Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6) operates on the continent of Antarctica -
Earth's highest, driest, coldest, and windiest land mass -- as the United States Navy's
only unit directly supporting the mission of polar research and scientific programs of the
National Science Foundation.
We deploy every year for Operation DEEP FREEZE from October to February.
We operate ski-equipped LC-130 "Hercules" and a twin engined UH-1N
"Huey" transport aircraft and helicopter, flying out of McMurdo Station to most
parts of Antarctica.
Our tasking is to move large amounts of cargo, personnel, and fuel throughout the
continent, as well as providing round-the-clock Search And Rescue (SAR) and Medivac
services.
During the summer training cycle from March to September, the squadron is based at Naval
Air Weapons Station, Point Mugu, California.
OPERATION DEEP FREEZE 98/99 was our last deployment.
In a joint agency agreement between the Departments of Defense, Navy, and Air Force, and
the National Science Foundation, the services/tasking we currently provide will be
transferred to the Air National Guard, based out of Scotia, New York.
I enthusiastically invite all former "Puckered Penguins" and "Ice
Pirates" to grab onto a piece of history and add
this patch to your collection. Once these patches are all gone, that's
it!! I also have more Antarctica related items for sale that can be found on my Facebook
page by looking up Antarctica Memorabilia (at .com too). Come by and visit and comment on everything from Hats, Patches, Flags, License Plates,
Pictures, Certificates and much much more can be viewed there.