The White Falcon - 16.07.1993, Blaðsíða 5

Combat dining is a groggy event
Story and Photos by
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
f Wine glasses sparkled by the flickering
candle light. Battle dress uniforms comple-
mented gleaming combat
boots. It was a cross be-
tween romance and war. It
was dining out combat style.
Last Friday, the 35TH Se-
curity Police Squadron
hosted a Combat Dining
Out, an old British military
tradition which the U. S.
Air Force adopted a num-
ber of years ago. The event
promotes military cere-
mony and protocol, while
enhancing camaraderie and good-natured fun.
To make the event interesting, diners had
to adhere to at least 22 rules of mess etiquette.
Punishment for breaking a rule meant a trip to
the dreaded Grog/Punch Bowl. When getting
grogged, offenders had to drain a cup of grog
without removing the cup from their lips. He
or she then placed the cup upside down
over their heads to show that the cup was
empty.
One rule stated, “Thou shalt not clap
with thy hands to acknowledge approval.
Tapping thy spoon is
the prescribed manner
for applauding.”
The clattering of
spoons seemed a bit
strange to the uniniti-
ated, but by nights end,
everybody had joined
in the seemingly un-
dignified act.
Besides the tapping
of spoons and the
countless groggings,
the dining out experience did feature some
aspects of normalcy. Guests enjoyed a
buffet dinner, and afterwards, they con-
tinued their festive mood with dancing.
“This is a lot of fun,” said MSgt. Mi-
chael Authenreith. “It really brings the
squadron together.”
Col Robert Gmyrek, 4557TH Support Group,
was one of many who sported a white dixie cup
above his head for violating the “rules of the
mess."
Combat dining furnishings
Army officer paints to fly
Story and photo by
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
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More than anything in this world, he loves
to fly. He can’t fly planes, though, because of
his eyes. Yet, because of his artistic eye, he
can fly in planes.
It sounds like a riddle, but for Army Lt.
Col. Randy Jones, those have been the plain
facts of military life.
In 1965, Jones went to the Air Force re-
cruiter to see about fulfilling a boyhood dream
of becoming a military pilot. It was there he
discovered his eyesight was too poor to fly
planes.
In 1967, it seemed life had played Jones a
cruel joke when he was drafted into the Army.
Instead of flying through space, he would
forever be pounding the ground.
By a strange twist of fate, Jones’s seem-
ingly unrelated talent for painting allowed
him to do what he loves most. He now flies
in military aircraft because of his involve-
ment in the Air Force Art Program (AFAP).
Jones joined the AFAP in 1980. Although
is Army duties come first, and he does all his
itings on his off time, he is an official
iter for the United States Air Force.
“If a base or squadron wants me to do a
painting for them, we make arrangements to
fly, and I get per-
mission to have
time off to travel,”
stated Jones.
“Being able to go
up in military
planes satisfies a
personal longing I
have to fly, but it
also gives me a bet-
ter feel for the char-
acteristics of what
I’m going to paint.”
Jones came to
Iceland earlier this
year to paint an F-
15 flying over the
communication station in Hofn. He returned
to Naval Air Station, Keflavik last week to
deliver his product.
Jones said he currently does four to six
paintings a year for the military. Surpris-
ingly, though, he doesn’t charge a cent for his
works of art. In addition, if desired, Jones
will give a thousand free copies of his paint-
ing to the squadron receiving the painting.
Squadron personnel have only to pay the
printing costs, which Jones says runs about
$700.
“I get a good enough salary through the
Army,” said Jones. “My desire isn’t to make
money off the military member. That junior
Jones presents a painting of an F-15 to the 57FS. He flew with the
squadron to Hofn in March and completed the painting in June.
enlisted person or officer can’t always afford
something like this. I want to give them a
chance to have something that will act as a
memento to their time spent in the military.”
Jones plans to open his own art shop after
he retires from the Army. By offering his
paintings free of charge now, he hopes to
make a name for himself, so he’ll have pay-
ing customers when he retires.
Although Jones still has a love for flying,
he sees now why his life took the path it did.
“The Good Lord gave me this talent to paint,
and as my wife always says, if I had become
a pilot, I’d always be flying and never have
time for painting. Now, I get to do both.”
July 16,1993
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