109th Airwing leaves Scotia bound for Antarctica

After a year off from the mission to Antarctica, the 109th Airwing is resuming "Operation Deep Freeze."

Two LC-130 aircrafts lifted off from Stratton Air National Guard Base headed for New Zealand.

They will refuel and set up operations to bring supplies to the National Science Foundation base at the South Pole.

The 109th is the only unit in the Department of Defense with special ski planes that can land on the snow and ice.

"That allows us to fly the outsized cargo deep into the interior of the Antarctic continent to support the logistics effort the National Science Foundation needs," said Cliff Souza, the 109th Airwing Operations Group commander.

The mission will run for several months through the summer season at the South Pole. They will then bring supplies and crews back to the United States when the mission is over