It was a whirlwind several months preparing for my first deployment to McMurdo.
One thing I underestimated was the amount of paperwork and process involved.
It’s a lot to keep track of, and I was also constantly wondering if there was something I missed or fell through the cracks.
For the benefit of folks who may go through the process in the future, I’d like to share my timeline, including all the little things that you don’t think about until you’re worried something is late or missing.
Again, standard disclaimer applies. First off, this is USAP-specific. I work in IT at McMurdo and this is my first deployment.
This is not an official checklist, my experience may not match your experience, and nothing here should be taken as policy, expected timeline, or required steps for everyone deploying.
Table of contents
- HR / Hiring
- Physical Qualification (PQ)
- NSF Background Check
- PIV Card
- Training / Policies
- Travel Logistics
- Travel
- Conclusion
HR / Hiring
May 17, 2017
Applied online, to several jobs, and then consistently every year after.
April 13, 2022 (1,792 days after applying)
Recruiter reached out via email, scheduled first phone interview.
April 20, 2022
First phone interview.
April 25, 2022 (5 days after previous contact)
Recruiter reached out via email, scheduled second phone interview.
April 27, 2022
Second phone interview.
May 6, 2022 (9 days after previous contact, 24 days after first contact with recruiter)
Informal primary contract offer via email.
May 9, 2022 (27 days after first contact with recruiter)
Formal offer via email. Signed, along with additional ASC (Antarctic Support Contract) HR paperwork.
May 10, 2022 (1 day after signing offer)
Receive paperwork for employer HR drug screening.
Also received paperwork for employer background check. This is straightforward and took less than two hours to complete.
I filled it out and returned it same-day.
May 11, 2022
Employer drug test (urine sample).
May 12, 2022
Received favorable drug test results via email.
May 13, 2022
Received favorable employer background check results via email.
August 4, 2022 (8 days before I depart the United States)
Received new hire paperwork from employer via email.
I filled it out and returned it same-day.
Physical Qualification (PQ)
May 10, 2022 (1 day after signing offer)
Received PQ (Physical Qualification) packet via email.
The PQ process is administered by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, TX.
It’s 14 pages long and requires, at a minimum, a labwork appointment, doctor’s appointment, and dentist’s appointment.
This is the first substantial item in the onboarding process. PQ’ing took me several weeks, because I needed to provide additional documentation to substantiate and contextualize things in the packet.
I also needed corrective work to meet the standards, and I needed to retrieve old medical records in order to complete the process.
May 25, 2022
I submitted the completed PQ packet after completing all the required lab, medical, and dental appointments.
May 26, 2022 (1 day after I submitted documentation)
Received first round of PQ feedback from UTMB, requesting additional information.
June 1, 2022
After additional research and medical appointments to address the feedback, I submitted additional documentation as requested by UTMB.
June 7, 2022 (6 days after I submitted documentation)
Received second round of PQ feedback from UTMB, requesting additional information.
June 16, 2022
After additional work to address the feedback, I submitted additional documentation as requested by UTMB.
June 22, 2022 (43 days after beginning the PQ process)
Received PQ from UTMB.
NSF Background Check
May 31, 2022 (22 days after signing offer)
Initial contact via email from the NSF (National Science Foundation), requesting fingerprints and a Form OF306.
June 1, 2022
I submitted form OF306 to NSF.
June 2, 2022
NSF informed me via email that I need to do a Tier 2 (Non-Sensitive Public Trust, Moderate Risk) Background Investigation. This process is done using an electronic version of Form SF 85P on E-QIP.
SF 85P is a fairly involved process. It took me multiple days to collect the required information, including tracking down contact information for supervisors from previous jobs and collecting family details.
June 6, 2022
I submitted my SF 85P via E-QIP.
June 7, 2022 (7 days after first contact by NSF)
I received a set of FD-258 fingerprint cards via FedEx Express.
June 8, 2022
NSF instructions said I should get fingerprinted at a local police station, or a commercial LiveScan location if needed. My local police station does not do civilian fingerprints, so I went to a commercial shipping store that could do LiveScan.
I sent the fingerprint cards back to NSF via FedEx Express.
June 9, 2022
Fingerprint cards arrived at NSF.
June 13, 2022 (4 days after NSF received fingerprints)
NSF confirmed they received my fingerprint cards.
July 8, 2022 (32 days after I submitted my SF 85P)
Received email stating that I’ve received a Favorable Interim Determination on my background check from the NSF.
This means that at first glance, there are no issues with my background check. I’m cleared to start work while they continue working on the full background check, which can take several months.
PIV Card
July 14, 2022 (67 days after signing offer, 29 days before I depart the United States)
Received email requesting information so that I can be issued a federal government PIV Card.
My understanding is that right now this requirement is only for some folks in IT and related fields, to meet Information Security requirements, but this could change.
I replied same-day.
July 18, 2022 (25 days before I depart the United States)
Received email stating that my sponsorship for a PIV card was complete and that I should make an appointment.
Given the tight timeframe here (25 days before I depart the United States!) I traveled a bit further out to find a PIV credentialing center that had immediate availability. It takes about 2-3 weeks to actually get the card, and I wanted to make sure I got it in time.
July 19, 2022
PIV enrollment appointment! Fingerprints (again!), and showing two forms of ID.
July 26, 2022 (7 days after the PIV enrollment appointment)
Received notification that my PIV card was ready for pickup/activation. Stated turnaround is 2-4 weeks, so this was nice.
August 1, 2022 (11 days before I depart the United States)
PIV card activation appointment!
Training / Policies
July 11, 2022 (30 days before I depart the United States)
Received email from USAP requesting that I complete training and acknowledge several USAP policies pertaining to information security and health/safety, via USAP’s online learning management portal.
I completed these day-of.
Travel Logistics
May 24, 2022 (16 days after signing offer, 81 days before I depart the United States)
My manager tells me my (tentative) ice flight date. August 17!
July 14, 2022 (27 days before I depart the United States)
Received initial email from ASC Travel Office with a blank deployment packet to fill out.
This is a much shorter packet, which asked for general trip details, passport information, ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear sizing, and housing information for the station where I’m deploying.
I filled it out and returned it same-day.
July 15, 2022 (1 day after submitting the travel packet, 28 days before I depart the United States)
Received email stating that my travel packet had been accepted and no further immediate action was required.
July 26, 2022 (17 days before I depart the United States)
Attended a Zoom call with all Winfly participants to go over travel logistics and COVID mitigation protocols.
August 2, 2022 (10 days before I depart the United States)
Received email with information about scheduling a pre-departure supervised COVID-19 rapid test.
August 3, 2022 (9 days before I depart the United States)
Received my airline tickets and itinerary from USAP Travel.
August 4, 2022 (8 days before I depart the United States)
Received instructions for completing the NZ Traveller Pass and confirming my NZeTA status.
Completed same-day.
August 7, 2022 (5 days before I depart the United States)
Received a welcome email from the Christchurch NZ office, with my hotel details and an overview of the orientation tasks (meetings, training, ECW clothing distribution) while I’m in Christchurch.
Travel
August 10, 2022
Pre-departure supervised Rapid COVID test.
August 12, 2022
Departed my Airport of Departure (AOD) en-route to New Zealand.
August 14, 2022
Arrived in Christchurch NZ. Going from UTC-7 to UTC+12, and spending 25 hours on flights, meant that I departed San Francisco on a Friday evening and arrived in Christchurch on a Sunday evening. I never saw Saturday at all.
August 15, 2022
Day 1 of training, virtually via Zoom from the hotel.
August 16, 2022
Day 2 of training, virtually via Zoom from the hotel.
Beginning of flight delays and more delays, which continued until August 28, 2022.
August 25, 2022
Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear issue at the Christchurch Clothing Distribution Center (CDC).
August 28, 2022
My ice flight, finally, after some delays. From Christchurch NZ to McMurdo, aboard a C-17.
Conclusion
I hope this helps someone!
Remember though that the timeline varies significantly from person to person, company to company, and season to season. This is my experience, but it may not be your experience.
Until next time!
