Interagency Support of Science [Dispatches from Antarctica]

McMurdo Station, Antarctica — interagency operations on ice.

The C-17 is due in today. Since I’m planning to meet the plane out at Pegasus, I’ll report on that tomorrow. Let me take this opportunity to explain some of the partnerships here.

By Presidential direction, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is the lead U.S. government agency in Antarctica. Other parts of government, including the military, are here to support NSF. Some of the agencies we work with directly or indirectly include Federal Aviation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US Geological Survey, the US Coast Guard, and many others, including international partners.

Stepping back a bit… Air Force Airmen have grown accustomed to deployments supporting Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the current joint fight. In some key missions and capabilities, Airmen occupy the “pointy end of the spear” and our joint-service compatriots support the Air Force. Ultimately, military service activities report up the chain of command to a joint or unified commander.

More and more, however, the joint “fight” isn’t really a fight at all.

Non-combat operations, including Defense Support of Civil Authorities, involve military members working alongside or directly supporting inter-agency partners in a “whole of government” approach. By inter-agency, I’m referring to operations where different parts of the government, or even non-government organizations, are tasked to work together for common purpose. From the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID, to oil spill clean up and hurricane relief operations along the Gulf coast, to rebuilding towns and villages in war torn regions, and many others, the Department of Defense works side by side with other agencies for common purpose.

Military support of the US Antarctic Program through OPERATION DEEP FREEZE is an excellent example of how this approach can work with efficient and effective results. For more information , visit this description of OPERATION DEEP FREEZE and related inter-agency collaboration.

For Classroom Discussion: Aside from the US Antarctic Program, what other research and scientific discoveries does the National Science Foundation sponsor throughout the world?