NORTH POLE FLIGHT USHERS IN NEW ERA OF COAST GUARD ARCTIC

OPERATIONS

PHOTOS AND VIDEO AVAILABLE

By Petty Officer 1st Class Kurt Fredrickson Public Affairs Detachment
Kodiak, Alaska

"Photos and video available below"

KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane departed
Barrow, America's northernmost city, Thursday and successfully reached
the North Pole, ushering in a new era of Coast Guard operations in the
Arctic.

The 2,300-mile flight, which originated from Coast Guard Air Station
Kodiak, was the first to reach the North Pole exclusively for the
purpose of Arctic domain awareness. This new mission for the Coast
Guard is based on recently observed climate changes that will provide
greater maritime access to the Arctic. But for the Coast Guard
reaching the northernmost point on Earth was more than a typical
maritime patrol.

"The significance of crossing the North Pole is a statement," Rear
Adm. Arthur Brooks, Commander of the 17th Coast Guard District in
Juneau, said. "It's a statement that the U.S. Coast Guard is prepared
to operate in the Arctic and the high Arctic. We are here to work."

This first Arctic domain awareness flight is not just the beginning of
a changing Coast Guard role in the region, but also a step toward
learning how to conduct missions in one of the harshest environments
on the planet, Brooks said.

"The primary change in the Arctic is that for 150 years we have done
exploration and research," Brooks explained. "The change is we now
must prepare to do all Coast Guard missions in the arctic, including
maritime surveillance."

Thursday's flight was the first step in that direction. Although it
was uncertain if the mission would be a success, it was a vital step
in setting a baseline for Arctic operations.

"The main expectations were to see how our instruments and radio
communications work, what altitude we can (reach) before hitting our
cold weather limitations, and what the forward support limitations are
going to be in Barrow itself," explained Lt. Tommy Wallin, aircraft
commander for the North Pole flight.

Although the operating environment of the Arctic has similarities to
the day-to-day missions of the Coast Guard, it also presents great
challenges.

"The main difference is that we are flying extreme distances under
extreme temperatures without any support," Wallin said.

"Once we get up to the Arctic we're kind of on our own. There's a lot
of logistics that you have to do ahead of time and a lot of
preplanning because once you get there everything has to already be
planned out. It's similar to what we do day to day but just a little
bit more extreme."

This extreme nature of Arctic flight was experienced as the aircraft
neared the pole where temperatures outside dropped to -40 degrees.
Despite the extreme temperatures Coast Guard airplane 1703 crossed the
North Pole at 12:23 p.m., under the glow of a noontime full moon. The
rising morning sun was left behind as the mission entered latitudes
trapped in perpetual winter darkness. With a magnetic variation of
more than 70 degrees in some locations, the compass guides aboard the
aircraft were jumping, as if unsure of where the aircraft was. But as
planned, navigation was maintained by GPS and the skills of the
navigator. Although everyone aboard was excited to cross the North
Pole, perhaps no one was as excited as the navigator who tracked the
aircraft's every move.

"I'm a navigator so for me one of the most fun aspects of the flight,
besides being in a unique mission, was when we headed over the pole
and we headed south," said Chief Petty Officer Dave Boschee, Air
Station Kodiak HC-130 navigator. "We were heading true south, but we
were heading magnetic north because we were above the magnetic North
Pole. I was bouncing out of my seat with excitement. We were on the
other side of the world at that point. I would have never thought I
was going there."

Before returning home the aircraft circled the world, crossing every
longitude and passing through every time zone, briefly making it the
fastest moving object on the planet. For the second time that day, the
sun rose for the passengers and crew of aircraft 1703. On this day
with two sunrises the Coast Guard began a new chapter in Arctic
history.

As the world examines the changing Arctic it is likely that Thursday's
flight will not be the last to navigate its way toward 90 degrees
north. For the Coast Guard, future Arctic operations may mean more
than the occasional over flight. The Coast Guard is examining the
possibility of establishing a seasonal base in the Arctic. As the
principal federal maritime enforcement agency in the Arctic, the Coast
Guard will be called on to carry out its safety, security and
environmental stewardship missions as maritime traffic increases in
the region.

"When we start moving aircraft and small boats into the Arctic it's
going to be a great opportunity, but it will also be a great
challenge, because this is hard, and this is dangerous," Brooks said.
"Like many other things in Alaska, it's beautiful and it's
magnificent, but it can be deadly."

While the mission succeeded in reaching the pole safely, the trip was
not without problems. But it is those issues that arise that provide
insight into how to best conduct operations in the Arctic. Friday
morning a hydrologic leak was discovered which grounded the aircraft
at the airport in Barrow. One propeller had to be removed entirely in
sub freezing temperatures by the crew and replaced with a replacement
flown in from Kodiak. In regard to logistical support, operating in
the Arctic is difficult to say the least.

"When you work outside in the Arctic, in the wind and the cold,
without any protection it's really hard and it can be dangerous with
the ice and the wind with the guys working on the plane," Wallin said.
"If we're going to be up there for extended periods of time, providing
shelter for the crew and the planes for scheduled maintenance is the
most difficult thing."

But despite the challenges faced by the crew, the trip provided
valuable insight for future Arctic operations. Wallin explained that
the times of year the Coast Guard can operate from the Arctic will be
limited by weather. As winter approaches high winds, icing on the
runway and other factors may limit the ability to land and fly
altogether. The fact remains that under these extreme winter
conditions there may not be any waterways open and subsequently no
vessels to look at, he added.

But as with any new undertaking there will be challenges to overcome.
One of the key benefits of the mission, according to Brooks, occurred
before the flight as many individuals planned for the mission.

"It's a dawn of a new era," Brooks said. "I do believe we are looking
at Coast Guard operations into the highest hardest part of the world,
and we're going to have to learn how to operate in the Arctic."

Although the Coast Guard must examine closely how to operate in this
new environment, one thing they are doing to better their chances of
success is not stepping into it alone. Aboard the flight to the North
Pole was Charlie Hopson, a senior whaling captain from Barrow. Brooks
noted that the knowledge held by those who inhabit the Arctic is an
invaluable tool to the Coast Guard's success in the region, and he
explained that the Arctic is in no way an exclusively Coast Guard
domain. He said the people of the arctic nations must decide the
course of action to be taken in this new frontier.

"We are just a small part of the entire Arctic equation," Brooks said.
"Understanding that the basic questions of the Arctic: Where are the
boundaries? What is American? What do we own? What will we defend?
Those questions are unanswered, and they're not Coast Guard
questions."

As the Arctic nations examine how the resources of the Arctic will be
used and developed the Coast Guard is preparing its own people to
expand its missions should they be needed.

"Everything is dangerous -- everything has risks -- and the challenge
here is doing things that minimize risk," Brooks said.

"We have to be able to operate in every part of the world now, from
McMurdo Sound in Antarctica to the North Pole in the Arctic. We're
going to have to make sure that the Coasties who come, that we give
them the training, give them the equipment and we give them the
passion for operations in a new part of the world."

-USCG-

Click on the following links for high resolution photos or visit and
search http://cgvi.uscg.mil http://cgvi.uscg.mil/ .

Photo 1 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=183176 - Group
photo

Photo 2 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=185254 -
Airplane Navigator

Photo 3 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184961 - Air
crew

Photo 4 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184958 -
Airplane repairs

Photo 5 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184955 -
Airplane repairs

Photo 6 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184946 -
Airplane repairs

Photo 7 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=183169 -
Arctic sunrise

Photo 8 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=183179 -
Navigation instrument reading

Photo 9 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=183182 - Whale
meat

Photo 10 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=183185 -
Pilots crossing the North Pole

Photo 11 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=183173 -
Airplane in Barrow

Photo 12 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=185299 - Pack
ice

Photo 13 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184967 -
Barrow mileage sign

Photo 14 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=185295 -
Whale bones

Photo 15 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184952 -
Flying over pack ice

Photo 16 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184949 - Pack
ice

Click on the following links for video.

Video 1 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=185059 -
Interview with Rear Adm. Arthur Brooks, Commander 17th Coast Guard
District in Juneau.

Audio 1 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184992 -
Interview with Lt. Tommy Wallin, HC-130 aircraft commander.

Audio 2 http://cgig.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=184996 -
Interview with Chief Petty Officer Dave Boschee, HC-130 navigator.

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Coast Guard, saving lives since 1790.