RNZAF carries out rare Antarctica mid-winter medical evacuation

---- Today we have 65 members. Would you like to be 66? ----A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C-130H Hercules crew has today carried out a rare medical evacuation of a patient from Antarctica, taking advantage of a narrowing gap in the weather to fly the challenging night-time mission.

The patient, an American from McMurdo Station, is in a stable condition with a non-life threatening condition, but required medical treatment that could not be carried out in Antarctica. 

Air Component Commander Air Commodore Andy Scott said flights to Antarctica at this time of year were very challenging due to the extreme Antarctic environment, changeable weather conditions and because there was no daylight. “Apart from flying in a combat environment, night flying missions to Antarctica in the middle of winter present the most challenging and dangerous of conditions,” Air Commodore Scott said. 

“The Hercules crew flew into Phoenix Airfield using night vision goggles. The first time this technology was used by the RNZAF to fly into Antarctica was in July 2021 for another medical evacuation. One of the pilots on today’s mission also flew on that mission.” 

The Hercules flew from RNZAF Base Auckland to Christchurch on Tuesday in preparation for the flight. It left Christchurch at 2am and touched down at Phoenix Airfield at 8.50am, and left shortly after 10am for the seven-to eight-hour return flight to Christchurch.

The aircraft was ‘hot fuelled’ on the ice, to protect the engines from the minus 33 degrees Centigrade.

“With a narrow gap of acceptable weather, the crew deployed early in the morning,” Air Commodore Scott said. “The weather had deteriorated again on arrival and so they threaded the needle to get in when they did.” 

Air Commodore Scott said at each stage of the journey the crew had to make “go, no go” decisions on whether to proceed. “Our highly trained crew analyse the conditions every step of the way to ensure they could continue.” 

Work by McMurdo Station staff to prepare the ice runway at Phoenix Airfield, by clearing snow and compacting it, had been completed on Wednesday. With no airfields to divert to en route, the aircraft needed to be refuelled in Antarctica before making the journey home. 

“We’re very pleased we have been able to successfully carry out this Antarctica flight today and get the patient to New Zealand to receive further medical treatment.,” Air Commodore Scott said. 

Article by Brian Hartigan; photo, McMurdo staff

Management Committee Feedback

---- Visit our Hut at Tanunda Recreation Park any Friday evening from 5 pm for Happy Hour ---- 

Your management committee met on Monday, 17 June 24 and the highlights follow: 

Membership and Meal RSVP Bookings

We dealt with some administrative concerns regarding processing of membership applications and RSVP and booking processes with the major meals events.

Both had some issues that we've rectified that will enable us to work more efficiently and effectively in future.

Garden Furniture

If you have visited the Hut recently, you'll have noticed some changes at the front and right-hand side, one of which is the appearance of a bench seat set for members to sit during the sunny, warm evenings we have later in the year. The committee has decided to consider adding two or three more similar bench sets and is researching costs as I write.

If the costs are within our budget, you can expect to see some more garden furniture appear in due course.

Cleaning Roster

When I studied management and human resources, I learned about the "Pareto Principle" and while it is mainly focused on business outcomes, it is also evident among groups in society.

From a human point of view, the rule suggests that 20% of any group of people is the most productive. 

That is evident in clubs like ours. Twenty percent of members do most of the work - like cleaning up after we have Happy Hours or other events.

We are looking for a few people within that 20% to help us clean your Hut after events. We don't expect anyone to turn up every Saturday (or another day) to vacuum, check the toilets, empty wastepaper bins and generally return the place to it's best state. But we do need someone other than the few.

We'll place a roster on the Hut notice board each Friday and ask for someone to volunteer to turn up Saturday and spend a half hour or so helping out.

Facebook Tanunda RSL Site

As nobody on the committee is willing to take over the Facebook site, we have decided to contact the person responsible for it and have the site deleted. 

Our main channels for communication will be the Notice Board, Email, The Bugle newsletter, and this blog site as well as announcements during Happy Hours.

Barossa Gallery Closure

The Barossa Gallery and Soldiers' Memorial Hall is going to close for a lengthy period between September this year and January 25 so we are arranging for any of our assets to be returned to the Hut during that period.

Donations for ANZAC Day Bands

Every year we present those bands that support us on ANZAC Day with a donation. This year, we will be inviting members of the bands to visit us on 12 July to collect a cheque.

We are also required to send an amount to the RSLSA Office as a result of our fundraising activities which we are doing at present. This helps fund the running of the state office.

Preferred Night to Open the Hut

We considered whether it might be in our best interest to change the Happy Hour evenings from Friday to perhaps Thursday but as a majority of members prefer Friday evening, that is where it will remain.

So there it is for this meeting. 

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Do You have an Inspiring Story to Share?

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Everyone is welcome ---- 

This request from RSLSA/NT is something you might like to consider and perhaps respond to. I know there are many stories out there lying in wait.

"Dear Sub Branches

At the State Branch, we take immense pride in our work supporting veterans and their families. We believe in the power of community and the importance of sharing our stories, events, and contributions with a broader audience. Together, we can highlight the significant impact of our efforts and the vital role the RSL plays in supporting veterans. 

To spread the word about the incredible work of the RSL sub-branches in South Australia, we are excited to announce several new initiatives: 

1. Launching an e-newsletter, reminiscent of the classic Signal, to keep everyone informed and connected. 
2. Providing more targeted content that speaks directly to our community's needs and interests.
3. Ensuring our efforts remain relevant and impactful. 

However, for these initiatives to truly succeed, we need your support and your stories. Here are some examples of what we’d love to hear about: 

1. An RSL member recognised at the Volunteering SA awards for their outstanding contributions.
2. Securing a grant to fund vital projects supporting veterans. 
3. A successful ANZAC Day commemoration, complete with photos capturing the event.
4. Celebrating our member Joan Bloggs’ 99th birthday. 
5. Hosting a fundraising night to help Joe Bloggs compete in an overseas sporting event. 
6. A special visit from a dignitary to officially unveil a new memorial. 

Your stories are powerful and can inspire others within our network. Our goal is to feature them as engaging social media pieces or include them in our newsletter, ensuring you receive the recognition you deserve.

Send your stories and photos to membership@rslsa.org.au or tag RSL Facebook"

Conserving Letters from the Front

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Everyone is welcome ----Our sub-branch has a large quantity of letters that were sent from the front by a soldier to a friend in Angaston during WWII.

A few of these were sent on "Letter Cards" that anyone old enough will recall were also available from the Postmaster General's Offices (now Australia Post). 

You would pay a standard price for a letter card that opened to a full Quarto size. You'd write your letter, fold it up to look like the letter card at left, lick and stick a tab at the back and post it. They were very convenient and I recall sending some to my parents when I was at boarding school in Charters Towers and my home was at Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory that seemed so far, far away.

The letter card at left is one from our collection of Letters from the Front of which we have possibly a couple of hundred in varying states of legibility.

We want to find an efficient way to store them and make them available for our members and anyone else who would like to read them. With that in mind, I contacted the History Unit of the Barossa Council Library and gained some valuable insight from a very helpful staff member, Allison.

Allison advised me about several ways the letters could best be preserved while stored and how they could be made available for perusal. Probably the preferred option is to digitize the legible letters and make them available online or on a screen reader. Digitized versions will be easier to read and may be zoomed to the size specific readers require. 

This is still a work in progress and once President David and I have decided which option to implement, we intend to apply for a Department of Veterans Affairs grant to have the work done.

Editor

PS: If you have expertise in a field that might help us with the task above, please comment below.