The White Falcon - 30.12.1976, Qupperneq 1

White Falcon }
Keflavik, Iceland
Woodpeckers leave; Pelicans arrive
Volume XXXII Number 52
New Year’s
Superstitions
by MSgt. Jiliu Mill*
Is the average, down-to-earth, sensi-
ble American superstitious? Probably
not, in most instances. However, there
is one day in the year when we find most
Americans practicing an age-old super-
stition--making New Year's resolutions.
This tradition was instituted by the
Romans who, by making sacrifices and
racticing good conduct during January,
oped to please the god Janus and there-
by make the rest of the year a lucky
one.
So, on Jan. 1, many of us will super-
stitiously make our promises to be good
and to sacrifice certain things which
we hold dear, in hopes that our new year
will be a prosperous one. We offer not
to drink, smoke, curse, procrastinate,
etc. By relinquishing certain endear-
ments or oromising to undertake diffi-
cult tasks, we hope that we will be
looked upon with favor and blessed with
a year's good luck.
For most resolution makers, however,
such sacrifices last no longer than the
month of January--if that long. The
Romans superstitiously hallowed the
first month of the year to bring them
good luck, and perhaps if modern-day
resolution makers can hold out for the
first month, they will receive whatever
good luck the Romans hoped for.
There appears to be quite an interest
in an old Anglo-Saxon New Year's tradi-
tion, as well--that of drinking a toast
to one another's health. The ancient
Anglo-Saxons celebrated the New Year by
drinking Wassail, which means "to be
well." They drank the Wassail to wish
the other person health and prosperity
in the coming year. Most New Year's Eve
gatherings find this ancient practice
very much alive.
At the stroke of midnight on New
Year's Eve we implement another age-old
tradition. Probably, most of us don't
even think of it as superstitious when
we ring the bells and bring out the
noisemakers. But one ancient custom
allows for driving out the evils of the
old year with bells, horns and other
noisemakers, so that the new year can be
ushered in with good possibilities.
Superstitions aside, our good or bad
luck is often a result of our good or
bad judgments-. Establishing the prac-
tice of making well-thought-out deci-
sions will usually ring out the possibi-
lity of negative consequences. And
that's a resolution worth toasting what-
ever the time of year!
Bonfire set for
N ew Year's Eve
To drive away evil spirits, the New
Year's Eve Bonfire will be lit at 10
p.m. tomorrow. The bonfire will be
staged directly east of Quarters 960
(see map).
All Naval Station departments are
requested to divert their burnable wood-
en refuse to the bonfire area.
The station Fire Department will su-
pervise the bonfire and the Naval Sta-
tion Security Department will direct
traffic and maintain order among spec-
tators.
Patrol Squadron FORTY-FIVE has arriv-
ed, relieving Patrol Squadron FORTY-NINE
of its deployment at Keflavik.
Commanded by Commander Stephen F.
Loftus, VP-45 has a manpower complement
of about 75 officers and 302 enlisted
personnel.
The squadron, which flies the P3-C
"Orion", is known as the "Pelicans" and
will be deployed with Commander Fleet
Air Keflavik for five and a half months.
The Forty-niners return to Naval Air
Station Jacksonville, FL, with a tour at
Keflavik, marked by numerous accomplish-
ments in antisubmarine warfare opera-
tions while deployed in the "Land of
Frost and Fire."
Flying more than 290 operational mis-
sions, accumulating more than 2,450
operational hours and flying more than
800 training hours, the Woodpeckers per-
formed with the highest degree of pro-
fessionalism and pride, earning acco-
lades from Commander Patrol Wings Atlan-
tic and Commander Naval Air Forces At-
lantic and the Secretary of the Navy
while in Iceland.
Despite the hardships of deployment
and the squadron's demanding operational
schedule, the Woodpeckers have pursued
several programs to improve community
and international relations.
VP-49 has sponsored several aircraft
tours for civic organizations, press
correspondents and school children.
In addition, the squadron has hosted
more than 30 foreign aircrews and has
reciprocated by visiting Norway, Great
Britain and the Netherlands.
By request of the Norwegian embassy,
the Woodpeckers regularly "bombed" Jan
Mayen Island with mail-stuffed sonobuoy
containers because this is the only way
the isolated communications outpost can
receive its letters from home.
Together with routine ASW and sur-
veillance, VP-49 participated in one of
the largest NATO operations ever held—
"Teamwork 76" in September.
During the two-week exercise, the
Orions flew around the clock, supporting
the armada of ships, planes and sub-
marines which formed in the North Atlan-
tic .
Each Woodpecker crew integrated it-
self into the extensive and complex
operation, which was effected by pro-
longed and detailed training programs
established within the squadron.
On behalf of the Secretary of the
Navy, Rear Admiral Karl J. Bernstein,
Commander Iceland Defense Force, pre-
sented the squadron with a Meritorious
Unit Commendation for its participation
in Mediterranean exercises in June and
July 1975, when the Woodpeckers were de-
ployed to Sigonella, Sicily.
VP-49 received the first annual "Top
Gunner Award" from Commander Patrol Wing
ELEVEN.
Safety and skill go hand in hand in
VP-49. While in Iceland, the Woodpeck-
ers surpassed 110,000 accident-free
hours. The aircrews and ground person-
nel worked constantly—icy runways and
50 knot winds were common occurrences.
In Keflavik sports competition, the
Woodpeckers took first place in the Kef-
lavik Olympics, more than doubling the
point total of the second place finish-
er.
The VP-49 basketball team won the
pre-season tournament and the football
squad finished second in the post-season
tournament.
The Woodpecker polo team captured the
Icelandic Polo Association title.
The last of the Woodpeckers is leav-
ing today for its homebase—Jackson-
ville .
_________________December 30, 1976
NavSta GO announces
Midnight Sun shutdown
The Midnight Sun enlisted club will
close at the end of business tomorrow
(Friday, Dec. 31st). Coincident with
that closing, the membership privileges
will be changed at the Chief Petty Offi-
cers' Club and the Top of the Rock.
This decision was announced yesterday
by Captain Jack T. Weir, Commander, Na-
val Forces Iceland/Commanding Officer,
Naval Station, Keflavik, who stated:
"When I assumed command in September,
one of my first concerns was the NATO
Base club system. Consequently, I or-
dered a major review of all clubs to be-
gin on Oct. 1."
The captain ordered a review commit-
tee to consider the material condition
of all clubs, ongoing rennovation pro-
jects, their profit/loss, their indivi-
dual organization, service provided and
the membership and guest rules. The com-
mittee included the station Executive
Officer, Master Chief Petty Officer of
the Command, club managers, advisory
board chairmen of all the clubs and oth-
er service representatives.
As a result of the committee findings
the decision to close the Midnight Sun
was made.
"We discovered that the Midnight Sun
was losing approximately $3,000 a month
despite a concerted effort by Lieuten-
ant James Cote (Navy Exchange Officer)
and his club management personnel to up-
grade service and entertainment. The
Chief Petty Officers' Club has also had
financial difficulties,"the captain con-
tinued.
Once the decision was made to close
the junior enlisted club, additional ac-
tions were required because the Top of
the Rock cannot accommodate all person-
nel E-l through E-6. It was, therefore
determined that membership rules for the
CPO Club would be changed to include all
E-6 and above, and that rules for the
Top of the Rock would be changed to in-
clude all E-5 and below.
A naval station notice (NAVSTAKEFNOTE
1741) will be issued today to formally
announce these changes. There will also
be a naval station instruction (NAVSTA-
KEFINST 1746.SB) published to outline
club guest privileges.
Another step in this major club reor-
ganization will be the issuance of club
membership cards. This will be done to
help ensure club privileges are protec-
ted. The cards will be color coded and
serialized and will control admittance
and guest privileges for all the base
clubs. The cards are expected to be is-
sued by mid-January. There is no plan
to charge club dues.
In response to a question about what
will happen to the space presently used
by the Midnight Sun, the captain stated
that several proposals are being discus-
sed. However, a formal decision will
not be made until late January.
During the past several months, there
has been much discussion about club or-
ganization in general. Last spring, the
Chief of Naval Operations ordered all
Navy-operated clubs to be transferred
from the Navy Exchange to the Bureau of
Naval Personnel. The Midnight Sun and
the Top of the Rock are both currently
operated by the Navy Exchange.
The CNO also expressed his concern as
one of his major objectives by ordering
"...the reexamination of the entire con-
cept of morale, welfare and recreation
programs...to determine the most cost-
beneficial approach...."
Captain Weir emphasized, however,that
the club review done onboard the naval
station would have been done regardless
of Navy Department plans. "We knew we
had some problems and we had to do some-
thing about them," stated Capt. Weir.
Once the three NATO base clubs have
been operating for a period of time, the
review committee will again look for ad-
ditional possible improvements. "Our re-
view of the clubs, as with all other mo-
rale enhancing functions will be an on-
going thing," the captain continued. "We
won't be content until we have a top
notch operation that provides the best
possible service to all hands onboard
the naval station."