The White Falcon - 05.02.1965, Síða 1

U.S. NAVAL STATION, KEFLAVIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ICELAND
Volume IV, Number 5 Friday, February 5, 1965
RETURNING FROM 200TH BARRIER—Robert H. Henderson, AMEC,
of VW-11 checks the flight engineer’s control panel as he prepares to
land after completing his 200th Barrier. Of these 200 Barriers, Chief
Henderson has flown 193 of them with VW-11. (Photo by Terry Lang,
PHAN, of the Naval Station Photo Lab.)
VW-11 Chief Marks
200 th Barrier Flight
The 200th Barrier Force flight,
representing a total of 2,400 hours
flying time over the North At-
lantic, was completed last week
by R. H. Henderson, AMEC, of
VW-11.
A veteran of 17 years naval
service, Chief Henderson is a
flight engineer with the VW
squadron. He flew all hut seven
of the 200 flights with his pre-
sent crew—Crew 11.
Chief Henderson completed the
Flight Engineer course at Patu-
xent River, Md., before reporting
to VW-11 in May 1961.
A native of Worcester, Mass.,
the chief is married to the former
Miss Jeanette A. Kalalas and cur-
rently resides on board USNS
Argentia with his family. The
Hendersons have four children:
Susan, Linda, Robert and Adam.
Defense Cost Cut 300 Million;
Navy Budget Up 600 Million
The Fiscal Year 1966 budget submitted to Congress by
President Johnson calls for $49 billion in defense spending;
$2.2 billion less than FY64, and $300 million less than the
current year.
The President stated that this country is able to reduce
its defense expenditures in 1966^
because the buildup of our forces
which started in 1961 is nearly
complete; the vigorous cost reduc-
tion program of the Department
of Defense is producing large sav-
ings, and less effective and less
economical forces are being re-
tired or reduced as promptly as
possible.
The budget requests $48.5 bil-
lion in new obligational authority,
more than a billion dollars less
than requested for the current
year. The total obligational au-
thority for FY66 is $51.7 billion.
The new budget allocates $12.4
billion to the Army, an increase of
$400 million over the current bud-
get; $15.3 billion to the Navy, up
$600 million, and $18.9 billion to
the Air Force, a reduction of $500
million.
Funds requested for strategic
retaliatory forces during the next
fiscal year total $4.5 billion, $800
million less than for the current
period.
Remaining the same as last
year’s budget is an expenditure of
$1.8 billion for continental air
and missile defense forces and
$700 million for defense family
housing.
The largest single increase in
the defense mission’s portion of
the budget is $19 billion, up $900
million over FY65, for general
purpose forces.
The budget asks for $1.6 billion,
an increase of $100 million, for
airlift and sealift forces.
In line with President Johnson’s
wish to keep U.S. military forces
the most modern in the world,
$5.4 billion, up $300 million, is
being requested for research and
development.
For the general support mission
$14.6 billion is being requested,
an increase of $300 million over
the current year.
Defense funds are also being re-
quested for military retirements,
the Military Assistance Program
(MAP) and Civil Defense.
(AFPS)
New CPO Club Holds Grand Opening;
Admiral And Mrs. Weymouth Attend Event
The new Chief Petty Officers’
(CPO) Club of the U.S. Naval
Station, Keflavik, opened its doors
Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. with honorary
guests, chiefs and their wives at-
tending the grand opening.
RAdm Ralph Weymouth, com-
mander of Iceland Defense Force,
and Capt Robert R. Sparks, com-
manding officer of U.S. Naval
Station, accompanied by their
wives, were present for the festi-
vities.
G. W. Howell, AMCS, mess
treasurer of the Chief Petty Of-
ficers’ Mess (OPEN), presented
Captain Sparks with a symbolic
turnkey to unlock the club’s doors.
Requests for a newly renovated
club with better dining facilities
were petitioned back in April
1963. This was due to the large
influx of chiefs arriving here for
duty with their wives and de-
pendents.
In 1963, there were approxim-
ately 20 chief’s wives to the pre-
sent 80 wives and about 160
children. The old club’s dining
room seated only 16 people com-
pared to 84 accommodations at the
new club.
All remodeling work on the new
club was and is being done by the
chiefs and their wives under the
supervision of M. E. Litherland,
SWC.
The revamped club, capable of
seating 300 people, features a new
400 square-foot, hard maple dance
floor, a large stage with separate
dressing rooms, a cocktail lounge
—the Calcutta Room—-on the sec-
ond floor.
Still in the process of being
added are a nursery, lounge and
a modern stag bar. Also, the club
plans to install two projectors and
build a cinemascope screen.
The members of the CPO Club,
which includes 32 civilians, hope
to increase club patronage by
stepping up entertainment and
catering to organized parties.
The present club’s schedule
calls for four parties during the
first week of operation: two for
VW-11, one for Hangar Line Di-
vision of Aircraft Maintenance
Department and one for Naval
Communications Station.
Besides catering to organized
parties from different depart-
ments and groups on base, the
club features dance-band music
every Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday nights.
On St. Patrick’s Day, the club
will feaure from the United
States, Jimmy Case and his
Cherokees, a country and western
singing group.
ATTENDING FESTIVITIES—(left to right) Admiral and Mrs. Ralph
Weymouth and Captain and Mrs. Robert R. Sparks enter the opened
doors of the newly remodeled CPO Club. Greeting the honored guests
is M. E. Litherland, SWC, supervisor of the club’s revamping.
McNamara To
Ask Congress
11. S. Military Forces
See Numerical Decrease
In December Strength
As of Dec. 31, 1964, the armed
forces’ numerical strength was
2,659,767. This showed a decrease
from the preceding month, based
on preliminary Department of De-
fense figures.
Listed separately, the Army had
a strength of 964, 983, in Decem-
ber, compared with 970,803 in
November; Navy strength was
665,289 in December, down from
669,009 the previous month; Ma-
rine Corps personnel totaled
188,632, slightly lower than No-
vember’s 189,632 and the Air
Force had 841,000 on active duty
in December, compared with
846,640 in November.
The figures represent fulltime
regular and reserve personnel on
continuous active duty, and offi-
cer candidates, including military
and air academy cadets and naval
academy midshipmen.
To Strengthen
Defense Secretary Robert S.
McNamara will present recom-
mendations to Congress to
strengthen the Joint Staff, Presi-
dent Johnson disclosed in his de-
fense message to Congress.
Defense objectives are three-
fold: (1) increase of the Joint
Staff authorized strength from
400 to 800 officers, (2) an exten-
sion of individual member tours
beyond three years, and (3) gen-
eral or admiral rank for the Joint
Staff director.
The present Joint Staff Director
is Lieutenant General David A.
Burchinal, USAF. He heads Joint
Staff Divisions J-l (Personnel),
J-3 (Operations), J-4 (Logis-
tics), J-5 (Plans and Policy) and
J-6 (Communications-Electronics).
President Johnson said the
Commander-inChief and the Sec-
retary of Defense must continue
to receive the best professional
military advice available.
Joint Staff
“The importance of a strong
line of command running from the
Commander-in-Chief to the Sec-
retary of Defense and the Joint
Chiefs of Staff to the unified and
specified commanders in the field
has been repeatedly demonstrated
during recent years,” President
Johnson said.
The Department of Defense
stand is that the present statutory
limit of 400 officers is unrealistic
due to expanded Joint Staff re-
sponsibilities.
Defense also feels a proportion-
ate increase of officers recalled to
Joint Staff duty within three
years is justified. An increase in
the present limit of 30 to 60 is
recommended.
General or admiral rank for the
director is a logical corollary to
the recent designation of the J-3,
J-4 and J-5 billets as lieutenant
generals or vice admirals, Defense
contends. (AFPS)
Reenlistment Time
FOUR MORE — John Hollman,
SKI, of the Comptroller Depart-
ment, is “re-upped” by Capt Robert
R. Sparks Jan. 22. (Photo by Terry
Lang, PHAN, of the Naval Station
Photo Lab.)