The White Falcon - 29.03.2002, Page 2

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Commander, Iceland Defense Force
Commander, Fleet Air Keflavik
Rear Adm. John J. Waickwicz
The White Falcon is produced by the
Iceland Defense Force staff. The editorial
content of this newspaper is prepared, edit-
ed and provided by the public affairs office
of IDF. Photo processing is provided by
Commander, Fleet Air Keflavik.
PAO - Lt. Steven Mavica
Deputy PAO - FriQjDor Kr. Eydal
Editor-in-Chief - JOl Linda Pepka
Design, Layout, Staff Journalist -
J02 Stephen Sheedy, J02 Jean Ross
Admin.Asst. Maria Ulfarsdottir
The White Falcon is an authorized publi-
cation for members of the military services
and their families stationed at NAS
Keflavik. Its contents do not necessarily
reflect the official views of the U.S.
Government, the Department of Defense,
the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the
U.S. Army or the U.S. Air Force and do not
imply endorsement thereof.
The appearance of advertising in this news-
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does not constitute endorsement by the
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Corps, Army or Air Force, Commander
Iceland Defense Force or Vikurfrettir of the
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from that source until the violation is cor-
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The White Falcon is published by
Vikurfrettir, a private publisher, in no way
connected with the Department of Defense,
the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, the
U.S. Army or the U.S. Air Force, under
exclusive contract with the U.S. Navy.
Questions or comments can be directed to
the public affairs officer or the editor. The
White Falcon staff can be reached by call-
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pao@idfcfk.navy.mil or stopping by Bldg.
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reserves the right to edit all submissions,
The White Falcon is published every
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Commander in the Spotlight
As the days get longer and the weather gets
warmer, the Icelandic construction season starts to
heat up as well. This summer is no exception with
a number of projects planned to enhance the
Quality of Service for NAS Keflavik military and
civilian personnel.
The aggressive Housing and Billeting renovation
programs will continue in earnest this summer with
many large projects. The renovations of housing
buildings 669, 672, 930 and 931 are in progress
with contract awards for buildings 602-607, 614-
618, 627-630, and 926-929 planned for later this
year. Additionally, four new picnic areas will fur-
ther enhance the housing areas. On the billeting
side, the renovations of buildings 634 and 635 will
be progressing this summer with the award of
building 637 later this year. These projects will
continue to dramatically improve the living quarters
of both single and accompanied service members.
The most significant new construction in recent
memory here at NAS Keflavik is not set to begin
until 2003, but design is already well under way for
a new $14 million galley. The new galley will be a
fantastic improvement in appearance and function-
ality and a real centerpiece for the base. The con-
struction of an addition to the Human Resources
Building is planned to begin this summer, providing
much-needed additional facility capability for this
important operation.
Airfield pavements are always a part of our sum-
mer construction program and this summer will be
no different. The numerous freeze thaw cycles we
see in Iceland coupled with aggressive snow
removal operations create a constant need for air-
field pavement maintenance. In addition to the nor-
mal spot repairs around the airfield, Runway 11 -29
will be receiving a complete asphalt overlay the
summer. This extensive project will close this run-
way for most of the summer but is absolutely nec-
essary in order to keep the airfield safe and opera-
tional.
The harsh Icelandic winter takes a toll on our
facilities, particularly exterior siding and roofs, so
exterior maintenance is always a staple of the sum-
mer construction season. We have seen the dramat-
ic improvements with the new siding and entryway
at Andrews Theater. Projects to re-skin the Three
Flags Club and Navy Campus Building are current-
ly in progress and will bring similar improvements.
Repairs to the exterior of the main Supply Building
are also planned to begin this summer. A weather
tight roof over our heads is important to us all and
major roofing projects at the NEX and the bowling
alley this summer will help accomplish just that.
We have all experienced the frustration of electri-
cal power outages, and NAS Keflavik is working to
improve this situation. Much of our electrical dis-
tribution system is over 40 years old. The talented
Seabees and civilians from the PWD Power Line
NAS Public Works
Cmdr. John Edwards
Shop dedicate many hours to maintaining this sys-
tem, but there are limits to what can be done with
electrical infrastructure. An extensive renovation
project for the station electrical distribution system
will continue this summer. This project will pay
huge dividends in the future by dramatically reduc-
ing the number of power outages, positively impact-
ing mission effectiveness and quality of service for
all personnel who live and work at NAS Keflavik.
In addition to these more visible projects execut-
ed primarily by contractors, the hardworking
Seabees and Icelandic civilians in the Public
Works’ Shops will be executing thousands of other
less visible but no less important projects to keep
our facilities in good condition. Some of the larger
Shops’ projects include the renovation of office
spaces in the main Supply building and the installa-
tion of all new kitchenette units in Billeting build-
ing 639.
Keeping our facilities in top condition requires a
significant effort in identifying requirements, plan-
ning, estimating, budgeting, designing, and execut-
ing projects to meet our goals. The efforts of the
Public Works and Resident Officer in Charge of
Construction team in cooperation with many other
departments and commands around the base have
been responsible for some dramatic improvements
in facility conditions with plans for similar
enhancements in the future.
LYTE BYTES

Hope for Everyone
UK
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All of us can use a word of hope once in
awhile because we’ve all experienced sorrow
or hardship. If we haven’t, well, we will. It’s
not a matter of if hard times will strike. It’s a
matter of when. Some among us at NAS
Keflavik are hurting now. Easter is a message
of hope. It challenges our worst fears and
counters our most difficult hardship.
Whether we’re Christian or not we can look
to Jesus to see someone who was betrayed,
abandoned and denied by some of his best
friends. He was falsely accused, wrongly
tried, savagely beaten, sadistically executed,
died and buried. We sometimes think we’ve
got it tough. But Jesus faced our worst fears
and suffered the bitterest human torment. But
Easter tells a story that doesn’t end in despair
or defeat. Easter is a celebration of light shin-
ing in a dark place. A power greater than our
worst hardship burst into the world to dispel
all that assails us and sets us free. The tomb
is empty. Christ is risen!
Easter is the key that opens the lock of all
our troubles. The Easter bunny has nothing
on the reality of faith believing that no mat-
ter what trials we face there’s hope. It’s a light
shining in a dark place, whether it is a broken
relationship, loneliness, struggling to make
ends meet or feeling the pressures of work
and home. Easter tells the story of how the
underdog wins and takes the prize. The com-
mentators of Jesus’ day said he’d louse. The
officials called him out. But the game isn’t
over. On Easter Sunday Jesus claims victory
over all that would defeat us. Like a player on
our favorite sports team we stand beside him
to share the victory. In such victory we may
feel the knocks and bruises of the game, like
the pain of loneliness or trials of life, but we
stand victories over them.
The message of Easter is for all declaring
victory over our every hardship and sorrow.
Happy Easter!
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The White Falcon
March 29, 2002