The White Falcon - 27.08.1965, Blaðsíða 1

President Johnson Signs New Pay Bill
Pay Scale — Page 3
‘Shorttimers’ Gain
Highest Pay Boost
President Johnson signed the 1 billion dollar military-
pay raise bill Saturday Aug. 21, and the increase will be-
come effective Sept. 1.
The pay boost will provide raises up to 33 per cent for
a corporal or a Navy petty officer third class with less
than two years service. Enlisted men with more than two
years of service will receive a flad^*7
11 per cent increase and officers
and warrant officers pay will be
hiked six per cent.
The President noted that al-
though the increase was more
than twice the amount he had ori-
ginally recommended, he said, “In
this critical period, however, in
the light of the alternative avail-
able to me, I have concluded that
the public interest will be best
served by signing the bill.”
Other provisions in the bill pro-
vide for raising the reenlistment
bonus up to four times the present
bonus for men reupping the first
time in critical rates. Combat pay
was also raised 10 dollars and re-
tirement pay was increased to
coincide with the cost of living
index.
Congress also recommended that
military pay be brought up to
date every year with a president-
ial study and have the military
compensation structure overhauled
every four years.
Sen. Richard Russell of Georgia,
chairman of the Armed Services
Committee said, “This is an en-
listed man’s bill.” He told news-
men, “This is the first time I have
been on this committee that the
enlisted man’s increase is larger
across the board than it is for
officers.”
AFWL’s Eighth Ranked Sea Service Newspaper - 1964
THE WHITE
W
U.S. NAVAL STATION, KEFLAVIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ICELAND
Volume IV, Number 31 Friday, August 27, 1965
Fleet Weather Facility
Has New Commander
Cdr Charles R. Hall took over command of the Fleet
Weather Facility from Cdr Richards S. Downey in a change
of command ceremony held Aug. 17 at the NCO club.
Commander Hall is reporting from the USS Hornet
where he served as Air Operations Officer. He began his
Navy career in 1943 and has served with the Pacific Fleet
most of the time.
Commander Hall was born in
Los Angeles and now makes his
home in Sunnyvale, Calif., with
his wife and six children. He said
he was surprised to receive orders
to Iceland since he has served
most of his time in the Pacifc but
he welcomes the change and is
anticipating a rewarding tour of
duty as officer in charge of the
Fleet Weather Facility.
Postgraduate School
Commander Downey will be
leaving for the USN Postgraduate
School in Monterey, Calif., for
duty as an instructor of Meteoro-
logy. He has served for 26 months
in Keflavik and doubled as a
Physics teacher at A.T. Mahan
School. Commander Downey was
also president of the Keflavik
branch of the Catholic Holy Name
Society.
Attending Ceremony
The change of command cere-
monies were attended by RAdm
Ralph Weymouth, commander
Iceland Defense Force; Capt
Emile E. Pierre, commander, Na-
val Forces Iceland; Major W.E.
Kiracofe, commanding officer
Marine Barracks; Colonel Alan G.
Long, commander Air Forces Ice-
land; and Mr. BorgJjor Jonsson,
Meteorologist in Charge of the
Icelandic Weather Bureau. Also
attending were several other base
dignitaries and the officers and
men of the Fleet Weather Facility.
RETURNS TO KEFLAVIK-—The USS Edisto sits at anchor off the town of Keflavik after her recent
visit to pick up scientists who are studying the East Greenland current.
USS Edisto Makes Third Trip To Keflavik;
Takes Scientists To Explore Arctic Current
The USS Edisto, AGB-2, was back in Keflavik last week for the third time this year.
This “Wind” Class Icebreaker was here in the spring in connection with the evacuation
of the Arctic Research Laboratory Ice Station Number 2, or as it was better known,
ARLIS II.
On this trip it picked up some scientists in Keflavik and took them up north to
conduct oceanographic experiments in the East Greenland Current.
The group, under the direction of Mr. Gsell of the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office,
includes some men from the Uni-'^
versify of Washington at Seattle,
two men fram the Office of Naval
Research, men from the Naval
Oceanographic Office, and one
University of Massa-
from the
chusetts.
Study Current
The principle purpose of the
trip is to study the characteristics
VP-56 Yields Patrol Duties;
VP-21 Begins Flights Aug. 20
LAST INSPECTION—Cdr Richard S. Downey passes through the
ranks of his men for the last time as his successor, Cdr Charles R.
Hall, follows. Commander Downey was the Officer in Charge of the
Fleet Weather Facility.
(Patrol Squadron 21, (VP-21,
Det. 13), arrived Aug. 19, reliev-
ing VP-56 of its duties officially
Aug. 20.
Commanding officer of the
squadron is Cdr W. W. McCue who
is with the main detachment in
Rota, Spain. Detachment 13 offi-
cer-in-charge is Cdr J. W. Orrill,
who was assigned to VP-21 in
July 1964, and is the squadron’s
executive officer.
In Keflavik Before
This is not the first time VlP-21
has been in Keflavik. In April
1958 the squadron was deployed
here for one month of operational
exercises, followed in March 1960,
for a five-month period. And in
September 1964, it participated in
another exercise at Keflavik.
Commissioned Aug. 1, 1943, as
Patrol Bombing Squadron 111 dur-
ing World War II, VP-21 re-
cently celebrated its 22nd anni-
versary.
“Neptune” Aircraft
The squadron flies the newest
modification of the >P2V “Nep-
tune” aircraft, the “Truculent
Turtle,” which for years held the
world’s-non-stop, non-refuel dis-
ance record by flying from Perth,
Australia to Columbus, Ohio.
A crew of 12, composed of offi-
cers (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and
tactial coordinator) and eight en-
listed men—each a highly skilled
technician, fly the “Neptune.”
The aircraft cruises at 180
knots, has a top speed of 350
knots and has an endurance in
excess of 12 hours flying time.
Although VP-21 has had many
interesting and varied deploy-
ments throughout the world in its
history, one of the highlights of
a deployment to Sigonella, Sicily
included being in a television
documentary entitled “Red Ships
Off Our Shores,” which was
shown in the U.S.
Another event came in May
1963, when the squadron was as-
signed to carry out an important
mission of contingency support for
Astronaut Gordon Cooper during
his orbital flight.
Accident-Free Flying
Last month the squadron re-
ceived a commendation from Com-
mander, Naval Air Force, Atlantic
Fleet VAdm Charles T. Booth,
III, citing its outstanding a-
chievement in completing eight
years of accident-free operation.
Total hours to this time were
73,962.
of the East Greenland Current
from Jan Mayen north to Spits-
bergen. They will be mapping pre-
viously uncharted areas on the
ocean bottom, collecting samples
4’of water, and measuring the flow
of the current in various areas.
The ship crosses the current
along a line of longitude, stopping
at various intervals for what is
called a “station.’ While the ship
is halted, the scientists take sam-
ples of water, record the con-
tour of the ocean bottom, and in
some cases, retrieve samples from
the ocean bottom.
Keeps Ports Free
The operation is expected to
last about four weeks, however,
the mission is on a “not to inter-
fere” basis with the primary job
of the Edisto, which is to keep
the ports in Greenland free of ice.
So at any point the ship could
be called away from the research
work, and get to work as an ice-
breaker, freeing ice-bound harbors.
The Edisto is commanded by
Cdr John L. Wash, who replaced
Cdr Norval E. Nickerson about
a month ago. At the completion
of the operation, the scientists
will depart either at Thule, Green-
land, or at Keflavik.
In This Issue
Veterans Benefits .... pg. 2
AFI Picnic ............ pg. 3
Labor Day Festival .... pg. 3
Akureyri Feature . . pgs. 4-6
Sports ................ pg. 7
Movie Schedule......... pg. 8