The White Falcon - 14.03.1964, Síða 1

Mach 3 Plus
High-Speed A-ll Interceptor
Revealed by Pres. Johnson
Washington — The United States has developed a high-
speed jet aircraft which, according to President Johnson,
“far exceeds that of any other aircraft in the world to-
day” in performance.
Disclosure of the A-ll advanced experimental jet aircraft
was made by the President at his'®'
first live television press confer-
ence Feb. 20.
The President said the aircraft
has been tested in sustained flight
at more than three times the
speed of sound (over 2,000 mph)
and at altitudes in excess of
70,000 feet.
Development of the new air-
craft has been underway since
1959. According to the President,
the A-ll aircraft now at Edwards
AFB, Calif., are undergoing ex-
tensive tests to determine their
uses as long-range interceptors.
The President said the plane’s
high speed, high altitude and
long-range performance of thou-
sands of miles are a technical
accomplishment with both mili-
tary and commercial applica-
tions possible.
One of the important technical
SPEEDSTER — This is the new A-ll high-speed interceptor that has been tested in sustained flight
at more than 2,000 mph, three times the speed of sound.
achievements in development of
the A-ll has been perfecting of
the titanium metal required for
the high temperatures experienc-
ed by the aircraft because of its
speed.
“In view of the continuing im-
portance of these developments to
our national security,” President
Johnson explained, “the detailed
performance of the A-ll will re-
main strictly classified and all
individuals associated with the
program have been directed to re-
frain from making any further
disclosures concerning this pro-
gram.”
U.S. NAVAL STATION, KEFLAVIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ICELAND
Volume III, Number 10 Saturday, March 14, 1964
Seabees Celebrate 22nd Year
Naval Station Keflavik Seabees
and members of the Civil Engin-
eering Corps celebrated twin
birthdays, Friday, March 6, with
official ceremonies and the an-
nual Seabee Ball.
The occasion was the 22nd an-
niversary of the Construction
Battalions and the 97th for the
CEC.
Honored guests at the festivi-
ties were Rear Adm. Paul D. Buie,
Commander Iceland Defense
Force; Capt. Stanley E. Ellison,
Naval Station Commanding Of-
ficer; Cdr. Robert O. Boe, Naval
Station Executive Officer; Lt.
Col. Arthur E. House Jr., Marine
Barracks Commanding Officer;
and Resident Officer in Charge
of Construction, Lt. Cdr. Robert
Litke.
Following the Colors presenta-
tion the Master of Ceremonies
for the night, James H. Swendel,
CEC, took the podium.
Chief Swendel reminisced about
the Seabees’ heritage that was
nurtured during the Second World
War. He recalled a fighting
phrase Seabee units in the Pa-
cific Theater had used: “When
we march into Tokyo with our
hats a’ tilt. When we march into
Tokyo on a road the Seabees
built.”
After his introduction, speaker
of the evening, Admiral Buie told
the capacity gathering that at
one time he hadn’t known much
about the Construction Battalions,
but that he learned through ob-
serving their accomplishments.
He reflected that he had seen
a “weird windmill-like contrap-
tion” at Eniwetok that the Sea-
bees had ingeniously built. It had
turned out to be a very functional
laundry. “It was,” he said, “a tri-
bute to Rube Goldberg.”
Speaking of the Seabees’ 22
years of existance, Admiral Buie
said that they “have everything,
did everything, and can do every-
thing.”
In closing, he addressed pre-
sent and future Seabees with “For
those of you who have made it,
I say thank you. For those of
QUEEN OF THE BALL — Rear Adm. Paul D. Buie, ComlceDeFor,
crowns Mrs. Betty Ramsey as Queen of the Seabees. The coronation
was a highlight of the Sea Beeball held at the “C” Club, March 6.
you who haven’t, carry on.”
Following the speechmaking,
the Queen of the 1964 Seabee Ball,
Mrs. Betty Ramsey was present-
ed. She was escorted by the Naval
Station’s youngest Seabee, R. C.
Jenkins, CP. The Station’s oldest
Seabee, Elwood Chesser, CEC, ac-
companied a maid of honor.
Admiral Buie crowned Mrs.
Ramsey prior to the cake cutting,
which was accomplished by the
Queen and Cdr. Reese.
The mood of the evening was
conveyed by the Song of the Sea-
bees:
“We’re the Seabees of the Navy
We can build and we can fight.
We’ll pave a way to victory
And guard it day and night.
And we promise
That we’ll remember
The Seventh of December,
We’re the Seabees of the Navy
Bees of the Seven Seas.”
Defense Dept. Plans No
Withdrawal Of American
Dependents In Vietnam
Washington -— The Defense De-
partment has announced it has
no plans to involuntarily with-
draw dependents from the Repu-
blic of Vietnam.
“Dependents are at liberty to
return to the United States,” DOD
officials said, “and will be re-
turned at government expense.”
According to the latest DOD
figures there are 785 dependents
in the Republic—569 of military
personnel and 216 of civilian em-
ployees.
The tour of duty in the Re-
public of Vietnam with depend-
ents is 24 months and without
dependents, 12 months.
GAO Frowns On
TAD Repeat Tours
The GAO (General Accounting Office) has frowned on
the Navy practice of assigning men for repeat tours of
TAD to commands away from their permanent station.
GAO has called the practice illegal and has told the Navy
to reclaim payments made on orders of this type.
The Comptroller General has ruled that a station at
which a person performs his1
duties for 6 months or more is
his duty station and per diem
for this type of “temporary duty”
is not payable.
A typical situation is this: A
man is assigned for permanent
duty to a command that has a
responsibility to furnish services
to an activity elsewhere. He is
assigned TAD to the activity for
6 months. When these orders ex-
pire, he returns to his station for
a short time, is assigned again to
the same activity for another 6
months.
The GAO says the TAD sta-
tion is his permanent station and
Commercial Air Carrier
Announces Lower Rates
Drastic reductions in special
military round trip fares from
Keflavik to New York and return
have been announced by Pan
American airlines.
Effective April 1, the new round
trip fare will be $186.80. The new
reduced rates will be in effect
all year and valid for any 45-day
period. This fare is with reserva-
tions assured both ways on jet
aircraft.
The flights depart Keflavik air-
port at 7:40 p.m. each Wednes-
day and return from New York
commences at 10:45 p.m. on Tues-
day evenings.
After June 1, flights will depart
Keflavik on Tuesday evenings and
leave New York returning on
Monday evening. For further in-
formation call 5170.
RAdm. Heyward Gets
Air Training Berth
Rear Adm. Alexander S. Hey-
ward Jr., has been nominated as
the new Chief of Naval Air Train-
ing. Along with the nomination
goes three stars.
Adm. Heyward, presently De-
puty Chief of Naval Personnel
and Assistant Chief of the Bureau
of Naval Personnel, will replace
Vice Adm. Fitzhugh Lee who will
become president of the National
War College in Washington, D. C.
Adm. Lee will relieve Air Force
Lt. Gen. Francis H. Griswold in
the war college post in early July.
he should be transferred there.
BuPers has issued instructions to
comply with the ruling.
Although the GAO has not
specifically criticized a similiar
procedure, the Navy is also stopp-
ing the assignment of “rotating”
TAD personnel. In this example,
a man assigned for TAD is re-
placed by another at the end of
the first 6 months and by a third
at the end of a year.
In a re-write of BuPers Inst.
1321.2D, the Navy has called for
“every effort to be made to as-
certain member’s wishes regarding
leave, within authorized limita-
tions, to preclude early reporting.”
The Defense Department, in a
recent change, ordered that ser-
vicemen not be paid per diem
when reporting for TAD earlier
than the date set in orders. Ex-
ceptions are if early reporting is
forced by transportation schedul-
es, or if the duty can be perform-
ed at any time such as TAD
under instruction or if the skipper
judges that early reporting is in
the “best judgement of the govern-
ment” or has been caused by
conditions beyond the man’s con-
trol.
Ens. Yost Wins
Second Chance
Back for a second chance!
Navy Ensign Dennis A. Yost
returned to Pensacola, Florida for
his second chance at becoming a
Naval Aviator.
Yost was a student in February
of 1956 and had some difficulty
with one phase of training and
was transferred to the fleet
aboard the cruiser Canberra.
After a year, he was discharged
but was still determined to become
a Naval Aviator. Upon discharge,
Ens. Yost entered Southern Il-
linois University in 1960 and in
1963, he graduated with a BS in
Business Administration.
Ens. Yost, still determined to
get his second chance, applied to
the Navy Department and received
special consideration to be rein-
stated in the flight training pro-
gram.