The White Falcon - 20.03.1959, Page 3

Friday, March 20, 1959
THE WHITE FALCON
Page 3
Storm Puts
Base On Natural Disaster Alert
Rescue Snowbound Derelicts
A 95th Platoon tank, “Chiquita Linda,” rescues a snowbound car. The
tanks cleared several such derelicts from the roads during the night
and first day of the storm.
Air Police Must Keep Fit
Air police work out a minimum of two hours a week in their own
gymnasium. A complete set of conditioning equipment includes, weights,
punching bags, speed bags, rowing machine, peddle machine, and hor-
izontal bars.
--------------------------------S>
Tubing, Ingenuity
Save MATS C-124
A ten-foot piece of tubing and
some tape, turned a possible ser-
ious accident into a safe landing
at Palm Beach Air Force Base
last week.
On February 25, a 1740th Air
Transport Squadron C-124 Globe-
master left PBAFB on a training
flight, piloted by Maj. Muller L.
Jones, 1740th Chief Pilot, Capt.
David R. Schwerdt, and Capt.
John H. Spalding. At the en-
gineer’s panel were T/Sgt. George
R. Bethel and M/Sgt. Emile J.
Armand.
An hour after take-off the crew
executed a simulated two-engine
landing approach. When the gear
was extended, the nose gear in-
dicator showed an unsafe condi-
tion.
A coordinated analysis by a
ground team and the C-124 crew
determined that the nose gear
safety pin would have to be in-
stalled to insure a safe landing.
This pin is normally used only in
ground operation of the aircraft.
Major Jones and Sergeant
Bethel removed a piece of 10 foot
tubing from the aircraft troop
seats and proceeded to “O” com-
partment, located directly behind
■■he nose wheel well, where there
Capt. Edward S. Schourup, Opera-
tions Officer ■ of the Air Police
Squadron.
is an access door for visual check-
ing of the nose gear. This door
is eight feet from the hole where
the pin was to be inserted, and
the down lock is not visible from
here.
The pair taped the pin to the
tubing and after several tries suc-
ceeded in inserting it. The tubing
was then secured to a stanchion
to hold the pin in place. Thus a
positive gear down lock was rig-
ged and the crew brought the
Globemaster in safely.
Air Police Do
Double Duty In
Emergency Job
The snow blew in, blocked park-
ing lots and closed roads. The
busses stopped running. Private
cars stalled in snowdrifts and
pedestrians were forbidden to go
out alone.
An extra flight of air police
was called to work. They manned
emergency motor vehicles brought
up from the motor pool. The Na-
tural Disaster Plan was in action.
This was the afternoon of
March 4 at Keflavik International
Airport. On through the evening
and into the night the wind built
up and the driving, horizontal
snow defied a gang of scouring
snow plows.
Essential operations and com-
munications people, including the
radio and television station crews
worked on, while the most of base
personnel weathered the two day
storm in the comfort of warm
homes and billets.
The air police carried relief
crews to and from all operating
sections. They moved in emergency
rations. Vehicles and guard posts
were stocked with rations for 24
hours.
The 95th Tank Platoon drove
in three tanks and two weasles at
the disposal of the Provost Mar-
shal. Stalled cars were pulled out
of snow banks and a few straggl-
ing pedestrians and motorists
were carried home.
A pregnant woman, momentar-
ily expecting the birth of her
child, was moved in a weasle from
an isolated housing area to the
base hospital.
The nerve center of this emer-
gency transportation mobilization
was the air police desk in Build-
ing 970. This point receives all
incoming requests for air police
action. It is in constant short-
wave contact with patrol cars and
other A. P. vehicles. Incident re-
ports, routine and emergency calls
for air police activities begin here.
Daily responsibility of air police
is security of the base, traffic
control, coordination with Ice-
landic police; registration of ve-
hicles, firearms and pets; finger-
printing and photographing on-
base employees for identification.
Security of the base includes
manning of guard posts, guarding
transient and Strategic Air Com-
mand aircraft which land here;
checking locks, fences and haz-
ardous conditions.
Four flights of air policemen
work in three shifts from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m.; 4 p.m. to midnight; mid-
night to 8 a.m. Each flight is
made up of approximately 20 men.
The unit is a Squadron of the
1400th Air Base Group, which is
commanded by Lt. Col. E.J. Wagn-
er. The Squadron Commander is
Capt. Edgar S. Farr. Operations
officer for the squadron is Capt.
Edward S. Schourup, and his ad-
jutant is 2nd Lt. John Beese.
M/Sgt. Robert A. Rousseau is
NCOIC of the operations section.
Air police operations schedules
the four flights. Key men in this
24 hour vigil are the desk ser-
geant and the flight commander
of each flight. The desk sergeant
on duty funnels calls in and out,
controlling the work of the flight.
The flight commander keeps a
check on all posts and makes ne-
cessary investigations.
A team of one air policeman
The Joint Patrol Is On The Job
Joint Patrolmen, S/Sgt. Robert E. Maxwell and Icelandic policeman
Sigurdur Jonsson, question a motorist during a routine patrol of the
base. Their patrol and the one following them continued on until
three o’clock in the morning, covering the base, Rockville and Grindavik.
Back To Normal At The Gate
At the main gate a team checks all traffic on and off base. Customs
regulations are strictly enforced here. Passes and identifications are
watched, departing and returning. Three of the four gates are manned
24 hours each day. Four men are always on duty at the main gate.
and one Icelandic policeman, pat-
rol the base, Rockville and Grinda-
vik. Another joint patrol works in
Reykjavik Wednesday and Satur-
day nights. All four gates to the
base are manned jointly by Ice-
landic and air policemen.
Every school bus run has an
air policeman aboard. A crossing
guard controls pedestrian and mo-
tor traffic at the school house
crossing. This man, A/2C Conrad
Gartee, is intimately connected
with the school. He is working for
a college degree and a teaching
credential. During his off duty
time he coaches high school stu-
dents and is receiving practice
credit for the work. This credit
will be applied toward his teach-
ing credential when he gets his
degree.
A training program for air
police in the squadron includes
coaching in first aid and fire
fighting techniques. The squadron
has its own gymnasium fully eq-
uipped with physical conditioning
gadgets. Two hours of workout on
this equipment each week is man-
datory for every man.
Captain Faar’s squadron furnis-
hes the ten man Air Force com-
ponent of the tri-service Color
and Honor Guards.
The dead end result of some of
the work of this unit will always
be found in Building T-10, the
guard house, closely supervised by
T/Sgt. John R. Marquis,
In common with most military
units the air police operations has
an administrative section, which
finalizes the paper work of the
unit. Chief clerk in this depart-
ment is S/Sgt. Thomas Lawrence.
Nerve center of air police activi-
ties is the DESK. A/1C Don Van
Maastricht, C Flight, is in charge
at the moment. Calls by radio and
telephone filter through this point
for initial action. Air police traf-.
fic, patrol cars and other vehicles,
are monitored and controlled from
the desk.