The White Falcon - 30.04.1976, Qupperneq 3

April 30, 1976
Page •
Six Service Members of the
Quarter honored Tuesday
"I've done a lot of skiing and goose
hunting, —Being in a squadron that is
busy is enjoyable, —I don't care for
the weather too much, —Shift work makes
it hard to take college courses, but if
you really want to go, you'll find a way
to do it."
These are quotes from the six re-
cently selected Service Members of the
Quarter when asked about being, stationed
in Iceland.
The five men and one woman were
honored Tuesday in the office of Rear
Admiral Harold G. Rich, Commander Ice-
land Defense Force.
They are: Staff Sergeant Daniel
Atkins, Marine NCO of the Quarter; Lance
Corporal Guy Pelletier, Marine of the
Quarter; Technical Sergeant Howard
Saxon, Air Force NCO of the Quarter;
Airman First Class Winfred Dancy, Airman
of the Quarter; ASM2 Jerome Paul, Petty
Officer of the Quarter; and CTASN Diane
Williams, Sailor of the Quarter.
Each received a letter of commenda-
tion, a plaque in the shape of Iceland,
and a priority III on the station En-
vironmental and Morale flight.
Sgt. Atkins, who works at the Marine
Correctional Center, says, "It's hard to
sit long duty hours in the dark at night
and watch the prisoners. This is a new
job for me—it's a challenge. Each case
here is different; guys are in here for
different reasons. For some, the cor-
rection doesn't take too long, and for
others the process is more complicated.
Handling prisoners' requests and
TSGT. SAXON, Air Force NCO of the
Quarter, relays a message with F-4
pilots as part of his job with the 57th
Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
keeping their records are my main func-
tions during the day. Since my ten
months in Iceland, I've traveled to
several places in the country. I feel
there should be more programs to get
people off the base and meet Iceland-
ers ."
He feels one can get a better look at
the Icelandic culture when getting out
and traveling.
For LCpl Pelletier, a native of Con-
necticut, the educational opportunities
available to him while in the service
are helping him obtain a college degree.
"Even with the tight schedule and
shift work, I'm enrolled in two college
courses. Of course, I don't make all
the classes, but I feel if a person is
really interested in the subjects, he'll
find a way to complete them. It's all
up to the individual to get the educa-
tion that he wants." ,
"Guard duty gets boring, but you
learn to like it," says Pelletier.
Traveling around the country and to
Europe has been enjoyable for TSgt.
Saxon. "My family and I have gone to
Germany and we traveled to different
places here in Iceland. I had a good
friend fill me in when I got orders for
up here. I'd advise anyone coming up
here to bring a four-wheel drive vehicle
and get out and see the countryside."
The aircraft technician, who has beer
stationed here for two years with th€
57th FIS, is furthering his education by
attending night classes with the Uni-
versity of Maryland.
A1C Dancy, a weapons mechanic hailing
from North Dakota, has been here only
since February. "I moan and groan, but
I really don't mind being here. The
weather at home is sometimes worse than
here."
"I had to cancel my school courses
because of shift work, but most of my
off-time is spent at the gym working out
and playing basketball."
ASM2 Jerome Paul, assigned to VP-5,
does more than his rate requires, ac-
cording to his supervisors. "As an
aviation support equipment technician, I
service, test, maintain and repair
aviation support equipment. This gear
has to be inspected daily. My other
jobs include: career counselor, lineman
and gasoline and diesel mechanic."
He modestly admits that the retention
in the shop that he supervises is the
highest in the squadron.
"I like working here in. Iceland be-
cause there is a lot to do. In my shop-
we work 12 hours on, 12 hours off, seven
days a week; so there isn't too much
time on my hands. But, I do hope to see
some of the country and the capital
while here. As for the base, the faci-
lities here beat those that I've seen at
other overseas commands," says petty of-
ficer Paul, who was honored as the 1975
Sailor of the Year in VP-5.
"I'm not sure if I like my work well
enough to stay in the Navy for a ca-
reer," says CTASN Diane (Wilson) Wil-
liams, who was recently selected as Ice-
SGT. ATKINS, Marine NCO of the Quarter, answers a phone call while on duty at the
Marine Correctional Center.
AIC DANCY, Airman of the Quarter, inspects an air-to-air conventional missle.
SAILOR OF THE QUARTER CTASN Diane Wil-
liams prepares material to be sent to
NSGA newcomers.
LCPL. PELLETIER, Marine of the Quarter,
waves a person by the sentry post which
He is guarding.
land Defense Force Sailor of the Quar-
ter.
She continues, "So far my detailer
has really been good to me in getting
orders to the same place as my husband
and it is pretty important to us to be
stationed together, even though we work
in different divisions and shifts."
Diane and her husband, RM2 Norman
-filliams, have been stationed in Iceland
'or eight months. She says, "We met in
ipain and had to live off-base there,
:oo. We go through more paperwork here,
but we really like the place where we
live," adding, "It's hard to get time
off together to do much traveling."
About her work at Naval Security
Group Activity, the native of New Jersey
states, "Running the mail desk, the
guard mail, and the sponsorship program
keeps me busy. It's a different job ad-
ministratively than that in Rota."
Story by J02 Terry Barnthouse and photos
by PH3 Rene' Pearce

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ASM2 PAUL, Petty Officer of the Quarter, readies a piece of support equipment from
the VP-5 squadron.