Mother Nature. Several groups were exposed to earthquakes, including the 6.3 magnitude quake which destroyed most of the central business district and killed over 180 people. No McChord personnel or equipment were damaged.

"In the past, Christchurch was similar to what you find at home - stability. You knew you had a bed, hot water, food, and etcetera. After the earthquake, you were not sure what you were coming back to at the hotel. Did the group have food, safe shelter, and a hot shower before they flew. The staff had to factor all of this into the decision process."

Not only did the Reserve and active-duty Airmen support the U.S. National Science Foundation, they carried participants from the Italian, New Zealand, Australian, Russian, Norwegian and French Antarctic programs. 

The crews also participated in an Australian Rescue Coordination Center-directed search and recovery effort of a downed French helicopter near the French research station in October, 2010. Rescheduling passengers and adjusting fuel loads, the C-17 flew over the search area en route to McMurdo, but saw nothing due to bad weather. On its return to Christchurch, the aircrew again piloted the C-17 over the search area, where an accompanying Australian AP-3C Orion surveillance aircraft crew spotted the crash scene.

But the most difficult mission of the season, at least for Chief Masura, was the last one.

"The final mission is tough knowing that other than one more flight by the Australian A319, they (the scientists at McMurdo Station) would not have any more support or see any new people until late August. You just hope they have everything they needed," said the Chief.    

This from Air Force Times: The House Armed Services Committee chairman sought Monday to reassure service members who are worried about not being paid if the government shuts down because he believes a fiscal crisis will be averted.

Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., said he doesn't think a government shutdown will happen at the end of the week because he believes lawmakers will agree on a budget.

If there is a shutdown, he doesn't see it lasting more than a few days, which would not affect the April 15 military payday. And, if the military cannot make the April 15 payroll because of a shutdown, service members will not lose any money because they will be fully paid once funding is restored, McKeon said in a meeting with reporters.

"I think we are mature enough to get this fixed," McKeon said of the standoff on the 2011 budget that was supposed to have been approved by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1.

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash.  -- The next phase in gate upgrades is coming soon to the McChord Field Main Gate on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and drivers should prepare for more traffic pattern changes beginning the evening of April 13. 

Contractors will begin Phase 2 of the construction project on that date with completion scheduled by May 2. 

The new phase brings new traffic detours and diversions for access to the gate, said McChord Field's Installation Security and Plans Chief David Lenart. Currently, traffic is reduced to one inbound and outbound lane in what was the original lane leading out of McChord prior to construction's start. Phase 2 will shift traffic to the original inbound lanes, allowing contractors to cut across the roadway and lay new electrical wiring. 

Access to the visitor center will change as well. Motorists should pay close attention to signage directing them to entry and exit points. 

The current physical upgrades will improve the power infrastructure at and near the gates, said JBLM Chief of Security and Access Control Mel Austin. That includes improved physical protection features for security personnel, improved information systems connectivity and installing backup power generators and lights. 

One major vehicle restriction is being placed on incoming and outgoing traffic through the McChord Main Gate - no oversized vehicles, Lenart said. Because the road entering McChord Field is narrower than the outbound lane and has a sharp turn around the visitor center, security officials are asking that people driving tractor-trailers, RVs and military vehicles use either the Commercial Gate or Barnes Gate, both located on Perimeter Road. 

No vehicle or vehicle and trailer combination longer than 27 feet should attempt to enter or exit through the Main Gate. 

The Commercial Gate will be open 24 hours daily throughout this phase of construction.

Traffic safety officials are asking everyone in the JBLM community who use the McChord Field Main Gate to continue the level of understanding they have already shown this past month during Phase 1. 

Construction update information will be communicated through the Northwest Guardian, website updates and on readerboards and poster boards located throughout McChord. 

"McChord customers have been very accommodating for the construction," Lenart said.

"Construction is going well and people are following directions well."    

SEATTLE - The Museum of Flight won't get to display one of the retiring space shuttles, but Seattle's air and space museum will get a consolation prize of a full-scale training mock-up that looks like the space shuttle without wings.

The museum near Boeing Field was one of 21 museum and science centers around the country hoping to land one of the spaceships. A new $12 million building called the Space Gallery is being prepared for the display.

Of the space shuttles that actually flew in space, the Discovery will be going to the Smithsonian Institution. It will take the place of Enterprise, the shuttle prototype used for tests in the late 1970s. The Enterprise will be going to Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York.

The shuttle Atlantis is going to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Endeavor is going to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Seattle museum visitors will be allowed to climb aboard and try out the full-size training module, which has been used by every astronaut and is the only one of its kind. Visitors won't be allowed to climb aboard the actual shuttles, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire noted in announcing why the consolation prize is a "true win" for the people of Washington.

"It will help inspire young people to the adventure of space and to the excitement of a career in science, technology, engineering and math," the governor added in her written statement.

 Beginning June 1, Social Security numbers on military identification cards will begin to disappear, said Air Force Maj. Monica M. Matoush, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The effort is part of a larger plan to protect service members and other DOD identification card holders from identity theft, officials said.

Criminals use Social Security numbers to steal identities, allowing them to pillage resources, establish credit or to hijack credit cards, bank accounts or debit cards.

Currently, the Social Security number is printed on the back of common access cards, and on the front of cards issued to dependents and retirees. Beginning in June, when current cards expire, they will be replaced with new cards having a DOD identification number replacing the Social Security number, officials said. The DOD identification number is a unique 10-digit number that is assigned to every person with a direct relationship with the department. The new number also will be the service member's Geneva Convention identification number.

An 11-digit DOD benefits number also will appear on the cards of those people eligible for DOD benefits. The first nine digits are common to a sponsor, the official said, and the last two digits will identify a specific person within the sponsor's family.

Social Security numbers embedded in the bar codes on the back of identification cards will remain there for the time being, and will be phased out beginning in 2012.

The department will replace identification cards as they expire.
"Because cards will be replaced upon expiration, it will be approximately four years until all cards are replaced with the DOD ID number," Matoush said.

The identity protection program began in 2008, when DOD started removing Social Security numbers from family member identification cards.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher Clayton likes the security and comfort living on base provides his family. Clayton recently moved into a new four-bedroom house in the Cascade Village neighborhood of McChord Field on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

He goes to the field often and will deploy with his unit, the 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. He appreciates the piece of mind the close-knit community offers his wife and three children, particularly when he's gone.

Clayton is just one of several new residents of McChord's newest development. Residential Communities Division broke ground last year and has completed 26 of 62 Cascade Village duplexes and single-family homes on McChord Field. All 26 homes are currently occupied.

The development offers military families multi-level three- and four-bedroom units for lease to senior NCOs, warrant officers and commissioned officers. A JBLM servicemember can lease a single-story home there that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. All JBLM housing is averaging a 96 percent occupancy rate, said Greta Powell, Residential Communities Division chief.

Each house in the neighborhood features a heat pump, air conditioning, covered garages and at least 2,000 square feet, said Equity Residential Managing Director Todd Vasko.

"The homes are what you would see, in size and amenities, if you were buying a new home off post," Vasko said.

The Army formed a 50-year partnership with Equity Residential when it was Fort Lewis. The privatized contractor delivers maintenance and yard services to JBLM residents, a partnership that allows on-base residents to have one point of contact for in-home service-related issues, no matter where they live on the installation, he said.

McChord Air Force Base privatized its housing communities in 2008 with Equity Residential. Now with joint basing, billing processes, repair issues and a single garrison commander has made day-to-day operations easier for Equity Residential, and residents benefit.

"We now have one philosophy, one point of view, and we aren't trying to appease two separate groups, being the Army and Air Force," Vasko said.

Another advantage to having a joint base housing system is relief from the "live where you work" policy, the stipulation that Soldiers must live on Lewis and Airmen live on McChord. Army families now make up 46 percent of residents living in McChord Field neighborhoods, Powell said. The numbers aren't quite that high for Airmen living on Lewis, because of the ratio of eight Soldiers to each Airman. Air Force families have priority and the right of first refusal to McChord housing.

"We are excited in the privatized progress of breaking down the barriers between the services in our installation communities," she said.

Clayton is one of those barrier breakers, as a Soldier living on the Air Force side of the joint base. He arrived at then-Fort Lewis nearly two years ago, and moved into his first house on McChord. Two months ago, he was given the option to move to Cascade Village.

"I am loving the new house greatly," Clayton said. "Space-wise, we are two to three times bigger than what we were in."

Regardless of where he's living on JBLM, he doesn't have to mow the lawn, giving the warrant officer more time to spend with his family.

"Being an Air Force brat, I had to mow the lawn," he said. "Now, especially after a recent deployment, I can concentrate on other things around the house other than the lawn."

Monthly lease payments and maintenance costs for each household are paid through servicemembers' Basic Allowance for Housing. It also pays for future construction projects, meaning that no extra money is required in the form of new appropriations from Congress. The self-sustainability program created through privatization ensures that even during a housing crisis, on-base home construction will continue.

"Privatization is a good tool that Congress has provided the military departments to take creative approaches to funding construction," Powell said.

The remaining 36 Cascade Village homes are expected to be completed and available for occupancy by the end of the year. The next housing project is planned in the Heartwood Community on McChord Field, where 156 duplex units will be built for junior enlisted servicemembers and their families. A new family housing community center near McChord's Carter Lake Elementary School will be constructed by 2013, to serve as a meeting location for residents to use.

"It's exciting time for family housing and it's great to see families enjoying their communities," Powell said.

For more information about JBLM housing or McChord Field's Cascade Village, visit Lewis-McChord Communities website at www.jblmc.com, or call Equity Residential's Lewis Main office at 912-2150 or McChord's office at 589-0523.

SEATTLE -- Lt. Col. Garin Tentschert, chief pilot with the 97th Airlift Squadron, and Maj. Kristi Forbes, a flight nurse with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, both out of McChord Field, Wash., discuss balancing their Reserve and civilian careers with their family roles on King TV Seattle's New Day Northwest hosted by Margaret Larson, April 20, 2011.

New Day Northwest is an hour long show with the goal of informing and entertaining the public with current events. Reservists of the 446th Operations Group particitpated as part of the audience.

For photos and a link to the interview, click here.