OUA 1964 – Page 3
	weather on the entire globe is encountered at destination as well as enroute stops on these flights. A descent uses precious fuel, but alternate stations come few and far between. A missed approach means less chance to make an alternate base with fuel reserves. Once the aircraft commander makes the decision to go on to an alternate, there, is no turning back. Round trips to Sondrestrom by way of Goose Bay, Labrador, from Abilene, Texas, require about 26 hours of flying time. Moreover, there is no such thing as oppor- tune airlift generated in connection with this mission. Every ounce of available cargo space on the arriving Hercules is utilized. After essential military requirements are met, any remaining space is utilized for small shipments from southern points for the Base Exchange - fresh fruit, soft drinks or most commonly, mail and packages from home. Both morale and military necessity of the men at the sites are served by the aircrews of this unit.
	e. While the Ice Cap Mission was ever primary with the 17th Squadron, it was not their exclusive domain. Their conventional missions were many and varied quite often embodying high degrees of hazard to the participating air combat crews. A good illustrative example of this is the support fur- nished the Airborne and Electronics Test Board of the 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina which functioned as a specialized adjunct of the Howze Ad Hoc Committee. This test organization had the most complimen- tary praise for the efforts of the 17th Squadron to furnish the airlift capability to carry out its experiments. It was the function of this group to devise and test new drop techniques. While the Ad Hoc Committee was concerned with the total concept of joint Army-Air Force airborne operations, the 82nd Airborne and Electronics Test Board was concerned with more immedi- ate development and application of troop carrier airborne technique to army missions and concepts. The personnel composing this group consisted of re- search engineers, combat veterans, field commanders and a host of related specialists in aerodynamics and electronics. From their studies of the structural limitations of both the load and the aircraft, attempts were made to develop hair line tolerances for maximum utility. Under such ground rules, the safety of the participating personnel, especially the troop car- rier crews, of necessity had to take a very secondary consideration. Parti- cular stress was laid on new packaging techniques for delicate electronic equipment. Particularly significant in this connection was the experimental work the 17th Squadron did with respect to a new concept in food container drops utilizing the A-22 food container. Radical aircraft configuration and precise flying skills played a dominant role in all of this activity. The capability of this squadron to respond to these continuing demands for un- usual skills earmarks it as one of the best. Heavy drops also entered into these tests often reaching the 20,000-25,000 pound category. On one occasion a 29,000 pound piece of earth-moving equipment was successfully air dropped.
	f. In addition to the radar site support, the operational detachment this unit maintains at Sondrestrom Air Base, Greenland, is also responsible for search and rescue and air evacuation in the Greenland and North Atlantic area. With all of the perversity of an evil fate, it would appear from actual experience that the greatest demand for mercy missions comes when the Arctic weather is at its worst - the raid-winter months. On 15 December 1962,

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