Defense Minister Luis Petri ordered changes in the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces. And with the end of the Antarctic campaign, the renewal of authorities of the Joint Antarctic Command will take place this Friday.
Who leaves the post is Brigadier General Edgar Calandin after having completed the organization, planning and execution of three consecutive Antarctic campaigns in the summer of 2022, 2023 and 2024. The new commander is Captain Maximiliano Mangiaterra , with experience on the white continent: he commanded the ARA icebreaker Almirante Irizar, participated in logistics campaigns to the bases in 2018/19.
He comes to office with the endorsement of specific knowledge in Antarctic operations and the support of the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Carlos Allievi with whom he shared the activities when Allievi was head of the Naval Component of the Antarctic Joint Command in 2018, the year in which he went from being a temporary organization to a permanent one, assuming control of all Antarctic organizations and bases of the Armed Forces.
In military terms, the Joint Antarctic Command is responsible for the planning, management and execution of logistical support, both for the maintenance and operation of bases (seven permanent and six temporary) and shelters and for the execution of land, naval and air operations in Antarctica, ensure the deployment, supply and development of scientific activity, and contribute to compliance with the Annual Antarctic, Scientific, Technical and Services Plan prepared by the Foreign Ministry.
Under permanent organic and operational dependence on the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces (EMCO) through the Operational Command of the Armed Forces, all Antarctic bases and refuges are managed jointly by the different armed forces. There are two bases: Carlini and Brown, which are in the orbit of the Secretariat of Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic headed by Paola Di Chiaro and under the National Antarctic Directorate of the Foreign Ministry, awaiting an inter-ministerial resolution agreed between Diana Mondino and Petri to that Defense through EMCO assume administrative control.
Calandin, the General who recovered Petrel
The outgoing commander dealt with a late start to the summer campaign due to the change of government, but regained agility and managed to smoothly carry out the supply, relief of crews and deployment of scientific groups in all permanent and temporary bases.
The milestone in General Calandin 's period was the recovery of the Petrel base with new housing modules and the reconfiguration of the existing runway. An extension that reaches 1,600 meters of consolidated gravel has been achieved and was given appropriate security levels. Also the installation of 200 solar panels that make it a sustainable establishment from an environmental and energy point of view.
Another milestone of the joint work led by Calandin on Antarctic soil was the repair and commissioning of a Sea King helicopter that had crashed at the Esperanza base. In 14 days, technicians from the Comandante Espora Aeronaval Arsenal together with Esperanza personnel refurbished the aircraft that was able to fly to the deck of the Irizar icebreaker. The outgoing commander leaves the bar high for the incoming Captain Mangiaterra.
The task ahead of Capital Mangiaterra
One of the projects to be taken up by the new commander will be to continue with the modernization of the Brown base, which is in a location appreciated by adventure tourism. Mentioning Antarctic tourism raises fears among diplomats in the area.
The economic vein of services in these latitudes of extreme climate has grown exponentially and tests the rigor of environmentalism with the wrist of diplomacy to satisfy demand. The 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), which is being held in Kochi, India from May 20 to 30, has on its agenda to discuss the regulation of Antarctic tourism.
The strategic goal to continue and conclude is the transformation of Petrel into a multimodal logistics node, which can link air transport with naval transport, and provide services to third parties through international cooperation. Add an environmental and human emergency center, attend to any type of natural disasters that occur in that inhospitable area, and provide services such as meteorology, hydrology and health.
It is known that this year there were already requests from the Czech Republic, Uruguay, which asked to land a Hercules C-130, and Brazil, among others, to operate from Petrel.
Synergy with the private sector is another area that advanced and is latent through the Mirgor group and was left pending by the Joint Antarctic Command. The Mirgor company based in Tierra del Fuego, one of the largest electronics producers, purchased a Basler BT-67 aircraft that would be used from Petrel for logistical support missions and relief of crews from the national base system through an agreement with the General Staff. Joint of the Armed Forces and the Argentine Air Force.
Before the Petrel runway has to be tested, the landing safety must be tested, there will be no displacement of the gravel ground and the approaches must be verified. Task that was postponed repeatedly. Some say that due to meteorology, others due to the unavailability of the Saab 340 plane selected for the mission and also the silent opposition of diplomacy that did not want a photo of the plane on the runway without first presenting the Petrel modernization folder to the Treaty community. Antarctic.
The initiative of the Basler BT-67 under loan accompanies a request from Minister Petri to enter the South Pole in deep Antarctica with the purpose that scientists can develop studies planned by case, of the upper atmosphere, of geology in the Diamond Mountain Range, of glaciology, of bioprospecting.
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