Armistice Day Ceremony Commemorates Military Contributions to Peaceful Exploration of Antarctica

National Science Foundation
Office of Polar Programs
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22230

Posted November 12, 2018

Image: Elaine Hood / NSF

On the centennial of Armistice Day--which marked the end of World War I--an annual commemoration was held this weekend at McMurdo Station, NSF’s logistics hub on the southernmost continent. The communities at McMurdo and at Scott Base, which is operated by Antarctica New Zealand, alternately host the ceremony each year.

U.S. military veterans serve in many roles throughout the NSF-managed U.S. Antarctic Program.

At the podium in the photograph is U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jamielyn Thompson, the deputy commander of the Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica (JTF-SFA).

During the ceremony, she and other speakers noted that the militaries of both nations provide logistical support to scientific research in Antarctica.

As part of of JTF-SFA, the 109th Airlift Wing of the N.Y. Air National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, Air Force crews based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), among other service branches, contribute critical support to the U.S. Antarctic Program.

The N.Y. Air Guard and the Coast Guard also support NSF funded Arctic research.

Speakers also noted also that New Zealand forces have fought alongside the U.S. military in WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.