12 February 2008
New Zealand and the United States have a long history of collaboration in the Antarctic. The 1957 International Geophysical Year brought the two countries together in establishing support lines for US and NZ stations in Antarctica. 
The HMNZS Endeavour with the US Navy cargo ship, Private John R Towle, carried supplies, construction material, and expedition members that started the ground work for the American (McMurdo Station) and NZ (Scott Base) stations.
In 1957 Ed Hillary’s attempt to establish Scott Base at Butter Point was stopped by poor sea ice conditions. 
It was the combined support and ingenuity of Ed Hillary and Rear Admiral George Dufek that helped find the current location of Scott Base on Pram Point, 3km from McMurdo Station.
NZDF has been involved with New Zealand’s Antarctic efforts from the beginning. 
The men from the HMNZS Endeavour, the NZ Army, and the flight crews of the RNZAF began the long standing tradition when they set sail for Antarctica in 1956. Erik Barnes, Manager Antarctic Programme says, “Antarctica NZ is proud to work with such dedicated men and women from the NZ Defence Forces. Scott Base and New Zealand’s Antarctic science programme would not be here today without their support.”
The long tradition of mutual support in Antarctica between the US and NZ militaries has carried on from that first year into today. There is a strong bond of support between the two contingents of military personnel from New Zealand and America in Antarctica. 
Both NZ and US military personnel have provided support and made sacrifices to progress human exploration and knowledge,” says Mr Barnes.
Just before Christmas last year the American base at the South Pole received supplies via loads parachuted from a USAF C17 jet. Each of the loads was prepared by the six NZDF personnel working at McMurdo Station, the American Base next door to Scott Base. 
The airdrop was an annual test of the ability to drop supplies at the South Pole in an emergency. The contents of the drop included food and liquids, which were prepared by the New Zealand crew to survive both the drop and the extremely low temperatures. The South Pole station has an average temperature of minus 50 degrees. The loads were dropped from about 500 metres using high velocity parachutes opening about 30m above the snow.
| NZDF Statistics for 2007/ 2008 Season |
| The NZDF provides air transport, administrative, logistic and engineering support to Antarctica NZ operations at Scott Base. |
| Scott Base Operational Staff |
9 |
Light Engineers |
10 |
| Ship Offload Team |
47 |
RNZAF C-130 flights |
6 flights |