The White Falcon - 27.05.1961, Page 1

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Volume XI, Number 20
Headquarters, Air Forces Iceland, Keflavik Airport, Iceland—A MATS Unit
Ydur Investment
Is Safest
In Savings Bonds
Saturday, May 27, 1961
Voted %
PaMihg
Major Lawrence A. Keefe, for-
mer IDF information officer, was
awarded the Air Force Commend-
ation Medal for meritorious ach-
ievement during his tour of duty
in Iceland.
* * *
A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
from the Air Proving Ground
Center is making a series of low
level flights over FAA approved
routes in northwest Florida
southeast Georgia and southern
Alabama.
The eight-jet bomber will carry
an unarmed North American-
built GAM-77 Hound Dog air-to-
ground missile under its wing.
The flights are being conductec
to determine the effects on the
missile system’s operation of tur-
bulence associated with low level
flights.
The GAM-77 missile will re-
main attached to the B-52
throughout the flights and will
not be launched.
* * *
“When the uses of nuclear en-
ergy for rocket propulsion be-
come feasible, man will control
for the first time the energy need-
ed to travel freely wherever he
pleases in space,” said Atomic
Energy Commission Chairman
Glenn T. Seaborg recently in a
speech at San Francisco.
“What is now science fiction
may become scientific reality. On
the basis of present scientific
knowledge, I believe that nuclear
propulsion could provide the most
feasible means of accomplishing
long voyages in space,” he added.
* * *
The Air Force has awarded a
$545,000 grant to the Medical
Center of the University of Cali-
fornia at Los Angeles for ad-
vanced studies dealing with man’s
brain and nervous system during
prolonged space flights.
Air Force scientists reported a
need for special studies on funda-
mental brain mechanisms because
the jet age has brought new stress
and strain problems on the pilot.
* * *
The Department of the Air
Force has selected the Sperry
Rand Corporation, Great Neck,
Long Island, N. Y., as the prime
contractor to equip two C-4 troop
carrier vessels with modern in-
struments for use as range track-
ing stations on the Atlantic Mis-
sile Range.
* * *
If you hurry you may still be
able to go on the Whale Bay tour
tomorrow. The Viking Service
Club is also accepting reserva-
tions for the Reykjavik shopping
tour on Memorial Day, next Tues-
day, and the Akureyri tour on
June 2.
Opening Of Naval Station
Heralds Change On July 1
$100 BOND MEMBERS
Three Keflavik men know the best policy for putting away their extra
dollars while serving their tour here. They are, (L-R) A2C Glen
Porter, CAMRON, TSgt. Logan Shown, Supply, and A2C Johnnis Born,
CAMRON. Each of the men have signed up for a $100 bond a month
through the Class E Allotment plan.
C-47 Crew Defies Weather
To Evacuate Hurt Airman
By SSgt. Hal Weil
On May 7 at 10 p.m., the base hospital received a call
from H-2 site that A3C Leon J. Cattey had suffered an
accident involving serious head injuries, and was un-
conscious. This emergency call set off a chain of events
that resulted in immediate liasion®
between hospital and Air Rescue
personnel.
Within an hour of the call, a
C-47 piloted by Capt. James K.
Carvey and Maj. Paul E. Coke,
took off from Keflavik Airport
with a medical team consisting
of Capt. Herbert J. Smokier, TSgt
Brenislaw S. Yuodis, A1C How-
ard L. Stratton and a complete
emergency kit for head surgery
and oxygen equipment.
An hour and 55 minutes later,
the plane touched down at the
landing strip, but it was nip and
tuck as to whether a landing could
be made at all since planes had
not been able to land for a week,
due to weather conditions.
TSgt. Charles R. Redeman and
A1C Harry O. Carey, medical
technicians at the site, had al-
ready transported the patient to
the strip and were waiting when
the plane landed.
After examining the semi-con-
scious patient, the med'cal team
decided to air-evac him to Reykja-
vik where an Icelandic neuro sur-
geon had been alerted for possible
brain surgery.
The flight to Reykjavik took
an hour and 40 minutes. Better
time could have been made, but
the patient’s condition necessitat-
ed a slow descent.
At Reykjavik, the patient was
taken immediately to St. Joseph’s
Hospital and placed under the
care of Dr. Bjarni Jonsson. A
consultation was held and it was
decided to place the patient under
observation.
Since no noticeable improve-
ment was made, Airman Cattey
was airlifted to the United States
on May 12 by regular air evacua-
tion aircraft, diverted to Keflavik
especially for this pick-up. He is
now in St. Alban’s Hospital, New
York.
Dr. Smokier said “This was a
perfect example of a more than
efficient air-evac operation which
was carried out with dispatch and
with the utmost cooperation and
coordination between the Air Res-
cue Service and the Aerospace
Medicine Service.”
T'he U. S. Naval Station, Keflavik, will be commissioned
on June 1, at which time the Naval Air Facility here will
be decommissioned. During June the Naval Station will
prepare for the assumption of host-service responsibility
from the Air Force on July 1,®
while it also performs the func-
tions currently assigned to the
Naval Air Facility.
Announcement of the transition
was made by Cdr. Paul T. Kiss-
ling, commanding officer of the
Naval Air Facility, Keflavik, at
a joinit Air Force-Navy Com-
mander’s Call last week. In at-
tendance were Navy officers and
chiefs as well as Air Force of-
ficers and E-7’s, 8’s and 9’s.
Commander Kissling spoke for
Capt. William R. Meyer, com-
mander Naval Forces Iceland, who
had planned to make the present-
ation.
“Our immediate aim is to ac-
complish this transition as smoot-
hly and as early as possible,”
Commander Kissling said, “so as
to enable Air Force personnel to
return to the U. S. without any
unreasonable delays.”
It is expected that about 600
Air Force people will be required
to staff the Air Force organiza-
tions remaining in Iceland — the
57th Fighter Interceptor Squad-
ron, 1971st AACS Squadron and
the two H-sites. This require-
ment is subject to continuous re-
New Command
Setup
When the U. S. Naval Sta-
tion, Keflavik, assumes host-
service responsibility on July 1
command responsibilities will
be as follows: ,
The commander of the Naval
Forces Iceland will function as
the naval component command-
er under the Commander Ice-
land Defense Force (COMICE-
DEFOR). He will also be com-
manding officer of the Naval
Station with operational super-
vision over the Army Port
Team and the Navy Control
Office.
The Air Forces Iceland com-
mander will be component com-
mander under COMICEDEFOR
for assigned Air Force units.
He will be the principal advisor
to COMICEDEFOR on all Air
Force matters.
MATS will continue to handle
all uni-service Air Force mat-
ters as at present.
and may be altered somewhat.
The full complement of the
Naval Station will be comparable
to the strength maintained here
by the Air Force in the past.
Close to half of the Navy en-
listed allocation is expected to be
on board by July 1, with substan-
tial additional numbers reporting
on or before Aug. 1. It is hoped
that the total enlisted allocation
will be filled by Jan. 1, 1962,
Commander Kissling indicated.
“If this phase-in follows sche-
dule we should be able to prevent
last-minute extensions of Air
Force people whose presence
might otherwise be necessary to
ensure maintenance of essential
operations,” Commander Kissling
said.
“We expect, if this schedule is
followed, that the Air Force will
be reduced by attrition to its ten-
ant strength sometime prior to
July, 1962.”
“The input of Navy officers
appears to be very satisfactory
at this point in time,” Commander
Kissling said. “On July 1 we ex-
pect to have at least a third of
our officers aboard, with the bal-
view, Commander Kissling stated, ance arriving within the six
months following.”
Commander Kissling emphasiz-
ed that he “purposely refrained
from making any statements as
to specific points in time that
certain Air Force functions will
be taken over lock, stock and bar-
rel by the Navy,” since actual
turnover dates are dependent up-
on logistical, administrative and
financial considerations as well as
manpower.
However, Commander Kissling
said, the overall target date is
Oct. 1, 1961. “By that date all
but few scattered operations
should have been assumed by the
Navy.”
Commander Kissling concluded
his presentation by saying “many
of you here today are to be com-
mended for the excellent co-opera-
tion extended to Navy officials
in connection with this transfer.”
He said that Captain Meyer had
asked him to report that “Many
of these people have come to me
personally to express their ap-
preciation for your help, advice
and assistance, which, I am sure,
will do much toward insuring a
smooth, orderly and swift transi-
tion from the United States Air
Force to Navy.”
U.S. AIR FORCE — AEROSPACE POWER FOR PEACE