The White Falcon


The White Falcon - 30.07.1965, Page 1

The White Falcon - 30.07.1965, Page 1
Capt Ruth A. Erickson, USN Capt Erickson Tours Kef lav ik Naval Station Capt. Ruth A. Erickson, U. S. Navy Nurse Corps director, ar- rived at Reykjavik Tuesday even- ing to visit Keflavik for a two day tour of the base and the Sta- tion Hospital. Prior to Captain Erickson’s ar- rival, she had attended the Inter- national Congress of Nurses in Frankfurt, Germany in June. Since then, she has been visiting European bases where Navy nur- ses are stationed. Leaves Friday Upon completion of her visit at Keflavik, Captain Erickson is scheduled to leave Friday for Argentia, Newfoundland. From there she will return to her office in Washington, D. C.. arriving on or about Aug. 2. The captain was appointed to the four-year position as the di- rector of the Navy Nurse Corps on April 30, 1962. She began her career in the U. S. Navy Nurse Corps, July 27, 1936 and attained the rank of captain Jan. 1, 1960. Witnesses Start Of WW II Captain Erickson has had varied tours of duty throughout the world but perhaps the most me- morable was when she was as- signed to U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from 1940 (Continued on Page A-) Warrant Test Given Nov. 15 The 13th of August marks the deadline for application for the Warrant Officer Program. All applications must be in the Edu- cation and Training Office by that date in order to take the Officer Selection Battery Exa- mination Nov. 15. Basic eligibility requirements are: be between the ages of 23 and 39, meet physical qualifica- tions and be E-7 or above, or an E-6 who has gone up for E-7. Selectees will be appointed to the U. S. Naval Officer Candidate School at Newport R. I., or in the case of aviation categories, at U. S. Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Fla. All selectees will be required to serve at least three years as a Warrant Officer. Any further information about the Warrant Officer or other programs may be obtained by cal- ling the Education and Training Office at Ext. 5139 or 5238. Regular Issue To Start Because the White Falcon’s printers are on their annual vacation, the White Falcon will continue to alternate with the Falcon Flyer. Next Friday, the Falcon Flyer will be distributed. Starting Aug 13 the White Falcon is scheduled to resume its regular six to ten page edi- tions. AFWL's Eighth Ranked Sea Service Newspaper - 1964 THE WHITE DR U.S. NAVAL STATION, KEFLAVIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ICELAND Volume IV, Number 28 Friday, July 30, 1965 International Air Safety Project Earns FAA Medal For Icelander Ingo Bjarmundsson, Icelandic electronics engineer, received the Federal Aviation Agency’s dis- tinguished service medal in cere- monies held July 1 at FAA head- quarters in Washington D. C. Bjargmundsson received the award from FAA’s deputy admini- strator, Lt.Gen. Harold W. Grant, for his outstanding contributions to international air safety over the North Atlantic. Outstanding Service The citation accompanying the medal lauded Bjargmundsson’s service since 1959 in carrying out an Icelandic air safety program jointly sponsored by the FAA, U. S. Air Force, and the Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration. He was cited for his “extreme dedication and outstanding engin- eering capability which immeasur- ably improved the safety of all aircraft and passengers flying the North Atlantic routes . . . ”. Modernized Air Traffic Control Bjargmundsson served as pro- ject engineer for the program. He kept installation moving at full speed despite substantial hardships. For three years he spent more than 90 per cent of his time away from his home in Northern Iceland, working in all parts of the country. He designed and installed the first air route traffic control center in Reykjavik and extended its modern communications capa- bility to all of Iceland and its approaches. “Saves” U. S. Plane In addition, this electronics en- gineer supervised the installation of the first instrument landing system in Iceland and first short range air navigation aid as well as microwave radio link equipment and radar. One dividend of the program, for which Bjargmundsson is lar- gely responsible, is a recent “save” of a U. S. Navy C-47 plane. The aircraft had become lost in the vicinity of Iceland because of its malfunctioning radio navigation equipment. Communications equip- ment installed under the air safety program enabled a Reykjavik air traffic controller to guide the air- craft to a safe landing. 6 Plane Captain Of The Month’ Selected For Top Performance Joseph R. Barker, ADR3, was selected as plane captain of the month of July from the Operations Maintenance Division. He, along with the seven other plane cap- tains of the station aircraft, is responsible for seeing that his plane is ready for flight, main- tenance-wise, as much of the time as possible. Barker is a C-47 plane captain and his aircraft, Navy 150-190, was available for flight in an “up” status for a higher percen- tage of time than any of the other station aircraft. The computation of this percentage takes into con- sideration aircraft type and utiliz- ation along with availability for emergency search and rescue mis- sions. He has been stationed at Naval Station, Keflavik, since February 1964 and has been in the Opera- tions Maintenance Division for the entire time. His spare time ac- tivities include movie-going, bow- ling and other types of sports. For winning this award, Barker will receive a plane captain of the month certificate and a place on the crew of the C-54 for a trip to Rhein Main, Germany. Barker hails from Truman, Ark., where his father, mother and three sisters reside. Kef Sailors Earn Ratings Thirteen sailors from the Naval Station who competed in fleetwide examinations last February were advanced in rate July 16. There were nine men advanced to P03, two to P02 and two to POl. In a special ceremony held in the commanding officer’s office, Capt Emile E. Pierre awarded the men certificates of advancement. Those men receiving certificates were: Bird, E. B., LI3 Brackin, C. W„ PN3 Cunanan, G. P., SD3 Dawson, J. A., ATN3 (Continued on page A.) IDF Teamwork Does The Job Education and training advice is what James R. Compton, SN, deals in. Compton works at the Education and Training office and handles such duties as Officer programs, school requests, War- rant Officer programs and change in rates. The 20-year-old seaman makes his home in Modesto, Calif. He has been stationed at Keflavik for seven months. If it’s a haircut one wants, one of the friendly base barbers like Mr. Sigurdur Agustsson will be happy to please the customer. A barber at Keflavik since 1953, he makes his home in Reykjavik with his wife, Gudborg; three daugh- ters: Thorun, Gudrun, Sigrun, and two sons: Torfi and Krist- mann. On his way to cover a photo job is Les G. Chambers, PHAN. The 22-year-old sailor works at the Naval Station’s photo lab and takes pictures, develops photos, and also makes photostats and transparencies. Chambers, who completed one year at Keflavik last week, makes his home in Lafayette, Ind. SPACEMAN LECTURES AFI — Capt. Charles A. Bassett, USAF, who was one of the Astronauts to visit Iceland, addresses the officers of Air Forces Iceland at a formal Dining-In held recently at the Of- ficers Club. — (Photo by AIC W. R. Keener, USAF) Col. Alan Long Confers Medal To SSgt. Koch SSgt. Douglas A. Koch received the Air Force Commendation Medal from Col. Alan G. Long, Air Forces Iceland commander, in ceremonies held at the 667th Air- craft Control and Warning Squad- ron (AC&W) at H-3 Site. SSgt. Koch distinguished himself by meritorious service as NCO-in- charge of the Quality Assurance Section, Accounts Control Branch, Accounting and Finance Division, 818th Combat Support Group, 818th Strategic Aerospace Divi- sion, Lincoln Air Force Base, Neb., from Oct. 16, 1961 to April 17, 1965. During this period, he consist- ently displayed superior profes- sional skill, leadership and initia- tive in the performance of his duty. Sergeant Koch’s present duty at H-3 since arriving in Iceland last April is as the general ac- counting specialist for the 667th AC&W Squadron. Sergeant Koch makes his home in Iowa City with his wife, Sharon Kay, and three children; Jeffrey, James and Christine. Bible School Sets Date For Parade Tomorrow morning a Vacation Bible School (VBS) parade will be held. All children, ages three through junior high school age, are urged to attend. The parade will form on the field near the Viking Vista (across from the High School) at 10:30. Those wishing to take part may walk or ride bicycles except for pre-school children, who will ride in cars. The Naval Station Band will be on hand to march in the parade and will provide musical enter- tainment. All children are urged to decorate their bicycles and dress up as biblical characters. Registration for VBS will be held immediately after the parade at the High School. Vacation Bible School will start on Monday, Aug. 2. The School will be held at the High School from 9 until 11:30 each weekday morning for two weeks. Senior High School students who would like to take part may attend a class being held for older children or be a teacher’s assistant. Bus transportation will be pro- vided for those pupils who live off-base. The bus schedule will be as follows. Depart the VIK restaurant 8:30 Depart Keflavik bus station 8:35 Arrive VIK ............... 8:40 Arrive Njardvik .......... 8:45 Arrive at High School .... 8:55

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