The White Falcon - 03.06.1961, Blaðsíða 3

Saturday, June 3, 1961
WHITE FALCON
3
AT THE PROM
Members of the graduating class
and the Juniors of the Dependents
High School at Keflavik Airport
held their annual Junior-Senior
Prom at the Civilian Club last
week. The Civilian Club donated
its facilities for the occasion and
the music was furnished by the,
Stereos.
MATS Reservists Ready For Action
Promptly In Overseas Operations
Reservists who will beef up the
U. S. air base operations over-
seas in time of war must be ready
for action 24 hours after an alert,
their Air Force advisers were
told at MATS headquarters.
The advisers, representing 12
News Continued From Page 1
Change•••
(Continued from Page 1.)
functions which are an Operations
responsibility in Air Forces Ice-
land.
Civilian Personnel will be ab-
sorbed by the Industrial Relations
Department, with the addition of
Accident Prevention which is now
a function of the Safety Officer,
Inspector General.
Activities which will be practi-
cally identical under the new or-
ganization will be the Operations
Department, Medical, Dental and
Commissary.
The Aircraft Maintenance De-
partment will assume the respon-
sibilities of CAMRON.
Many diversified functions will
be assumed by the Administra-
tion Department — Headquarters
Squadron AFI, Military Person-
nel, Postal Detachment, Admini-
strative Services, Dependent
Schools, Hobby Shops, Base Li-
brary, Radio and TV Station,
Club Officer and Housing Office.
The Supply and Fiscal Depart-
ment will have responsibility for
all supply activities as well as
the disbursing and accounting
functions for station and tenant
activities. It will absorb Account-
ing and Finance, Commercial
Transportation, Food Service and
Supply Squadron — including Re-
distribution and Marketing, Pro-
curement, Petroleum Section and
the Clothing Sales Store.
The Security Department —
whose head will also be command-
ing officer of the Marine Bar-
racks — will have present Pro-
vost Marshal functions. Marine
Military Police will replace the
Air Police.
This department also will in-
clude the present Fire Depart-
ment. Eventually there will be a
separate crash fire organization
in the Operations Department,
with the structural fire fighting
organization remaining in the Se-
curity Department.
The Public Works Department
will consist essentially of Civil
Engineering functions, without
the fire fighting organization. It
will also include Transportation
Squadron functions and the Resi-
dent Officer in Charge of Con-
struction, replacing the Army’s
Corps of Engineers.
Countdown...
(Continued from Page 1.)
bit of doubt on its effectiveness.
The actual countdown for the
firing of the Redstone missile and
the Mercury capsule that sent
Cdr. Shepard into space, was so
long and detailed that it was di-
vided into a two-day period. The
first day’s preliminary countdown
lasted seven hours while the sec-
ond day’s time requirement—be-
fore the actual firing—was 5%
hours.
The 12% hour countdown is
needed to check and recheck
thousands of electrical devices and
systems in both the rocket and
capsule. Such complex items as
power and oxygen systems, radio
equipment, fuel tanks, electronic
equipment along with scores of
other delicate mechanisms must
be thoroughly inspected to insure
both the missile and man in the
capsule a successful mission.
Windows...
(Continued from Page 1.)
squadron, Mr. Louis Pstrak,
Transportation Squadron, Bar-
racks Prayer Group, Naval Air
Station, Northern Lights Masonic
Club, Air Base Squadron, NCO
Wives Club, Iceland Defense
Force - NATO, 1971st AACS, and
Naval Security Group.
Chaplain, Captain, Luther M.
Nielsen, has been project officer
for this program and states that
the enthusiasm with which people
have volunteered to sponsor a
stained glass window has been
most gratifying.
Tomorrow morning will be the
occasion for the official unveiling
of three windows which have been
sponsored by Naval Air Facility,
VP-10, and Mr. Pstrak. Chaplain
Gress stated that as the other
windows become available an-
nouncement will be made of the
date for the unveiling.
reserve air terminal squadrons
supervised by MATS met to dis-
cuss problems of operating the
reserve units.
If an emergency is declared,
these reservists would report to
their MATS bases for overseas
movement to operating locations.
There they would help provide
such support services as loading
and unloading cargo, fleet service,
troop movement and traffic con-
trol.
The squadrons under supervis-
ions of WESTAF are: Portland
International Airport, Ore.; Mc-
Chord AFB, Wash.; McClellan
AFB, Calif.; and O’Hare Inter-
national Airport, Ill.
Squadrons under supervision of
ESTAF are: Charleston AFB and
Donaldson AFB, S. C.; Hanscom
Field, Mass.; Homestead AFB,
Fla.; Willow Grove Naval Air
Station, Pa.; and McGuire AFB,
N. J.
The reserve squadrons are und-
er control of the Continental Air
Command during peacetime but
under MATS for supervision of
training and inspection. During
wartime, complete control would
go to MATS.
At the two-day meeting, Maj.
Gen. Glen R. Birchard, deputy
chief of staff for operations at
MATS headquarters, told the ad-
visers their units could expect to
participate in future MATS train-
ing exercises such as the recent-
ly completed LONG PASS exer-
cise in the Philippines.
Important Changes In Testing And
Classification Announced By USAF
(Editor’s note: This is the conclusion of a two-part article on
important changes in classification and testing procedures.)
Tests will reflect closer alignment with Job Training
Standards and OJT Package Programs. Along these lines
simplified and improved study reference lists will be made
up. There will be emphasis on principles and fundamentals.
Even in the best of tests some'
questions can become obsolete. In
the past, obsolete questions, when
identified, were not counted in
the test scores, although they were
not crossed out of test booklets.
Now, emphasis is being placed on
identifying obsolete questions and
deleting them from test booklets.
To take new job knowledge
tests, the airman must meet man-
datory requirements concerning
experience, training, education,
etc., unless a waiver of these re-
quirements is being requested.
Under the old system, a super-
visor’s okay to take the test was
required in addition to other re-
quirements. It’s not needed now.
Major commanders have been
given the authority to rule in in-
dividual cases on test qualifica-
tions. This authority may not be
further delegated.
The test qualification waiver
policy generally used for those
whose poor command of English
distorts test results and those at
F-105 Thunderchief
Units Reach Europe
The first F-105 Thunderchief
tactical fighters to be assigned an
overseas unit have arrived in
Europe.
The 1,200 m.p.h. fighters are
being assigned to United States
Air Force, Europe, and the 36th
Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg,
Germany.
The Republic Thunderchief air-
craft will soon replace F-lOOs as-
signed to the wing.
The new F-105 will enable the
36th to operate during periods of
bad weather or darkness using the
automated navigation and bomb-
ing equipment in the Thunder-
chief.
A combination of radar and
computing devices permit the pilot
to know his position at all times,
even at supersonic speeds, and
deliver a selection of weapons
with great accuracy.
Selections For
Service Schools
Undergo Change
Students to attend the War
College, the Army War College
and courses described in AFR 53-
16 and AFR 53-5 “will henceforth
be selected from among those of-
ficers considered by central tem-
porary promotion boards at Hq.
USAF.”
Making the announcement, Hq.
USAF authorized three different
promotion boards to provide a list
of officers from which students
will be selected.
The colonels board will provide
list for the war colleges. The
lieutenant colonels board will pro-
vide a list for Armed Forces Staff
College. The majors board will
provide a list for Command and
Staff College.
“Selection for school attendance
will be determined solely by the
reasonable availability of the of-
ficer, providing that he is other-
wise qualified,” the announcement
said.
Maximum service criteria for
attendance at the respective
schools are:
War Colleges; Less than 22
years’ service (PLS for regular
officers; TFCS and TAFMS for
reserve officers) as of Jan. 1 of
the calendar year in which selec-
tions are made.
Armed Forces Staff College:
Less than 17 years’ service (PLS
for regular officers; TFCS and
TAFMS for reserve officers) as
of Jan. 1 of the calendar year
in which selections are made. Se-
lections will be made for classes
convening in August of that year
and the following February.
Command and Staff College:
Service criterion identical with
that used by the temporary maj-
ors promotion board.
Entry of chaplains, judge ad-
vocates and medical services of-
ficers must be coordinated with
the chief of Air Force chaplains,
judge advocate general and sur-
geon general respectively.
isolated locations, remains in
force.
These important changes al-
ready have been spelled out in
Hq. USAF instructions to all maj-
or commands and soon will be in-
corporated in the two basic re-
ferences on the subject, AFM 35-
1 and AFM 35-8.
The 9-skill level, applicable
only to E-7 and above (master
sergeant, senior master sergeant,
chief master sergeant) is not af-
fected by these changes.
While chances of passing tests
at the various job knowledge lev-
els will be bettered, officials said,
promotion and pro-pay do not fol-
low automatically.
A quaifying job knowledge test
score indicates only elgibility for
skill upgrading. It’s up to the sup-
ervisor to recommend the airman
for the actual upgrading. And
it’s up to the airman to take ad-
vantage of self-study and OJT
programs, to generally apply him-
self, to convince his supervisor.
With skill upgrading as a pre-
requisite, the actual stripes are
added through a new system of
world wide Air Force permissive
quotas in every career field that
is applied against the actual num-
erical quotas of major air com-
mands.
Pro pay depends, of course, on
possession of a specialty that rat-
es this pay and duty assignment
in this field. Here, too, the super-
visor’s recommendation is vital.
Skill upgradings are the keys
to unlock many doors of oppor-
tunity, and the changes announc-
ed this week indirectly offer car-
eer chances for virtually all air-
men.
In a nutshell, the changes in
their entirety mean this: While
USAF standards will be main-
tained, red tape will be cut for
those eligible and high perform-
ance individuals who do jobs of
work that rate pay raises in the
eyes of their bosses.
Life Saving Wins Medal
Maj. Milton H. Weiss has been
awarded the Airman’s Medal for
heroism in saving the lives of two
Spanish women.
When stationed in Spain during
the summer of 1959, Major Weiss
swam through rough water at
San Juan Beach near Alicante to
pull one drowning woman from
the water.
He applied artificial respira-
tion to the woman and also suc-
ceeded in reviving a second wom-
an who had been rescued by oth-
ers.
Prior to the recent award cere-
mony at Sioux City AFB, Iowa,
the major was presented an Am-
erican National Red Cross “Cer-
tificate of Merit,” signed by for-
mer President Eisenhower, which
honored his outstanding courage
and humanitarian action.
AEROSPACE EVENT
Jan. 23, 1918—The first Ameri-
can military balloon ascension in
the AEF took place at the Am-
erican Balloon School, Cuperly,
Marne, France.