Midn. 1/C Dan Ruffin stands outside the Amundseen-Scott South Pole Station, one of three permanent U.S. Antarctic research stations. Photo courtesy of Midn. 1/C Dan Ruffin.

Midn. 1⁄C Dan Ruffin, joined by Air Force Academy Cadet 1⁄C Rebekah Kepple, spent six days during the holiday break at McMurdo Station, one of three permanent U.S. Antarctic bases. Located on the Ross Sea, McMurdo is home to over 1,000 personnel during the Antarctic Austral Summer Season, September through March, conducting research and preparing for the arduous ‘‘winter over.”

Although military activity is prohibited in the Antarctic by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, an exception to the rule allows military ships and aircraft to support scientific research efforts. The New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing, flying ski-equipped LC-130 cargo aircraft, flies to McMurdo every October to perform the majority of vital American re-supply efforts and ferry passengers around the continent.

The 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, commanded by Air National Guard pilot Lt. Col. Matt Le Clair (USNA 1988), flies the only ski-equipped C-130s in the U.S. military. Under the coordination of Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Doll, this airframe transported Ruffin and Kepple to the South Pole for a brief visit.

Upon arrival, the air temperature was a balmy -20 degrees Fahrenheit, significantly warmer than the -100 degrees experienced in winter.

‘‘We landed on an ice runway and the first impression is how white it is. It’s very bright,” said Ruffin. ‘‘It’s really a perfectly preserved continent, because people haven’t set up factories there. There’s not a whole lot of habitation so the air is really clear.”

Major research projects underway at McMurdo and the South Pole include the use of high-energy neutrino detector arrays, paleo-geology studies of rocks to assess global climate change, analysis of meteorites, and high-altitude balloon flights studying cosmic-ray antiprotons. Antarctica itself provides a unique and sterile environment in which to conduct field research, as it is the cleanest and most undeveloped continent on Earth.

‘‘The point was to see the military presence down there and what they do to support the science and also to get a feel for what kind of research is going on,” said Ruffin. ‘‘That was one of the coolest things, talking to some of the scientists there and seeing what they do.”

For Ruffin, the exposure solidified the concepts learned in the classroom and during a previous internship at the National Ice Center in Suitland, Md.

‘‘Rooted in the Polar Regions, the phenomenon of ‘global climate change’ deeply impacts the heat regulatory process of the entire planet,” said Ruffin. ‘‘As future leaders of the United States, it is important for us to have real-world knowledge and scientific understanding of these critical matters in order to make the right political and scientific decisions in the future.”

With an annual budget of about $6.06 billion, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. This includes all U.S. Antarctic activities.

Under the coordination of Col. Ian Biggins, Department of Defense (DoD) liaison to NSF, the Foundation invites one Midshipman each year. Biggins stresses the importance of this exposure to the development of future officers.

‘‘DoD support to the United States Antarctic Program and Operation DEEP FREEZE is heavily weighted towards USAF logistic operations and also has deep historical ties to the Navy,” said Biggins. ‘‘In visiting Antarctica, Air Force Cadets and Navy Midshipmen stand to gain a much broader perspective in their development towards future careers as military officers.”