laststandonzombieisland

(Per USCG ) U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, homeported in Seattle, arrived at the North Pole Saturday Sept. 5, becoming the first U.S. surface ship to do so unaccompanied.

Note the Coastie with the Remington 870 on point for polar bears (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Cory J. Mendenhall)

This is also only the fourth time a U.S. surface vessel has ever reached the North Pole and the first since 2005.

Healy’s crew and science party, totaling 145 people, departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska Aug. 9, in support of GEOTRACES, an historic, international effort to study the geochemistry of the world’s oceans. This National Science Foundation funded expedition is focused on studying the Arctic Ocean to meet a number of scientific goals, including the creation of baseline measurements of the air, ice, snow, seawater, meltwater and ocean bottom sediment for future comparisons.

-Semper Paratus