The White Falcon - 02.06.1967, Blaðsíða 1

White Falcon Photo by George Cates
AWARD CEREMONY—Thorgrimur J. Halldorsson, resident electro-
nic engineer received a Navy Sustained Superior Performance Award
and check from Captain O. D. Tiderman, commanding officer, Naval
Communication Station, Keflavik during a ceremony held last week.
LCDR CL Rice
Now Heads FWF
THE WHITE
U. S. NAVAL STATION, KEFLAVIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ICELAND
Volume VIII, Number 22 Friday, June 2, 1967
Electronic Engineer
Earns Award & Check
In change of command cere-
monies held last Wednesday,
Lieutenant Commander Gary L.
Rice, relieved Commander Char-
les R. Hall as Officer in Charge,
U.S. Fleet Weather Facility,
Keflavik. The ceremony was held
in Hangar 831 with military
leaders and civilian guests at-
tending.
Commander Hall leaves for new
duties as Assistant Director for
Manpower, personnel and training
at the headquarters office of U.S.
Naval Weather Service, Washing-
ton, D. C.
Commander Rice was born
in Portland, Maine and is a
graduate of the Maritime Aca-
demy. He was appointed En-
sign, USNR and is a holder of
a Third Assistant Engineer’s Li-
cense and a B. S. Degree. Prior to
active duty, he was employed as
a Third Assistant Engineer
aboard an American Export
Lines ship and a design engineer
at Western Electric.
The new FWF officer in
charge attended the U. S. Naval
Postgraduate School (1958) and
graduated with a B. S. in Mete-
orology in 1960. His first assign-
ment after graduation was the
U. S. Fleet Weather Facility, Ar-
gentia, Newfoundland.
In February 1962, Comman-
der Rice reported to the Com-
mandant Fourth Naval Dis-
trict, as Prospective Meteorologist
of the amphibious assault carrier
USS Okinawa. Prior to the ship’s
commissioning in April 1962, he
served as administrative, person-
nel and public information offi-
cer for the ship at the Philadel-
phia Naval Shipyard. In 1963 he
was selected for Aeronautical En-
gineering Duty (Meteorology).
In May 1964, Commander
Rice reported to the U. S.
Fleet Weather Center, Suitland,
Md. Initial duties there included
special projects, hurricane and
assistant computer systems offi-
cer. In June 1964, he attended a
computer course at Control Data
LCDR Gary L. Rice
Corporation. In September 1965,
he became computer systems of-
ficer and was project officer for
the installation of the East
Coast Tieline of the Naval En-
vironmental Data Network ex-
tending from Brunswick, Maine
to Key West, Fla. He reported to
Fleet Weather Facility, Keflavik
in September of last year and was
Assistant Officer in Charge.
Commander Rice became a stu-
dent member of the American
Meteorological Society in 1959
and a professional member in
1963.
An official resident of Scar-
boro, Maine, the commander
is married to the former
Ernestine Marie Selberg, also of
Scarboro. They have two children;
Gregory, 11, and Deborah, 9.
Thorgrimur J. Halldorsson,
resident electronic engineer with
Naval Communication Station,
Keflavik was presented a sus-
tained superior performance
award last week. Accompanying
the award was a letter and check
for 4,500 Kronur ($104.77).
The letter signed by Captain
Emile E. Pierre, commander,
Naval Forces Iceland along with
the check was presented Halldors-
son in a ceremony by Captain O.
D. Tiderman, commander, Naval
Communication Station, Kefla-
vik.
The Navy’s civilian sustained
superior performance award is
given in recognition of superior
performance, particularly in the
areas of quality and adaptability.
Halldorsson’s job consists of
applying his knowledge of electro-
nic engineering techniques and
practices, handbooks, guides,
maintenance manuals, installa-
tion prints, and other sources of
electronic and technical informa-
tion for the operation of the sta-
tion facilities and those at the
remote site areas on the island.
As Resident Electronic Engineer,
Halldorsson maintains working
relationships and contacts with
all officers on the NATO base,
representatives of public works,
construction contractors and pri-
vate industry.
A man constantly on the move,
the Icelandic provides on the site
supervision and guidance and in-
spection of repair and mainten-
ance, installation and operation of
electronic equipment. Too, he pre-
pares reports and statistics as re-
quired when not holding training
classes for newly arrived per-
sonnel at NavCommSta.
Halldorsson, from Hafnarfjordur,
often referred to as “historian”
of the NATO base here, was first
employed in 1952 at the Army
and Air Force Exchange where
the present Alfred T. Mahan
High School is located. It then was
a small community center housing
the commissary store, bowling al-
ley, movie theater and retail
stores. One of two male em-
ployees, the Icelandic worked in
all areas, from that of a ware-
houseman to waiting on custo-
mers. He later became manager
of the branch store located at the
contractor’s camp in the Seaweed
area where the present CPO Club
is now located. He worked with
the exchange until 1953 when his
attention was focused toward the
field of electronics.
During December of that year,
Halldorsson left Iceland to at-
tend an 18 month course in elec-
tronic engineering at the Aero-
nautical Center in Oklahoma City.
With diploma in hand he returned
to his native island accepting a
position with the 1971st Air
Force Communication Squadron
that later became Naval Commu-
nication Station, Keflavik in 1961
when the Navy relieved the Air
Force of duties here.
In 1958 it was back to school
again for Halldorsson, this time
to Scott AFB, Ill. and a six month
microwave course, an advanced
course dealing with changes
within the field of electronics and
equipment. In 1964 he attended a
two month course at Keesler
AFB, Miss., also on advance com-
57th FIS
Exhibited
Know How
The heads of NATO base per-
sonnel here were turned skyward
on Thursday and Friday, two
weeks ago, as the roar of after-
burners and the scream of jet
planes filled the air. What may
have sounded to many like a full
scale war, was actually a full
scale simulated war for the air-
planes and men of the 57th Figh-
ter Interceptor Squadron “Black
Knights.”
The two-day exercise was part
of a Tactical Evaluation of the
unit conducted by the First Air
Force “Tac Eval” team from
Stewart AFB New York. Headed
by Lieutenant Colonel Dave Lea-
vitt, the 26 man team arrived
Monday, May 15.
After several days of prelimi-
nary briefings and inspections,
phase I of the “big show” got un-
der way early on the morning of
the 18th. Primary purpose of this
phase of the evaluation was to
test the ability of the two radar
sites, located at Rockville, H-l and
H-3, to detect simulated un-
known or enemy aircraft. These
included both locally generated
targets and others which were
launched from Sondestrom AB,
Greenland.
The “hostile” aircraft were de-
tected and tracked as quickly as
possible by the radar controllers
at these sites and the sleek, super-
sonic F-102 interceptors of the
57th FIS were scrambled from
Keflavik. The radar men success-
fully vectored the fighters to the
“enemy” and ran simulated at-
tacks on the target aircraft to
destroy or neutralize them.
In phase II of the evaluation,
which was completed on Friday,
May 19, the spotlight shifted to
the men and machinery of the
57th FIS, Black Knights. In a
rugged test of the pilots and
ground support troops, and their
weapons systems under simulated
combat conditions, the 57th ex-
ceeded the minimum standards of
performance in every facet of its
operation. The critically impor-
tant areas of maintenance, opera-
tions, and intercept success were
all rated outstanding.
Overall the Black Knights,
who just recently received the
Air Force Outstanding Unit
Award, earned a record score
during the evaluation and recei-
ved an overall rating of outstan-
ding. Especially noteworthy was
the fact that during Fridays ex-
ercise, pilots of the 57th made
four actual active air intercepts
of unknown aircraft which pene-
trated the Iceland ADIZ, Air De-
fense Identification Zone.
T~
munication equipment changes,
that according to the engineer,
“is always changing and in my
job one must be aware of these
changes.”
White Falcon Photo by George Cates
FLORIDA BOUND—Barbara Norton, wife of Petty Officer Second
Class Clinton Norton, (right) accepts a roundtrip plane ticket from
Chief Petty Officer George E. Johnson of Naval Communication Station,
Keflavik. Barbara, adopted when she was very young, learned recently
that she had two other sisters and it was through generous donations
by the personnel of NavCommSta and the sites that made it possible
for her to leave by Pan American jet last night for the reunion with
her sisters at Rivera Beach, Fla.