On Thursday, a U.S. Coast Guard Hercules HC-130 plane departed Barrow, Alaska, as means to undertake a flight to the North Pole. The mission is a new step for the Alaskan branch of the Coast Guard as they move into a new era of maritime surveillance, due impart to the warming and more accessible Arctic region. The mission which took the crew and passengers through every time zone in the world was more of an exercise to assess there equipment against the harsh Arctic climate.
Further information on the North Pole mission is provided at the following link:
Flight Sees New Era Of CG Arctic Ops — Military.com
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,155423,00.html