{"id":4259,"date":"2023-10-27T15:20:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/?p=4259"},"modified":"2023-10-27T15:20:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:20:10","slug":"bootcamp-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/2023\/10\/27\/bootcamp-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"BOOTCAMP 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Meet the volunteers joining ANSMET’s 2023-2024 field team! From left to right, Lauren Edgar, Minako Righter, Daniela Hernandez, Erin Gibbons and Robert Citron. Not shown is Jon Friedrich. \u00a0 \u00a0There’ll be more about all of them later in the season.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

There’s no single word in English (that I can find) describing a moment when something tenuous and immaterial becomes reality; \u00a0but I need one, since that’s what happened last weekend. \u00a0 ANSMET leadership and the 2023-2024 field team gathered in Cleveland for this year’s Bootcamp, which ran from mid-day Friday through mid-day Sunday. \u00a0 This was the first time we’ve held our Bootcamp since 2019. \u00a0 I think we all can agree that the world has changed a lot since then; \u00a0Bootcamp has always served as a reality check for the upcoming ANSMET field season, \u00a0so preparing and running it this year was all kinds of scary and exhilarating and energizing after 4 years without it. \u00a0 In the end it came together beautifully, \u00a0and represents a very important step toward the revival of ANSMET’s fieldwork.<\/p>\n

And it felt<\/em> like a revival to me. \u00a0 Speaking as the individual who most often sermonizes about the value of ANSMET, \u00a0there was a strong sense of the evangelical, \u00a0reminding ourselves why we’re important, \u00a0reminding ourselves why the risks and challenges are worth the rewards, \u00a0and welcoming eager new faces to the flock.<\/p>\n

It all started late on Wednesday, when Jim, John and Brian arrived in Cleveland. \u00a0I had to come back into town as well; \u00a0I had spent the afternoon in Pittsburgh at the 2023 Geological Society of America Annual Convention. Thursday morning the four of us met at Case to finalize the bootcamp agenda and physically pack up and move everything we need for the bootcamp to Case’s University Farm, \u00a0affectionately known as Squire Valleevue. \u00a0Bootcamp’s home since its inception has been a comfy, quaint little building on the farm grounds called the Pink Pig<\/em>; \u00a0 and yes, it was a pig barn long ago. \u00a0 Scale-wise it fits our needs really well; \u00a0big enough to let people spread out, \u00a0but small enough that we are were forced to get to know each other. \u00a0Bootcamp, \u00a0like the fieldwork, is a paradoxical mix of isolation and forced togetherness.<\/p>\n

By early afternoon on Friday the remaining folks had made their way to us. After some detailed introductions we dug into the formal agenda. \u00a0The first day is mostly about the pre-season- preparations for travel, dealing with the myriad USAP requirements around IT and health, \u00a0and establishing some shared behavioral expectations. \u00a0Dinner was a model Antarctic meal, \u00a0prepared by yours truly while discussing the importance of food in the field, the challenges associated with food (and water) planning, \u00a0and how we go about acquiring groceries. \u00a0After dinner comes one of the highlights of the Bootcamp, \u00a0a fashion show that demonstrates both \u00a0issued and recommended field gear, and always leads to a rich discussion of priorities and personal preferences.<\/p>\n

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Setting up a Scott tent for beginners. The threat of rain led us to use a barn as our faux campsite this year; two of the newbies spent Saturday night enjoying the first of many in those familiar yellow walls. \u00a0From left-to-right, \u00a0John Schutt, Michael Kelley (ANSMET’s Program Manager), Lauren Edgar, Erin Gibbons, Daniela Hernandez, Robert Citron, Jon Friedrich, \u00a0my butt (behind tent) and Jim Karner. \u00a0Brian Rougeux is inside the tent .<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Saturday’s agenda broadly covers living and working in Antarctica, \u00a0both in McMurdo and in the deep field. \u00a0In the morning the discussion is about expectations for McMurdo, from arrival to the work load, the relentless training to cargo handling and our relationship with USAP and their contract personnel. \u00a0After lunch Brian led a detailed discussion of field safety; \u00a0the challenges we’ll be facing and how ANSMET tries to minimize those risks. The discussion was wide-ranging, \u00a0from hazards associated with the cold and the environment to those due to human behavior. \u00a0Inevitably there’s a fair number of “war stories” describing times when ANSMET has had to deal with challenges and\/or emergency situations. \u00a0The good news is that our careful preparations have led to only a few such situations, and ANSMET has a superb safety record after hundreds of thousands of miles of travel and tens of thousands of person-hours operating in one of the world’s most difficult environments.<\/p>\n

Saturday afternoon ends with another favorite moment of the Bootcamp, \u00a0a simulated shakedown. \u00a0Attendees get up close and personal with a Skandic SWT snowmobile (the same model we use in the field) and we walk-through the procedures for setting up camp. \u00a0As in previous years, \u00a0two of the newbies are invited to spend their first night in a Scott tent, \u00a0giving them a feel for the living space they’ll enjoy while in the field and encouraging them to think about the limits (in terms of safety and personal space) and perhaps even new dimensions in interior design.<\/p>\n

Dinner this year was a trip to a local asian hot-pot restaurant- \u00a0not quite an antarctic meal, \u00a0but it certainly followed my preferred “stew-like” theme for such meals. \u00a0Upon our return to the Pink Pig, \u00a0the evening’s discussion focused on personal wellness and the related challenges associate with ANSMET fieldwork. Topics like homesickness, \u00a0maintaining one’s physical, mental and emotional health, \u00a0issues with alcohol and other dependencies, \u00a0maintaining constructive communication and open leadership were all addressed. \u00a0All of these things can be a particular challenge when in isolation, \u00a0making such discussions particularly important in contributing to ANSMET’s success.<\/p>\n

Sunday morning brings the bootcamp to a close, and fittingly is dedicated to a discussion of the scientific importance of ANSMET and detailed plans for the coming field season. \u00a0The discussion begins in a general sense, \u00a0with an evaluation of what’s led to ANSMET’s historical success, and how this year’s activities will continue that. \u00a0We talk about how we search, how we identify meteorites, \u00a0the protocols for recovering individual specimens, \u00a0and what happens to them after recovery. \u00a0 And finally, \u00a0we discuss the work that remains at this year’s primary target, \u00a0the Davis-Ward icefields. \u00a0 \u00a0You can find a detailed discussion of those plans here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Time will tell, \u00a0of course, \u00a0whether the 2023 ANSMET field season will be successful or not; \u00a0but I’m happy to declare that Bootcamp was definitely a success from the view of leadership. \u00a0Bootcamp isn’t about memorizing a thousand things related to the fieldwork or testing people; \u00a0 it’s about putting key aspects of the work into everyone’s minds in a friendly way, introducing things to our newbies for the first time, and refreshing our veterans on our practices and priorities. Our goal for the Bootcamp experience is to let it all seem at least passingly familiar when everything come back up again for real in just about a month.<\/p>\n

Fingers crossed, \u00a0everyone! \u00a0The journey continues!<\/p>\n

-Ralph, from obnoxiously warm Cleveland OH (pictures courtesy of Minako Righter)\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s no single word in English (that I can find) describing a moment when something tenuous and immaterial becomes reality; \u00a0but I need one, since that’s what happened last weekend. \u00a0 ANSMET leadership and the 2023-2024 field team gathered in Cleveland for this year’s Bootcamp, which ran from mid-day Friday through mid-day Sunday. \u00a0 This was the first time we’ve held our Bootcamp since 2019. \u00a0 I think we all can agree that the world has changed a lot since then; \u00a0Bootcamp has always served as a reality check for the upcoming ANSMET field season, \u00a0so preparing and running it this year was all kinds of scary and exhilarating and energizing after 4 years without it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Continue reading… BOOTCAMP 2023<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":4260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[27,1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2023\/10\/27111828\/newbies-2023.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4259"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4269,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4259\/revisions\/4269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caslabs.case.edu\/ansmet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}