The White Falcon - 07.08.1959, Side 1

THE WHITE
volume IX, Number 15
Headquarters, Iceland Defense Force, Keflavik Airport, Iceland
IDF
Saturday, August 7, 1959
General Pritchard reads orders which officially name him commander
of the Iceland Defense Forces.
Army Approves
Pro-Pay For
Infantry Skills
Washington — The first infan-
try skill fields to be authorized
proficiency pay have been announ-
ced in an Army message.
An undisclosed number of in-
fantrymen in grades E-4 through
E-7, who qualified in proficiency
tests covering certain heavy wea-
pons specialties, soon will begin
drawing the extra ' $30 monthly
awards. July payments, however,
will be figured from the 10th of
the month.
The July authorization covers
3,145 pro-pay grants in 10 skill
fields included in MOSs 112, 342,
286 and 823. An addiditional num-
ber is authorized for August in
MOSs 205, 206, 332, 981, 294, 131.1
and 131.2.
At the conclusion of Fiscal
Year 1959, the Army authorized
20,000 of the 28,000 pro-pay
grants allocated by the Depart-
ment of Defense. While most of
the grants covered critical techni-
cal specialties, the first combat
awards began in March. They
were given to certain artillery and
missile specialists.
As previously announced, the
pro-pay awards are based on
grades scored in proficiency tests
coupled with the recommendations
of unit commanders.
Army—Air Force
To Open School
It has been confirmed that the
Air Force-Army military aca-
demy prep school will open at
Fort Belvoir, Va. Sept. 8, 1959.
In making the joint announce-
ment, the Army and Air Force
said applications will be accepted
up to the time of the opening for
Army personnel and the Air
Force set their deadline for Aug.
15.
Playground Curfew
Due to the minor injuries
suffered recently by children
and the noise at the children’s
playground, parents are re-
quested to cooperate in hav-
ing their children off the play-
grounds in the SP areas by
10 p.m. each evening
Troops Bid Farewell to Comdr
Review also Honors New Chief
The Keys to the Iceland Defense Force changed hands at Keflavik Airport July 28
as Brig. Gen. Henry G. Thorne Jr. handed over command to Brig. Gen. Gilbert L. Prit-
chard.
While Army, Navy and Air Force Troops paraded in review, General Pritchard ac-
cepted the responsibilities which General Thorne has shouldered since August 16, 1957.
General Pritchard arrived here from Maxwell AFB, Ala., where he was Commandant
•--------------------------*---------------'-of the Command and Staff School.
A native of South Dakota, he at-
AF Advises
Calorie Check
For Fat Boys
The bay window set, put on no-
tice to drop excess weight, will
find added incentive in a recent
Headquarters wire to all com-
mands turning the screws down
on the various weight reduction
programs.
Commanders, supervisors and
flight surgeons were told to
identify the rotund as the first
step toward getting the Air
Force shaped up. Special diet
tables and physical conditioning
programs are steps two and
three.
The program is democratic —
it applies to all grades from A/B
to top of the ladder.
Happy Birthday
A TRADITIONAL BIRTH-
DAY — When viewed as a
group of people dedicated to
the principles of airpower, the
Air Force’s 52d birthday was
on August 1. That was the
date in 1907 when the Office
of the Chief Signal Officer,
War Department, established
the first aeronautical divis-
ion. However, the Air Force
also celebrates another birth-
day on September 18 — when
12 years ago it was set up
as a separate branch of the
Armed Forces.
Judge for Yourself
FORT LEWIS, Wash., — The
Editor of the PIONEER poses
this THOUGHT FOR THE
WEEK: “Don’t pass on curves
.... unless you are judging a
beauty contest!”
tended the University of San
IADF Commands Change Hands
£L
Col. Benjamin G. Willis
IADF Chief
Col. Howard E. Kreidler
Deputy CO for IADF
Col. Myron F. Barlow
Commands Air Base Group
Three other Commanders joined General Gilbert L. Pritchard in Keflavik’s “Who’s
Who” parade last month as top commands in IADF changed hands.
Colonel Benjamin G. Willis, assumed command of IADF with Col. Paul P. Douglas,
Jr., returning to his original command of 1400th Operations Group. Col. Howard E.
Kreidler moved into the Deputy Commander’s slot held by Col. Leslie B. Shaw, and
Col. Myron F. Barlow took over
the reins of the 1400th Air Base
Group formerly held by Col. G.
S. Geanetos.
Colonel Willis, a native of
Springfield, Mass., graduated from
Norwich University in Vermont
and received his commission in
1938. He was called to active duty
in 1941 and prior to his assign-
ment here, he attended the Na-
tional War College in Washing-
ton, D. C.
A Command Pilot, his decora-
tions include the Silver Star, Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross, Bronze
Star and the Air Medal with 10
Oak Leaf Clusters.
Colonel and Mrs. Willis have
three children, Benjamin Jr. is a
Cadet at the Air Force Academy
and David, 7 and Eugenia, 4.
Colonel Kreidler, a graduate
of the University of Maryland,
received his commission in 1942
via the Aviation Cadet Program.
His decorations include the Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross with one
Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star,
The Air Medal with three Oak
Leaf Clusters and France’s Croix
DeGuerre. A native of Columbus,
Neb., he and Mrs. Kreidler have
two children, Jerold, 15 and
Linda, 10.
Colonel Barlow hails from Boun-
tiful, Utah, but he now claims
Los Angeles, Calif, as home. He
is a graduate of the University of
Utah and received his commission
in 1935. He was called to active
duty in 1941 and later obtained a
Doctor of Philosophy Degree at
the University of Michigan.
He and Mrs. Barlow have two
daughters, Mrs. Keith Nelson of
Whichita Falls, Tex, and Mrs.
Linda Lee Fields of San Angelo.
General Pritchard
Francisco and USC before receiv-
ing his commission via the Avia
tion Cadet Program at Randolph
Field, Tex., in 1940.
During World War II he war
assigned to the 97th Bomb Grou;
in North Africa and the 52nd
Fighter Group in Italy. He later
became Chief of the Flying Train.
ing Division with the Air Train
ing Command.
In the early 1950’s, he was as-
signed to the Far East Air For-
ces in Korea, where he comman-
ded the 49th Fighter Bomber
Group. This organization, later
enlarged, moved to Japan where
it became the first Fighter Bom-
(See Troops, Page 3).
Installations Amn.
Wins July Prize
Airman Second Class Johnnie
W. Wardlaw, Jr., a Fire Fighter
with the 1400th Installation
Squadron, has been named Kefla-
vik’s Aii-man of the Month for
July.
Aii-man Wardlaw, a native o'1
Central, S.C., is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Johnnie W. Wardlaw.
This is Wardlaw’s second over-
seas tour, the other was at Thule,
Greenland in 1951-52.
Wardlaw served with the 834tJ
Installation Squadron at England
AFB, La., prior to his present
assignment.
He received his high school dip-
loma through the GED program
on July 30, the same day he was
selected as July’s top airman.
He will receive a certficatc
from Brig. Gen. Gilbert L. Pritc-
hard, Iceland Defense Force Com-
mander, a pen and pencil set, r
$10 cash award and a free tour
of Reykjavik.
NATO — UNIFIED POWER FOR PEACE
V? #