The White Falcon - 15.01.1971, Blaðsíða 2

Page 2
THE WHITE FALCON
January 15, 1971
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR •
(Editor's note: There are certain rules concern-
ing the publication of letters wi-th which everyone
must comply. Due to space limitations, the editor
must reserve the right to reject or shelve your
letter until a later issue. Second, in order to
most accurately get your idea across and still keep
within space requirements it may be necessary to
omit portions of your letter, so to avoid our scis-
sors try to be brief. Also please type your letter,
double spaced and sign it... If you desire we won't
publish your name, but we must insist on your sig-
nature on your submission.)
Divorced no longer
Dear Editor,
After reading the letter from
Capt. Young, it occured to me
that something must be done for
our abused bachelor officers. We
must always remember that com-
missioned officersdo not have the
privileges given to the average
enlisted man. An officer will
not know the togetherness of liv-
ing in a 100-man compartment when
out at sea. He will miss the
thrill of working as a deck-ape,
or messcook. And one of the
hardest blows to take, he is even
shunned from the "mens room" and
made to use a rest room set aside
for him and his kind.
Now you may ask, what can be
done to relieve the officer of
some of his hardships? Lets save
his from the BOQ dungeon. Let
the officers live in both the
BOQ's and BEQ's. This will pro-
vide enough space for each of-
ficers' living and social require-
ments with room to spare.
We could set up a series of
tents around the softer rocks for
the present occupants of the
BEQ's, and doing so would save
much money on lights, plumbing
and many other luxuries the en-
listed man doesn't really need.
And I'm sure that we would all
sleep better in the tents knowing
that Capt. Young and his col-
leagues were no longer divorced
from the social life to which they
are accustomed.
RMSN Daniel V. McGrath
Two to a room
Dear Editor,
In your last few publications,
"Letters to the Editor" has fo-
cused our attention on the con-
troversial issue of living condi-
tions for single military person-
nel, both officers and enlisted
menv Those of us who are single
know that discrepancies certainly
do exist within our living quar-
ters.
Three men confined to living
together not only under one roof
but in just one room is not only
The White Falcon
U. S. NAVAL STATION
KEFLAVIK, ICELAND
CAPT Lloyd H. Thomas
Commanding Officer
CDR A.N. Kline
Public Affairs Officer
J01 Bill Wedertz
Editorial Adviser
STAFF
CT2 Ed Eineke..........Editor
QM2 John Getker........Writer
SN Wayne Plourde.......Writer
AN Don LaChapelle......Writer
AN Robin Wagner..Photographer
0T3 Ken Burrows........Artist
The White Falcon is pub-
lished on a bi-weekly basis,
Wednesday and Friday in accor-
dance with NAVEXOS P-35, re-
vised July 1958, for free dis-
tribution to personnel of the
Naval Station, Keflavik. It
isprinted at the Naval Station
printing plant from nan-appro-
priated funds.
a case of overcrowdedness, but it
also denies an individual one of
his most treasured rights — the
right to privacy. For example:
one fellow wishes to watch tele-
vision, another wants to listen
to his tape recorder, and the third
party desires to strum his guitar.
Under these circumstances, it is
impossible for harmony to be ex-
pected to continue for any lengthy
period of time.
It has been suggested in your
Jan. 8, 1971 issue that one al-
ternative in solving this problem
would be to marry; thereby, en-
titling oneself to the numerous
benefits derived from being a
married man. Even to the most
casual of observers, this so
called "solution" will not elij^H^
inate the source of the probl^^^^Q
the crux of the matter is bein^^^
totally avoided.
What is needed is constructive
criticism from which hopefully
will evolve constructive improve-
ments.
A step in the right direction
would be to limit the living
quarters to two men per room with
the firm resolve of eventually
having one man per room. It has
been years since the last single
men's living quarters has been
built. The only modem facilities
presently under construction are
for married personnel. I have
visited the homes of some officers
and enlisted men, and I was real-
ly surprised to discover how much
more living space they have and
the many conveniences they enjoy.
This type of living quarters can-
not be found anywhere in the
B.E.Q.
All we (single personnel) ask
is to be treated on an equal basis
with married personnel. Maybe
this is expecting too much.
ETN3 Ronald
Watch for the Wicket!
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