Jah Works Band

 

THULE AIR FORCE BASE, GREENLAND

For two weeks in April of 2003 Jah Works was sent on their first tour with Armed Forces Entertainment to Thule AFB in Greenland. The base is located in the northwest tip of the island of Greenland (province of Denmark), 950 miles North of the Artic Circle and roughly 900 miles away from what would be considered the "North Pole". When the opportunity came in, no one knew what to expect. They did their best to prepare themselves, packed some warm clothes and arrived at BWI airport for 3am, six hour military flight to the Artic.

In short, next to the Moon, Thule is probably the most remote destination one could ever imagine going. It was an amazing, other-worldly experience. The band played five shows for US sericemen and Danish, American and Canadian contractors at the base's only bar/club called the TOW Club (Top of the World). The shows went extremely well (they were the 1st reggae band to every play there). The band's success in Thule also paved the way for later AFE tours. In addition to the shows, they got to do some incredible sight-seeing. Enjoy the photos.

 
Map of the Artic Circle. The vast majority of Greenland is covered by a polar ice cap (the lighter green area).
Thule is located on the Northwestern tip of the island. Some of us also briefly visited the Canadian base of Alert to the North.
During this season, Thule was experiencing 24 hours daylight. The sun would stay about this far off the ground and move sideways in the sky circling around the base.
View from on top one of the buildings on base looking towards the harbor.
Our barracks on base (to the right of the red building) were very comfortable and warm. Temperatures were around 0 degrees Fahrenheit. It's considered an Arid climate (very little moisture in the air)
Just as we were told, "a pretty lady behind every tree".

 
On a clear day...
...and on a not-so-clear day.
Jah Works was received with the warmest of welcomes. Each of the shows went very well and people seemed to really enjoy having a reggae band visit them for the first time.
Susan from California...
Cliff at TOW Club (Top of the World)
Brian talking shop with the big-wigs on base. Everybody was so friendly, you couldn't tell if you were talking to a Private or a Major.
Scott, Susan and Bass indulging in the local drink, "green goo".
Roc at an afterparty with the aptly named "Canadian Crush".
Timecheck: 1 o'clock...hopefully AM.

BMEW (Ballistic Missile Early Warning)

 
During the cold war, one of the missions at Thule was to act as a early warning in the event an attack was launched (from Russia) over the polar cap. Nowadays, Thule is one of many US bases around the globe tracking and catagorizing objects (satellites, debris, etc.) in orbit around the globe.
Jah Works and Sgt. Tony Blake on the roof of the 12th Space Warning Squadron
Brian and Bass
We were issued artic parkas for our 2 week stay.
To access the roof, you've got to climb up a long metal ladder to this hatch.
Our MWR coordinator, Sgt. Tony Blake
Several of us were invited by some Canadian servicemen for a ride-along on one of their C-130's for a "Box Top" mission. They were bringing supllies back and forth to a Canadian base further north in the Artic Circle called "Alert", which is the last inhabitable place North in the Artic Circle.
In 1991, during bad weather (which is REAL bad up there), a Canadian C-130 crashed on one of these Box Top missions to Alert. The book (and subsequent movie) "Death and Deliverance" told the heroic story of the accident and rescue.
The runway in Thule, where we took off to Alert from.
The view outside the window of the C-130 was amazing. It looked as if the world had froze over.
Riding in the cockpit, we were able to communicate with the pilots via headsets. These planes were in built in the 70's.
Decending into Alert, the pilots showed us the downed C-130 crashsite from 1991.. The plane is still there.
Bass, Cliff and Brian during our brief stay at Alert. Average temperatures in Alert are 10 degrees colder than in Thule.
Kevin and Brian Gorman.
Back in Thule, on a daytrip off base to nearby Dundas Village.
Stopping to take pictures of Thule AFB from the top of a moutain.
The village of Dundas was inhabited many years ago by the Greenlandic peoples (inuit). When the AFB was built during the cold war, they were relocated hundreds of miles away. Only now are they beginning the process of allowing them to move back.
When we arrived to the village, there was no one around, just a pack of dogs.

Brian in Dundas Village
After 15 minutes, these two Greenlandic men came out of one of the shacks. They spoke no english, but we communicated the best way we could. We bought polar bear teeth from them as souvenirs.
Bass and D'Nesta (sound engineer)
sled dogs
Seal meat.
Cliff ate some whale meat, sushi style.
Roc got a ride on the dog sled.

 

 
A little about Thule...The base was built by the US Government in 1951 in just 104 days under total secrecy. The base was to provide a refueling point for long range bombers potentially directed to the Soviet Union. At times during the cold war Thule Air Base was home to over 10,000 people at once. Today only about 800 men and woman live here, of which 130 are United States soldiers. It took six months, 63 supply ships breaking through six feet of sea ice into North Star Bay and a construction crew of 4,000 men to build the initial base. Due to it's position on the globe, for several months a year the base experiences 24hrs darkness. Slowly, daylight begins to emerge for longer periods until it's 24 hours light. Thule has all the necessaties of a small, self-contained city. All constructed on permafrost and build to withstand winds in excess of 240 km/hour and temperatures below -40 degrees.