The White Falcon - 05.03.1971, Blaðsíða 9

March 5, I'm
THE WHITE FALCON
Page 9
This weekend commemorates the
dual anniversary of the SeaBees
and the Civil Engineer Corps. The
latter is celebrating its 104th
year and the SeaBees have been a-
round since 1942.
Their construction feats in
^^rld War II and more recently in
Hbtnamare well known. Less pub-
licized has been their role in"
Iceland.
The SeaBees have been in Ice-
land since their first year of
existence. They arrived to take
over the construction of bases
from American and Icelandic civ-
ilians.
The 9th Construction Battalion
was the first full unit to ar-
rive. Their first job was the
completion of Camp Knox, the air-
strips and the tank farms of Meeks
Field. The 28th Battalion along
with two smaller units soon fol-
lowed. In less than a year the
SeaBees had transformed these
camps into an important base that
played a significant role in the
protection of the North Atlantic
sea lanes from German submarine
activity.
Today, 29 years later, there
are no full scale construction
battalions in Iceland and all the
construction has been taken over
by civilians. In spite of this,
the nearly 80 SeaBees remaining
still play an important role in
the operation and maintenance of
the NATO base.
The SeaBees are all incorpo-
rated into the Public Works De-
partment. This department, under
the leadership of Cdr. J. W. Tom-
barge, is divided into two div-^.
isions. The Transportation div-
ision has the primary responsi-
bility of operating and maintain-
ing most of the government vehic-
les on base. Another significant
role played by tnem is the re-
sponsibility of keeping all the
roads, runways and taxiways free
of snow during the winter months.
The Maintenance Division plays
an even more varied role since
its responsibilities encompass
virtually all base repairs. Ev-
erything from the fixing of bro-
ken windows to repairing broken
power lines falls under their
jurisdiction. They also operate
the housing office which has the
responsibility assigned married
personnel to on-base housing.
The -ieaBees work in close co-
operation with approximately 20
other Navymen in Public Works and
numerous Icelandic civilian em-
ployees.
Here’s a chance to SCORE...
—------------------------• #
Program offers conversion opportunity
In order to get. more volunteers for the more critical rates, the
Navy has put more emphasis on the Selective Conversion and Reenlist-
ment program or SCORE. It provides not only a change in rate, but
also includes a guarranteed school and can provide an automatic ad-
vancement in pay qrade.
Personnel interested in the
program must have completed at
least 21 months of active duty,
but less than ten years active
service, and must be willing to
reenlist for six years upon ac-
ceptance into the program. The
rates eligible are designated E-3s
through P02s serving in non-
critical ratings.
Assignment to Class A school
is guaranteed with a change of
rate following graduation' and ad-
vancement to petty officer third
^ass for designated strikers,
^rond and third class petty of-
»cers in the program are guaran-
teed Class B or C school after
completing required on-the-job
training.
Personnel In the program are
eligible for both reenlistment
bonuses and proficiency pay when
applicable.
For more details consult your
career counselor.
Youth Center auditions
Auditions are scheduled for
Saturday morning, March 6, at the
Youth Center for dance bands, mu-
sical entertainment groups and
individuals who wish to perform
at the Youth Center or at school
activities.
To make arrangements for an
audition, or for further informa-
tion, call Lt. Cdr. Thomas Mos-
carillo at Ext. 3108 or 2179.