Carmelo Modesto directs a pallet into the cargo bay of an LC-130. Using only hand signals, he is able to tell the forklift driver to move the pallet up or down even fractions of inches to get the load just right. Kaci Kurtti, the cook at the ice runway galley, laughs with a friend on the other side of the serving line. The galley feeds between 50 and 60 people each lunchtime, saving time for the workers, who would otherwise have to return to McMurdo for meals. Amber Burton watches an LC-130 take off.
Firefighters stand by at every takeoff and landing, in case a problem occurs.