The White Falcon - 14.01.2004, Side 1

Vol. 63 No. 2 onlineatwww.nctskef.navy.mil January 14, 2004
Loki Warriors gain new aerial perspective
Story and Photo by J02(SW/AW) Mat Sohl
Last week Airmen from the 932nc* Air Support Squadron
(ACS) stepped aboard a NATO AWACS (Airborne Warning and
Control System) aircraft to meet their airborne partners in
Icelandic air-space defense.
The AWACS and her multi-national crew arrived here early
last week to participate in combined training exercises with U.S.
Air Force and Navy components here.
Last Thursday, the AWACS crew invited members from the
932nc^ ACS to come aboard their aircraft to visualize how the
two platforms work together.
“This is a great opportunity for our young airmen, ” said U.S.
Air Force Maj. Chris Weldon, from 932n^ ACS. “It gives them
a chance to see who they’re talking with.”
Weldon, who has served aboard AWACS aircraft in the past,
claims that the components aboard the aircraft essentially mirror
those on the ground at the 932n4
“Both are structured the same and have the same capabilities,”
said Weldon. “Here (onboard the AWACS) the advantage is you
can take the radar and raise it 35,000 feet in the air.”
During the tour, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Marc Bablon, who
worked in weapons control, talked to 932n^ Airmen who shared
the same career field, about the benefits of working in the
AWACS.
“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” said the 18-year Air Force
vet. “It’s very challenging and rewarding. When you start doing
operational missions, getting into large-scale deployments, it’s a
whole different animal. We cover the areas you guys can’t see.
From up here we can fill in the holes.”
Following the tour of the aircraft, members of the NATO crew
prepared the plane for take off. During the training mission that
followed the AWACS crew worked hand-in-hand with the 932nc*
ACS to accomplish various training goals.
“The whole focus of these missions is on interoperability,”
said U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael Gains, a crewmember aboard
the AWACS. “Today we’re going to focus on controlling the
fighters and interacting with Loki.”
Throughout the Cold War, an AWACS crew maintained a per-
manent presence here at NASKEF. Since then, various NATO
AWACS crews deploy to Iceland three to four times per year to
continue training.
“We’re here to maintain air space control of Iceland,” said
Weldon. “To do that we need to maintain our coordination.”
The AWACS crew, which is comprised of Airmen from
Germany, the United States, Norway, Holland, Turkey, and
Canada, deploys globally throughout the year. However, the
environment here in Iceland offers the crew some unique train-
ing opportunities.
“We really enjoy working with the guys on the ground here in
Iceland,” said Gains. “When we come up here we have the
opportunity to work with both the U.S. Navy and Air Force. We
don’t commonly get that while training within Europe.”
Following this deployment the NATO AWACS crew is sched-
uled to head to the United States to participate in an upcoming
Composite Unit Training Exercise .
For more information pertaining to the NATO AWACS and its
mission visit: http://www.e3a.nato.int/mhome.htm.
A NATO crewmember climbs aboard his Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS)
aircraft prior to a training mission, Thursday, Jan. 8. The AWACS aircraft deployed to
Iceland for one week to drill with the 932nd Air Control Squadron.
Service outside of the box
By J02 Travis D. Eisele
The beginning of a new year is often a time
to reflect on the accomplishments of the pre-
vious year and is also a time to set goals for
the coming year. Here at NAS Keflavik, sev-
eral customer oriented agencies have complet-
ed their year-end reviews and provide the
following glimpse of the coming year.
The Commissary was a big
winner in 2003. Garnering many
awards for their efforts, including
the Defense Commissary Agency’s Best
Overseas Small Store outside of the
U.S. Award, 41'1 Annual Produce
Merchandising Contest Award for
the small store category, and gro-
cery manager Robert Kristjansson
received the DECA Equal
Employment Opportunity Leader of
the Year Award.
Jim Marino the director of the Commissary
here, said that although winning awards is
great, striving to provide quality service for
their customers is much more important.
“We really worked hard all year long to
ensure that we were providing a quality prod-
uct to our customers,” said Marino. “Winning
the awards is great, but if you aren’t support-
ing your customers, then in my eyes you aren’-t
doing a good job. Our number one goal has
been to always provide the best quality prod-
---------------- Services, pg. 14