The White Falcon - 24.05.2002, Blaðsíða 2

White Falcon
Commander, Iceland Defense Force
Commander, Fleet Air Kcflavik
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 Kcflavik.
PAO - Lt. Steven Mavica
Deputy PAO - FriOJior Kr. Eydal
Editor-in-Chicf - JOl Linda Pcpka
Design, Layout, Staff Journalist -
J02 Stephen Sheedy, J02 Jean Ross
Admin.Asst. Maria Ulfarsdbttir
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Commander in the Spotlight______CFK
As a successful spring comes to a close, the dedi-
cated men and women of Commander Fleet Air
Keflavik (CFK) are looking ahead to a busy summer.
The operational staff, Tactical Support Center,
Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment,
Aviation Supply Detachment, and deployed Patrol
Squadron continue to work together meeting an
aggressive schedule with impressive results. The
effort and commitment each person at CFK demon-
strates in every mission area is inspirational and
makes it a pleasure and honor to serve with the pro-
fessionals here at CFK.
The current Patrol Squadron, the VP-45 “Pelicans”
from Jacksonville, Fla., recently passed the half-way
mark in a very successful six month deployment.
True to form, they have continuously excelled
throughout the deployment. Recently, they’ve partic-
ipated in successful exercises including the French
Submarine (FS) Rubis Target of Opportunity
Exercise (TOOEX), where they successfully prose-
cuted a French sub; VERITAS VIII, a German exer-
cise; and “Operation Geysir Watch” where they
maintained near 24 hour aerial surveillance of the
recent NATO conference. CFK is proud and con-
gratulates all the “Pelicans” on a job well done.
The active duty components are not the only ones
who have been working hard at CFK. Reservists
have also played key roles in our successes. The
“Tridents” from VP-65 in Pt. Mugu, Calif., recently
joined PATRON Keflavik in an annual exercise out of
Kinloss, Scotland and the “Totems” from VP-69 in
Whidbey Island, Wash., are planning to participate in
exercises out of Germany and Denmark. These
reservists bring a special blend of experience and
enthusiasm to Keflavik that is infectious. In return,
they are gaining valuable experience in a new area of
operations and lending a helping hand to PATRON
KEF and CFK. We are happy to have them aboard.
Currently, we are supporting an exercise called
Exercise Bright Eye, which is a NATO directed
Search-and-Rescue Exercise (SAR) designed to exer-
cise military and civilian SAR teams in the Northern
Atlantic. Countries participating are Belgium,
Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the
Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the
U.S. The Tactical Support Center, under the watchful
guidance of Cmdr. (sel) Rob Calhoun and STGCS
Jon Anderson, will plan and launch the flights from
NAS Keflavik in simulated SAR scenarios. These
exercises give us a chance to plan, fly, and coordinate
with not only our NATO partners, but also the pros at
the 85th Group.
Just over the horizon is our big event for the sum-
mer - Keflavik Tactical Exchange (KEFTACEX)
2002. Starting Aug. 23, Maritime Patrol Aircraft,
surface and sub-sur-
face vessels from
the United States
and several other
NATO nations will
start to arrive
aboard NAS
Keflavik to partici-
pate in the largest
two week anti-sub-
marine warfare
(ASW) exercise in
the North Atlantic.
Cmdr. Leo
Desrosiers, Maj.
Gord Gushue, Lt.
Todd Libby, and Lt. Raul Barragan among a host of
others have been hard at work preparing for this event
and we are looking forward to setting it into motion.
There will be participants from nine NATO nations,
including a submarine from the Royal Norwegian
Navy, a frigate from the Royal Danish Navy and one
frigate accompanied by two Destroyers from the U.S.
Navy. An incredible addition to KEFTACEX is the
participation of the Surface Warfare Development
Group (SWDG) who will allow the participants the
opportunity to “exploit and learn as they go” by pro-
viding their almost real-time mission replay.
SWDG will collect data throughout the exercise
and will replay them in a high-tech 3-D digital format
for the participants by the final day of KEFTACEX.
There will be outstanding opportunities for the par-
ticipants to work together, share tactics, practice
joint-interoperability, and exercise perishable ASW
skills. There will be more information about this
event in these pages as the exercise unfolds.
KEFTACEX is not the only event of the summer
for CFK and PATRON KEF. We will also be sup-
porting BALTOPS, Joint Maritime Course (JMC),
and Cooperative Safeguard. BALTOPS is a yearly
Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercise conducted in the
Baltic Sea.
We will have crews, including the reserves, flying
out of NAS Nordholz, Germany, in support of this
exercise. JMC is a United Kingdom exercise out of
Northwood, U.K. It provides training in a multi-threat
environment for naval and air forces for the U.K. and
other NATO forces invited to participate.
Cooperative Safeguard is another PfP exercise that
will take place here in Iceland.
The Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance
Detachment, led by Lt. Cmdr. Allen Crisp and
AVCM Brian Brownell, continues to impress us all.
See Spotlight on page 12
Capt. Michael Morgan
LYTE BYTES
pan
Another perspective
Hfe;
m m
Chaplain M.R. Pope
A young father was spending the day
stacking wood in his woodshed. His four
years old son helped stack the smaller kin-
dling. When the weary father entered his
house at the end of the day, he realized he
needed to light the wood heater. The boy
received permission to bring wood into the
house. Proudly, the little guy pulled his small
red wagon to the woodshed and stopped next
to the kindling within his reach. However,
his father is puzzled as he sees his son stand-
ing by the kindling, staring at the wood, then
staring up into the sky, and scratching the top
of his head.
Bewildered, the father yells out the win-
dow for his son to load the wood into his
wagon and bring it to the house. But his son
continues to stare at the wood, aimlessly
looking up to the sky. By now his dad has
totally lost his patience and temper. He
angrily puts his coat back on, slamming the
door behind him as he storms out of the
house. Yelling as he approaches his son, he
says, “I told you to bring this wood to the
house! I send you to do one thing, one simple
thing! ‘But daddy!’ No buts, young man,
stop playing and put those small pieces of
wood in your wagon, now! ‘But daddy, I
need to.’ No! Put the wood into your wagon
NOW!” Crying inconsolably now, his little
boy cannot speak but manages to point
directly at the kindling on the woodpile. And
then the father sees it. The kindling had been
stacked on wood from the previous season
and there were worms—lots of worms—
crawling on the old wood and onto the kin-
dling. The son could see what his father
could not see. There were worms in their
woodpile!
The moral is a simple one. ALL of us have
acquired “worms in our woodpile” from life.
Some people have acquired more “worms,”
some less. So it behooves us to remember
this when people do not always respond to
our statements/questions, as we believe they
ought. Maybe they respond as they do
because we don’t know them well enough to
appreciate the “worms” in their life that have
shaped their perspective and response.
Though it’s true there is never an excuse for
inappropriate behavior, many misunder-
standings and hurt feelings may be avoided
when we appreciate the life experiences of
others. It also helps us keep proper perspec-
tive when our expectations of others go
unmet. May we keep this point close to mind
and heart in our own personal relationships.
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The White Falcon
May 24, 2002