The White Falcon - 27.11.1954, Blaðsíða 1

TFK Airs Big Game
Radio station TFK, the
local AFRS outlet, will carry
the traditional Army—Navy
football classic direct from
Municipal Stadium in Phila-
delphia this afternoon—
^weather permitting.
The broadcast is scheduled
for 1715 hours Iceland Stand-
ard Time with the kickoff
slated for 1730 hours.
Vol. IV.—No. 25
HQ. IDF, KEFLAVIK AIRPORT, ICELAND Saturday, Nov. 21, 1954
Music For Icelanders
Defense Force’s 519th Air Force Band led by Bandmaster
Warrant Officer Junion Grade Patrick F. Veltre (right) will make its
first public appearance in Reykjavik tomorrow evening, November 28,
at the Austurbaejarbio Cinema Hall. On December 6 the 519th AF
Band will give a concert at the National Theatre in Reykjavik. Soloists
for the band’s appearance at the National Theatre will be A/1C Neil
Humfeld, trombonist and Pfc John Peck Jr, baritone.
Defence Force Band
To Play in Beykjavik
The Iceland Defense Force’s 519th Air Force Band will
make its first public appearance in Reykjavik this Sunday
evening November 28, at the Austurbaejarbio Cinema Hall.
Following the engagement
classics, marches, ballads and folk
songs.
It is hoped that a substantial
sum will be raised in connection
with the Band’s Reykjavik play-
ings in order to help defray
costs of a badly needed addition
to the local Children’s Hospital.
Bandmaster of the Iceland De-
fense Force’s 519th Air Force
Band is Warrant Officer Junior
Grade Patrick F. Veltre. Soloists
for the Band’s concert at the
National Theatre will be A/1C
Neil Humfeld, trombonist and
Army Pfc John Peck Jr, baritone.
in
the Cinema Hall, the 519 Air
Force Band will play a perfor-
mance in Reykjavik’s famed
National Theatre, an evening
concert on December 6.
The Band’s appearances in
Reykjavik are being sponsored
by Kvenfelagid Hringurinn (Lad-
ies Association, the “Ring”), a
Committee of the Children’s
Hospital Fund.
The invitation for the Band to
play the three engagements in
Reykjavik was extended to Brig-
adier General Donald R. Hutchin-
son, USAF, Commander of the
Iceland Defense Force, by the
Committee of the Children’s Hos-
i^^Fund, whose chairman is Mrs
^^■lis Asgeirsdottir.
^*The musicians in blue proved
^^smash hit last summer when
^Biy made their debut in Ice-
BKul by traveling to Akureyri,
^Wcond largest city in the coun-
try, to play for a dance and jazz
concert.
For their first appearance in
Iceland’s capital this Sunday
night, the versatile U.S. Air Force
musical aggregation will play a
late evening jazz-concert per-
formance for the young people at
the Cinema Hall.
During their performance at
the National Theatre, the Band
will present light popular semi-
t Newsmen Visit
| Keflavik
American and European
ews correspondents visiting
he Iceland Defense Force
ecently have included: —
Joseph Fromm, U.S. News
and World Report; Ansel Tal-
bert, New York Herald Tri-
bune; Mario Costa, France’s
Dimanche; Henk Van Maurik,
The Netherlands Zuidoost-
Pers. and Ralph Hewins,
London Daily Express.
Keflavik Has Role in
NATO’s ‘High Flight’
“High Flight” is the magic phrase that signals Iceland
Defense Force organizations into accelerated action in an
operation vital to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s
defense system.
^ Used as the code name for the
mass movement of single engine
aircraft over the North Atlantic,
“High Flight” means that every
pan must do his assigned job at
Reserve Slots
Given Airmen
On Discharge
Airmen will get specific
Reserve assignments on re-
lease from active duty under
a new policy approved by
USAF to begin in January
1955.
The new plan outlines selec-
tive assignment for obligated
Reservists to vacancies in Reserve
combat and flying training wings.
Any airman who acquired mili-
tary status since June 20, 1951,
has a service obligation of eight
years. He must serve four years
on active duty and maintain an
active Reserve status for four
years. Approximately 140,000 air-
men presently on active duty
will he eligible for Reserve status
in 1955.
The Reserve obligation has not
been enforced in the past. How-
ever, those who voluntarily join
a training unit are paid for their
duty while reducing their service
obligation.
Under the new plan an air-
man may still choose voluntary
participation. Then he is removed
from the selective assignment
'roster.
The plan does not include
Reserve officer assignments.
Iceland’s Newsmen
See IDF Operations
Sixteen newsmen representing daily and weekly news-
papers in Reykjavik visited Keflavik Airport last Tuesday
for a first-hand look at the operations of the Iceland Defense
Force.
Mr Bjarni Gudmundsson, press
attache for the Republic of Ice-
land, headed the group of visitors
on the first large scale press tour
ever conducted by IDF.
During the five-hour visit, the
score of news media representa-
tives heard a welcome address
from Brig Gen Donald R. Hutch-
inson, USAF, Commander Ice-
land Defense Force; received a
briefing by four IDF staff offi-
cers; toured the Airport; ate
lunch in Army Meeks Mess and
witnessed a fast-moving Army
weapons demonstration.
Briefing officers from Hqs IDF
included: Lt Col Charles Cantrell,
USA, Ass’t C/S Operations; Lt
Col James Harper, USA, Ass’t
C/S Plans; CDR M. J. Mulderrig,
USN, Chief NATO Plans and Lt
Col Roswell Crozier, USAF, Ass’t
C/S Logistics.
General Hutchinson; Col Paul
G. Hollister, USA, Chief of Staff,
Hqs IDF; Captain Charles Per-
kins, USN, Commander Naval
Forces Iceland and Col J. C.
Bailey, USAF, Commander Ice-
land Air Defense Force, conducted
a press conference following the
briefing.
During the tour of the base,
which was supervised by Lt Col
James Harper, USA, the news-
men saw among other things a
“scramble” by alert crews of the
57th Fighter-Interceptor Sqdn
using F-89 “Scorpions.”
For lunch the visitors were
guests of Col John F. Reed, USA,
Commander Army Component,
IDF, in Army Meeks Mess. Follow-
ing lunch the 99th Battalion, of
the 74th RCT, headed by Lt Cal
T. C, McGuire, presented a de-
monstration of all types of wea-
pons employed by the hard-hitting
ground forces in Iceland, ranging
from a AValker tank to a pistol.
the proper time to get these sleek,
fast planes safely across the ex-
panses of water separating Kefla-
vik Airport from Greenland and
Scotland.
Strategically located astride
the Great Circle flight route
between North America and
Europe, this Military Air Trans-
port Service base is a strong
pillar in the aerial bridge over
which planes for the NATO
countries are flown. Available
here are the necessary facilities
for servicing the aircraft and car-
ing for the pilots.
During a “High Flight” opera-
tion, some base organizations per-
form what many would consider
only intensified routine duties;
while, to others, “High Flight”
has a special significance. For the
most part, these routine jobs are
taken in stride. Even so, they are
much needed for the complete suc-
cess of the mission.
The real test of strength is
for the officers and airmen as-
signed to the 1400th Operations
Sqdn; to Detachment 25, 5th
Weather Group; to the 1971st
Airways and Air Communications
Service Sqdn; to the 53rd Air
Rescue Sqdn; and to the 57th
Fighter-Interceptor Sqdn. These
are the men who furnish “High
Flight” pilots with the margin
of safety that has made this
movement of aircraft so suc-
cessful.
Proving that close-coupled co-
peration by these units is of vast
importance to “High Flight"
operations are the records set by
Keflavik Airport. Recently more
than 150 North American F-86
Sabre jets and Lockheed F-94s
were cleared off Keflavik Airport
(Continued in Col 5, Page i).
NATO Official
Pays IDF Visit
Air Vice Marshal R. L. Ragg,
RAF, NATO Air Commander of the
Northern Sub-Area, Allied Com-
mand, Atlantic, with headquarters
at Pitreavie, Scotland, visited
Keflavik Airport on November 15,
to observe the training of the Ice-
land Defense Force.
Brigadier General Donald R.
Hutchinson, Commander of the
Iceland Defense Force, headed a
group of key IDF officials on
hand to greet the Air Vice Marshal
upon his arrival at the Terminal.
In the organizational set-up of
NATO, Air Vice Marshal Ragg,
whose rank carries two stars in
the U.S. Armed Forces, is the
immediate senior of Brig Gen
Hutchinson and his NATO Mar-
time air units based at Keflavik
Airport.
Holiday Turkey
Featured Here
At All Messes
Military personnel at Keflavik
Airport enjoyed a bountiful
Thanksgiving Day dinner this past
week when the Air Force and
Army mess went all-out for the
holiday feast.
As soldiers, sailors and airmen
passed down the chow line they
saw a wide variety of food before
them, including the traditional
Thanksgiving Day turkey and
dressing. Chicken broth with
noodles and shrimp cocktail was
there to start the meal off. In
addition to the turkey and dress-
ing there was a plentifuly supply
of baked Virginia ham with
Hawaiian sauce, marshmallow
sweet potatoes, snowflaked pota-
toes, buttered peas and carrots
and buttered corn.
Pickels, olives, and celery added
an extra touch to the trays, while
at the end of the line hot rolls
and butter were waiting, plus
coffee, tea or milk.
The dessert consisted of a choice
of chocolatechip ice cream, fruit
cake hard sauce, or fresh pumpkin
pie.
Free cigars and cigarettes as
well as fresh fruit, candy, and
nuts were handed out during the
meal.
All of the mess halls provided
the diners with printed souvenir
menus.
Army —IMavy
Game Preview
on Page 4
Interceptors Alert
PILOTS BACK FROM 40,000 .... feet and an all weather intercept
practice mission in a F-89 at Keflavik Airport are Pilot 2/Lt Raymond
H. Zuhars, and the Radar Observer, Lt Carl E. Wisser. Pilots of the
Iceland Defense Force’s 57th Fighter—Interceptor Sqdn stationed here
cover the sky in their fast F-89C Northrop “Scorpion” carrying a crew
of two and powered by twin Allison turbojet engines with afterburner.