The White Falcon - 09.12.1988, Page 4

NATO officers integral
by J02 Andrew I. Karalis
The defense of Iceland and the strategic ocean
areas surrounding the country doesn't rest on the
shoulders of United States military troops alone.
The prevailing population of Naval Air Station
Keflavik is most definitely American, however, this
is a NATO base so other members of the alliance
have sent their personnel here over the years.
The Dutch have deployed a P-3 aircraft, with 25
to 30 support people, on a rotational basis since
1985. The Canadians have also sent their Maritime
Patrol Aircraft (MPA) to Iceland. Other NATO
military forces seen in the area come from
Denmark, Great Britain, Norway and Germany.
NATO exercises are held periodically in the North
Atlantic which require coordination between the
countries involved in order to ensure success.
Assisting in this effort are four NATO officers
permanently assigned to the staff of Island
Commander Iceland (ISCOMICE), and one Canadian
exchange officer at Commander Fleet Air Keflavik
(CFK). Both ISCOMICE and CFK are commanded by
Rear Admiral Eric A. McVadon.
LCDR Trond Vollcn & SQN LDR Phil Leadbetter
The Canadians have sent an exchange officer to
work with the U.S. Navy in the Anti-Submarine
Warfare Operations Center (ASWOC) of CFK since
tthe mid-1970s. Currently, the billet is filled by
Major James R. Loring of the Canadian Armed
Forces Air Division. He is the Senior Debriefing
Officer and a NATO Plans Officer at CFK.
“The nature of my job is to work on exercise
plans and the interoperability of U.S. Navy and
NATO forces," MAJ Loring said. “Part of the reason
we're here is to help the Navy, and U.S. forces in
general, get a better feel for working with NATO."
Commander Teunis A. Kruis of the Royal
Netherlands Navy also works at CFK. He is the
Netherlands Liaison Officer for the permanent Dutch
P-3 detachment here, and a NATO Plans Officer for
ISCOMICE, working at the ASWOC as well as Plans
and Exercises (J-5) in the Iceland Defense Force
(IDF) headquarters building.
"I had been to Iceland many times before, either
as a TACCO, or with my own crew, coming here on
many deployments since 1974,” CDR Kruis said.
“With my 20 years of experience in MPA, I fit in to
my present job easily. If I were stationed at home I
wouldn't have been involved in plans and exercises.
I didn't have to become specialized either because
I'm still using my MPA experience in preparing
NATO exercise plans.”
part of Iceland's mission
The newest NATO officer checked aboard in
August. Squadron Leader Phil <teadbetter of
Royal Air Force is a Fighter Operations Officer
ISCOMICE working at IDF Operations (J—3).
”1 volunteered for the job because I saw it as a
challenge,” SON LDR Leadbetter said. ’It was a
brand new job and something out of the ordinary,
which gives me a chance to experience many new
things and people. ”
LTC Kurt Jepsen
Another Operations Officer with ISCOMICE at IDF
Operations is Lieutenant Colonel Kurt H. Jepsen of
the Royal Danish Air Force. He is also the Danish
Liaison Officer working with the frigates that are up
in this area occasionally.
“My background is Air Defense,” LTC Jepsen said
”1 was a squadron commander and went to El Paso
Texas for training, so I'm somewhat familiar with
the American way. There was a Danish officer here
on a trial basis before I accepted the permanent
position. I'think one of the reasons that Denmark
sent a NATO Operations Officer to ISCOMICE is be-
cause of the closeness to Island Commander Faroes
and Island Commander Greenland, which are Danish
territories. The Danes have one or two small
frigates in the area with a helicopter on board, so
they have search and rescue capability as
demonstrated in Exercise Blue Lagoon 2 -88.”
y_ 5
* •
• '?
MAJ James Loring and CDR Teunis Kruis
Lieutenant Commander Trond Vollen of the Royal
Norwegian Navy who is Command, Control and
Communications Officer (C3) for ISCOMICE at IDF
Communications (J—6) is another NATO officer. _
"I haven't had the opportunity to serve on a NATQ^^k
staff before," LCDR Vollen said, "and now I have th^^^B
chance. It's very interesting because the position is^^^
so new. It's a matter of us learning the system and
the system adjusting to our presence here.”
4
The White Falcon