The White Falcon - 18.06.1993, Side 3

news briefs
Family members and COLA
If you receive Cost of Living Allowances
OLA) for dependents, and one or more of
those family members returns stateside for
more than 30 consecutive days, you must
notify Accounting and Finance
(Air Force) or the Person-
nel Support Detachment
(Navy) for COLA adjust-
ments. This includes
those who have command
sponsored family mem-
bers attending school in
the states.
This also applies when
family members leave,
before their sponsor, in
conjunction with a Perma-
nent Change of Station
move. Active duty personnel
are authorized dependent COLA only
for the period of time family members
are on board Naval Air Station, Keflavflc.
To avoid overpayment of COLA and the subsequent repayment
process, contact your personnel office at ext. 2225 (Air Force) or ext. 2116
(Navy) as soon as a family member departs the base.
W P
bodpeckers participate in Baltic Operations
Patrol Squadron 49 on deployment to NAS Keflavflc from its home port of
NAS Jacksonville, Fla., is participating in Baltic Operations ‘93.
The exercise is being conducted with naval and Air Forces from 13 nations.
Baltops started June 8 and is a U.S. invitational, multinational exercise that has
been conducted annually in the Baltic for more than 20 years.
This year’s exercise is being conducted in two phases. Phase one brings
together non-traditional participants for non-warfare maritime interactions at
sea. The second phase consists of traditional participants conducting training
in anti-air, anti-submarine, anti-mine and anti-surface warfare.
Reflecting the changing environment of central and eastern Europe, Baltops
‘93 differs from past years exercises in that naval forces and observers from
Russia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom
and Norway are participating alongside naval forces of Denmark, Germany and
the United States. The Netherlands will participate with maritime patrol
aircraft during the traditional phase June 14-18.
Baltops ‘93 demonstrates the United States’ enduring interest in the stability
of northern Europe and encourages cooperation between naval forces of the
Baltic littoral states.
Lyte Bytes: Remembering dad
By CAPT Gerald Vintlnner, Command Chaplain
The ancient patriarch Job once said, “My days are
swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and are spent without
This verse reminds me of my dad, who was a rug
weaver in the small mill town of Ware, Mass. I used to
stop by the rug factory after school to see him. Since he
was deaf, I sometimes helped him talk with his foreman
about his work. I also remember being fascinated by the
weaver’s shuttle. It darted back and forth across the
loom, rocketing over and under the colored cords to
produce the rug patterns. Even now, I can close my eyes
and recall the racket it made, clacking back and forth.
Some said dad was lucky because he was not bothered
by the noise.
I’ve noticed days are like that weaver’s shuttle. The
memory I just shared is over 40 years old. Dad lost that
job later, and our family went on welfare. But despite
the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis, dad’s days
were not without hope. He endured various hand and
foot operations, hip joint replacements, and treatment
programs. He hoped to have a “normal” life.
However, nothing stopped the steady crippling ef-
fects this disease. He surrendered his cane for crutches,
his crutches for a walker, his walker for a wheelchair,
and his wheelchair for a hospital bed in a nursing home.
While others might have cursed God, my Dad (like
Job) held on. For as long as he could hold his Bible in
his crippled hands, he read it. As long as he could move
his arms and his gnarled fingers, he praised God and
prayed in the sign language. This crippled, deaf man
streets and hear the angels sing.
Some might say my dad was a failure: deaf, barely
educated, and a jobless cripple. He left his deaf wife,
and five children to live cm welfare and the good graces
of others. When he died 10 year ago, there was no land
or money to divide among his children. However, I re-
ceived a special inheritance which has sustained me in
ways money never could. This tradesman wove a
tapestry of a lifetime of faith and persistence. He
showed me that even in dark and difficult times, light
shines through, life is beautiful, hope is necessary and
faith is crucial. He showed me that even when our
prayers go unanswered, God is still worth trusting. My
dad, I miss him.
June 18,1993
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