166th Civil Engineer Squadron in Canada near the North Pole

Staff Sgt. Jessica Griffith emerges from frigid Arctic water with several fellow Airmen ready to join her as they participate in the real polar bear plunge in the Arctic Circle on July 30, 2011. Fellow plungers are Tech. Sgt. Mike Caldwell, Staff Sgt. David Henon, Tech. Sgt. Michael McCarron, Airman 1st Class John Mayhoff, Master Sgt. Randal Fisher, 2nd Lt. Jaymes Ellers , Airman 1st Class Kristofer Wazlawik, Tech. Sgt. Terence Wyszynski, Tech. Sgt. Ken Bennett, Staff Sgt. Shawn Moore and Staff Sgt. Andrew Steward. Special safety procedures are followed with trained medical personnel on had to observe all hardy Airmen who participate in this summertime local Arctic custom. The Airmen form part of a 30-member team of the 166th Civil Engineer Squadron, Del. Air National Guard deployed to Canadian Forces Station Alert on a two-week training mission from July 24 to Aug. 8, 2011. CFS Alert, on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is the northernmost permanently inhabited place nearest the North Pole, 817 kilometers (508 miles) away. The 166th CES Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force personnel deploy anywhere in the world. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jessica Griffith)