The White Falcon - 03.03.1978, Blaðsíða 3

March 3, 19/a
White Falcon
Fage 3
TWO RADAR--Technicians on an EC-121 flight are responsi-
ble for airborne maintenance of the plane's radar
systems and other electronic equipment. SRA Jean
Dellutri, 79th AEWC, makes an adjustment on a piece of
gear. (Official U.S. Navy Photo by PH2 Ernest A.
Myette)
MONITORING—Several gages and dial, Sgt. Roger Gagne, Det 1, checks 20th
ADS, one of the two flight engineers on the mission, checks fuel flow and
oil comption of the Constellation's four engines. (Official U.S. Navy
Photo by PH2 Ernest A. Myette)
More than a name
Detachment One
Maintaining early warning surveillance
in the air spaces surrounding Iceland—
commonly known as the Greenland-Iceland-
United Kingdom gap—is the job of the men
and women of Operating Location AA Detach-
ment 1, 20th Air Defense Squadron (Det 1).
Whatever name they are known by—
OLAA, Det 1, or Adola (the aircraft tacti-
cal call sign)—they are a valuable part
of the Iceland Defense Force.
Flying the EC-121 Constellation, which
the Air Force has used in Iceland for the
past 10 years, Det 1 provides a mobile
radar station that can be placed wherever
it is needed, thus extending coverage of
Defense Force ground radar sites at Rock-
ville (H-l) and Hofn (H-3).
Since its activation only two years
ago as an associate unit of the 79th Air-
borne Early Warning and Control Squadron,
U.S. Air Force Reserve, Homestead AFB,
Fla., Det 1 has held a unique position.
It performs an operational commitment
with reserve resources and as active
duty and reserve personnel serving to -
gether. Many members assigned to the
detachment in 1976 came from the deacti-
vated 552d Airborne Early Warning and
Control Group, McClellan AFB, Calif.;
which had made deployments to many parts
of the world, including Iceland, before
the Det 1 activation.
The 50 people assigned to OLAA for a
full tour are supplemented by rotating
flight crews from Det 1 and the 79th AEWC
to successfully accomplish their mission.
Three 14-man flight crews are here on
either a 2-to-4-week deployment at any
given time, working in 3-day shifts.
Each flight crew is made up of five
officers: aircraft commander, co-pilot,
two navigators, and an intercept control
officer and nine enlisted personnel:
two flight engineers, a radio operator,
four systems operators, and two radar
technicians.
On the first day of a shift the crew
is in a primary alert status and flies
when scrambled by Air Force Element Op-
eration Control (AFE OPCON). The flight
crew also has a morning preflight brief
and prepares for its flight to be flown
the next day. They receive information
on the type of mission to be flown, intel-
ligencr updates, weather, maintenance
status of the aircraft, and a review of
emergency procedures.
The aircraft is then preflighted, its
systems and equipment checked out by the
crew. The rest of the day is spent in a
standby condition. Staying close to their
quarters, the crew members take advantage
of the time to do their laundry, watch
television, read, write letters, play
cards or catch up on sleep.
The next day consists of an 8-hour
training flight. During the approxi-
mate six hours spent on station—a
designated portion of air space—
are tracked on radar. The EC-121 crew
attempts to identify aircraft picked up
by the radar. If the aircraft isn’t
identified, its course and speed are
passed to the operations control center.
They are compared with filed flight
plans, flight control and classified
intellegence information. If the plane
remains unidentified, an intercept is
required. One of the three radar sites,
H-l, H-3, or the EC-121 on station—
will be assigned to guide two F-4s to
the intercept target.
After the flight, a maintenance brief
is held to determine what work must be
done prior to the aircraft's next flight.
The crew is then debriefed and put into
liberty status for the last day of the
shift.
MThe 42 maintenance personnel spend
many long hours keeping the three "Connies"
ready to fly," stated Captain David H.
Spradling, OLAA operations officer. Man-
power is one deep in many positions; that
is, only one person trained for a parti-
cular job is assigned to the squadron.
Accordingly, a 12-to-18 hour work day is
not unusual. _____
Since the E-C-121s flown by OLAA are
about 25-years old, many spare parts are
not available and must be specially ordered
or made by hand. "Even with the difficulties
obtaining parts and the stress of long work
hours, the maintenance personnel keep them-
selves in good spirits and have the satis-
faction of knowing the important contribu-
tions they make to the OLAA mission,"
explained Captain Spradling.
In addition to the flight crews and
maintenance personnel, several people pro-
vide administrative and operational support.
They handle the necessary paperwork for
planning missions and handling the day to)
day matters involved in running a squadron.
"As an extension of the ground radar
system, OLAA's accomplishments are invalu-
able in support of the Iceland Defense
Force's mission," stated Captain Spradling.
OLAA, Det 1, Adola—no matter what you
call them, their "Connies" are in the air,
closing the Greenland-Iceland-United King-
dom gap.
LT. COL. ROGER B. WADSWORTH-79th AEWC
navigator, checks the EC-121's posi-
tion on a map and determines what
course to give the pilots, (official
U.S. Navy Photo by PH2 Ernest A.
Myette)
Military News
Lexington to retire
The Navy's only training aircraft
carrier, the USS Lexington (CVT 16), is
expected to be retired from active
service in mid-year 1979.
Since a replacement for "Lady Lex"
is not anticipated, future flight
training carrier landing requirements
will be accomplished aboard Atlantic and
Pacific Fleet carriers, depending upon
deck availability.
The Lexington, first commissioned in
1943, currently is in a brief drydock
period at Bayonne, N.J. for hull
inspection and repair.
Congress approves Fleet
Reserve retainer pay
Congress has approved and forwarded
to the President for consideration a
bill which contains a provision that
authorizes payment of retainer pay to
Navy enlisted members who transfer
to the Fleet Reserve on or after Dec. 31,
1977, with 19 years and 6 months of
active duty.
Members in this category are those
who had their transfer request submitted
prior to Oct. 1, 1977.
The provision was part of the Supple-
mental Appropriations Bill which was
approved by Congress lastweek and
forwarded to the President for his signa-
ture.
When the bill is approved by the Pres-
ident, Navy Finance Center Cleveland
will send out retroactive retainer and
allotment checks for those affected
members whose pay has been delayed. A
message will be promulgated when the
bill has been approved.
In December 1977, Secretary of the
Navy W. Graham Claytor, Jr. authorized
the Navy to continue processing Fleet
Reserve Transfers for members with
approved retirement dates based on
19.5 years of service while awaiting
Congressional approval of modifications
in the retirement system.
Personnel currently on active duty
who have remained past their original
authorized Fleet Reserve transfer dates
will be contacted by the Cheif of Naval
Personnel and given a modified transfer
date when the bill is approved. Fleet
Reserve transfer authorizations will
remain in effect for all other personnel
having approved but as yet unexecuted tr
transfer dates.
AFTER PUTTING—The EC-1
121 on auto-pilot, lLt.
Robert J. Pagozalski,
79th AEWC, checks a
flight log for the
radio and navigation
aids on the rest of the
fliqht. (Official U.S.
Photo by PH2 Ernest
A. Myette)