Things have been quiet at Global Exploration and Recovery recently, but we've been occupied behind the scenes with a wide range of preparations. All four of us have been working steadily to advance towards the near term goal: returning to Greenland for a survey mission in 2016.
John Bradley has continued to recruit sponsors to back our mission. His persistence in reaching out to manufacturers, retailers, and other private sector businesses has yielded new fruitful partnerships. He's also been honing his skills in areas that will be useful to our work: rescue in confined spaces and both high and low angle scenarios, as well as expanding his medical certifications. John has also been gathering input from sources in different fields whose expertise will be vital to planning our survey design and strengthening relationships with leaders in the community in Greenland.
Frank Marley has been busy with his military commitments, recently earning the gold standard in the German Armed Forces Proficiency assessment. This is a prestigious test that U.S. Service members occasionally have the opportunity to take. Frank has also prepared research plans to access some little-known archives that may contain valuable historical information about the Duck to inform our survey mission next year.
Jaana Gustafsson has been both on and off the radar - literally. She's been in Nepal over the past several weeks working with a European glaciology team to conduct radar surveys on a glacier near Dhaulagiri, one of the world's fourteen 8,000m peaks. Her summer research projects have also taken her to the northernmost reaches of Sweden and Norway. Lessons she's learning from radar investigations in these environments will refine the techniques we use when we return to Greenland.
Nick Bratton has been in regular contact with the U.S. Coast Guard, discussing plans for a partnership in 2016. Public-private partnerships are an area of interest for the government. We have the capacity, skills, and resources to collaborate productively with our willing counterparts in the Coast Guard. The recovery of the 3 missing men remains a high priority for the Coast Guard and they are thinking creatively about how to keep momentum for the mission strong. Nick has also been leading GEaR's media strategy development.
As the temperatures grow cooler this fall, look for things to start heating up with GEaR. Many of the seeds we've been planting this year will bear fruit soon and we're excited to share our accomplishments with our loyal supporters. Stay tuned!