Kadena Airman promoted to technical sergeant at South Pole

  • Published
  • By Walter T. Ham IV
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Putting on another stripe during her recent Antarctic deployment, a Kadena Airman said she felt like she was on top of the world at the South Pole. 

From the exact geographic bottom of the earth which sits 10,000 feet above sea level, on a windy 60-degree below day, Tech. Sgt. Leslie Green from Kadena's 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron was promoted to technical sergeant. 

Sergeant Green, who deployed to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, got the idea to hold her ceremony there from a friend. Maj. Mila French, also from the 18th AES, conducted her South Pole promotion ceremony. 

"Being promoted at the South Pole was the highlight of my deployment ... and being on the ice was one of the highpoints of my career," said Sergeant Green - "the ice" being shorthand for the coldest, driest and windiest continent on earth. 

Sergeant Green was one of six 18th AES Airmen who deployed from sub-tropical Okinawa to sub-zero Antarctica. The Kadena Airmen provided medical care for scientists and support personnel conducting research under the auspices of the National Science Foundation. 

The 18th AES Airmen orchestrated medical evacuation missions of critical patients from the Antarctic base station to Christchurch, New Zealand. They also augmented the staff at the three-bed McMurdo Station Clinic. The 18th AES, part of Kadena's 18th Wing and one of four U.S. Air Force aeromedical evacuation squadrons, covers the entire Pacific region. 

Capt. Sam Millar, an 18th AES flight nurse who deployed a month after Sergeant Green, also wanted to make the four-hour flight from McMurdo Station to the South Pole. 

"I kept trying to visit there," said Capt. Millar, "but every time I scheduled a trip, another patient would need to be flown to Christchurch." 

As the captain's deployment was drawing to a close, he decided to make one last attempt to go to the South Pole. 

"I was getting ready, and another patient needed to be picked up," the captain said. "I said, 'Not again. You've got to be kidding me.'" 

Fortunately, they weren't. Capt. Millar's expertise was needed again to evacuate a patient - from the South Pole. 

For Sergeant Green and Capt. Millar, who have flown around the world with patients, the deployment put six of the seven continents on their "been there, done that" list. 

South America is now the only place standing between them and a continental sweep - and they both called their Operation Deep Freeze deployment an unforgettable journey.
 
"If you ever get the chance to visit Antarctica, just go," said Capt. Millar.