The White Falcon - 27.07.2001, Blaðsíða 4

New currency poised to become standard
By J02 Jean Ross
A Greek Drachma or a French
Franc could very soon become a
collector’s item. The Euro, the
new European standard curren-
cy, will be implemented in the 12
participating European Union
(EU) countries on Jan. 1, 2002.
The exact date of availability in
Iceland is undetermined.
This change will not greatly
affect service members here,
since Iceland is not an EU mem-
ber, according to Jonathan
Cutress, banking center manager
at Community Bank.
“The impact on American
service members will be mini-
mal. However, it will make life
easier for people going to multi-
ple countries in Europe because
they will only have to carry one
form of currency,” said Cutress.
Countries switching to the
Euro are Austria, Belgium,
Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and
Greece. Those traveling to these
countries can exchange their
money at either the Community
Bank or an Icelandic bank,
Cutress said.
People who have traveled
extensively in Europe see the
standardized money as a wel-
come change.
“Traveling between countries
and changing money can be a
real hassle, plus, you run the risk
of losing money at the bank,”
said BUl(SCW) Gary Washock
of the Public works self- help
department. “Having only one
form of money will make things
The Euro’s design will depict
seven of the European cultural
history periods and will feature
windows, gateways and bridges
to symbolize openness and
cooperation in Europe. Twelve
stars will represent the European
Union, dynamism and harmony.
not mean that all local identity
will be lost. Each country will
mint its own coin with the
national identity on one side and
the Euro design on the other
side. Old notes and coins will be
removed from circulation by
Feb. 28, 2002 at the latest.
a lot easier.”
The standardized currency does
Cole inspects Keflavik facilities
Story and photo by J02 Stephen Sheedy
Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, Rear
Adm. Christopher W. Cole, visited NAS Keflavik
July 23-25. As a region commander, Cole is
responsible for installations that fall into the Mid-
Atlantic, including NAS Keflavik. While on base,
he inspected the facilities and saw how renova-
tions were progressing.
“I wanted to get an update on how things are
going. Obviously, we’re concerned about the gal-
ley and the base is making good progress on that,
though it’s a lot of work. We’re also pushing very
hard to get a new galley and are trying to get its
construction moved up a few years. 1 also looked
at housing, the BEQs and the renovations there
and were happy to see that things there are going
well,” said Cole. “There’s a lot more money
being put into facilities and Keflavik will be a
beneficiary of that.”
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and good prices are what we re known for.
Serving the base since 1985.
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Rescue from page 1
establishing the seriousness of
any medical cases and, if neces-
sary, coordinating with local
hospitals.
Though maintaining the lines
of communication with the
SAR team is a large responsi-
bility, SMCs do more than just
follow the action. “One of the
things we are responsible for is
setting up the search plan,” said
Command Post Operations
Officer and Search and Rescue
Mission Coordinator, Air Force
Capt. Chris Reichardt.
To assist the SMC with for-
mulating a search plan, the
JRCC uses a computer program
called C2PC. “If a boat loses
communications at a certain
location, we are able to input
known data and the computer
will compute the current, wind
and leeway. It will then figure
out where the target has drifted
so we can create a search plan
for the rescue team,” said
Reichardt.
The JRCC is also responsible
for obtaining a flight surgeon
and translator if they are need-
ed for the rescue effort.
During a rescue operation,
the JRCC must keep the chain
of command informed of
what’s going on. “There’s a lot
of information that passes
through here. We are constantly
giving status reports to keep
people updated. There’s mas-
sive amounts of communica-
tion being exchanged between
the ten or so people in here so
everything can flow and go
without a hitch,” said Tech. Sgt.
Keith Lyons, a MOC temporar-
ily deployed to 85th Group.
Although rescue operations
generally occur less than four
times a year, the JRCC is con-
stantly preparing for them. “We
train, train and train. Every
month we do scenario training,
monthly general knowledge
testing and emergency action
testing. The controllers con-
stantly review our checklist and
procedures. It is not a memory
exercise; we’ve got the check-
list to guide us through what
we’re supposed to do,” said
Kuzia.
Although nobody wants to
be involved in a situation where
people might be injured, the
men and women of the JRCC
are proud that their job is help-
ing other people.
“A SAR mission is certainly
nothing we look forward to, but
it is satisfying to know we’re
able to see the thing come
together and be able to say that
we help to save people’s lives,”
said Reichardt.
Page 4
The White Falcon
July 27, 2001