The White Falcon - 22.10.1993, Blaðsíða 8

Junior enlisted dress in style with new uniform
Story and photo by
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
Although Saturday’s Navy
Ball at Naval Air Station (NAS)
Keflavik will be a celebration of
many time-worn Naval traditions,
ball goers will take note of a
relatively new tradition. Many
junior enlisted personnel will be
dressed in the same formal attire
as senior enlisted and officers.
About a year-and-a-half ago,
the Navy authorized junior en-
listed personnel to wear the din-
ner dress uniform to formal func-
tions. Previously, Els-E6s were
authorized to wear only their
Navy blue “Jumper” uniform, but
because of the efforts of NAS
Keflavfk Command Master
Chief, Henry Danley, that policy
changed.
Danley listens as Wilson praises the new display at the uniform shop.
Four years ago, Danley was at
a Command Master ChieFs Con-
ference in Jacksonville, Honda,
where he made the proposal to
have dinner dress uniforms for
all enlisted personnel. As he re-
called, not everyone agreed. “I
expected some resistance, and
sure enough, when I made the
initial proposal, about two-thirds
of the master chiefs present im-
mediately said no. I then ex-
plained how over the years I had
talked with many junior enlisted
who expressed their uneasiness
at attending formal gatherings
because they didn’t think the
jumper was appropriate few a coat
and tie affair.”
Danley said he was able to win
over half of the original objectors
by the end of the first day. Then
for the next two-and-a-half years,
Danley was busy lobbying sup-
port for his proposal.
He convinced the Navy
Exchange’s Uniform Board
Senior Representative of the fea-
sibility for the uniform, and then
approached Duane Bushey, who
was the Master Chief of the Navy
at the time. “Bushey was against
the idea, because he didn’t want
more uniforms. We won
Bushey’s support by explaininj
that the uniform was already irf
the inventory, and so it wouldn’t
be anything new,” noted Danley.
Although the change in policy
has been in effect for more than a
year, some sailors didn’t buy the
uniform in time for last year’s
Navy Ball. “I didn’t want to deal
with the mail ordering process,
so I delayed buying the uniform
thinking there wouldn’t be many
people wearing the dinner dress,”
said AMS 1 (AW) John Wilson. I
felt completely underdressed at
last year’s ball when I saw every-
body with the dinner dress uni-
form looking so sharp and pro-
fessional.”
This year, Wilson and others
plan to attend the Navy Ball with
pride as they sport their new
dinner dress uniform. In the past
month, the NEX Uniform shop at
NAS Keflavik has made it easier
for sailors to acquire the uniform
by actually having the unifoi
on display.

‘Luck of the draw’ translates into success for pilot
Story and photo by
JQ2 Carlos Bongioanni
When a call for help comes over the wires,
it rarely happens at an appropriate hour.
Rescue people know this better than anyone.
More often than not, alert crews are called
upon in the wee hours of the morning or late
at night.
ForCapt. Keith Sullivan, an HH-60G heli-
copter pilot for the 56th Rescue Squadron
(RQS) at Naval Air Station Keflavik, those
untimely rescue missions have been a famil-
iar aspect of his tour of duty in Iceland. They
have also resulted in Sullivan’s recent selec-
tion for the 1993 Richard T. Kight Award for
Outstanding Achievement in the field of air
rescue.
Sullivan said he has flown more missions
with other units in the past, but because of the
degree of difficulty involved in rescue opera-
tions in Iceland, the relatively low number of
missions flown have more value.
“Usually, if you get two or three of these
types of missions in a lifetime, you feel very
satisfied. I’ve been involved in six already
this year,” stated Sullivan.
Trying to down play his accomplishments,
Sullivan said his selection was based on luck
in terms of timing. “I did what any one of
these pilots (56th RQS) could have done. I
just happened to be in the right place at the
right time when rescue missions arose.”
In the past two years, Sullivan has logged
in more than 2,700 flight hours. Ironically,
the day he was scheduled to leave Iceland to
get his award in the States, an emergency call
came in. Sullivan was the co-pilot and the
mission resulted in another save for the 56th
RQS.
“I’ve increased so much just by flying with
the pilots of the 56th. Since I’ve been up here,
it’s been one learning experience after an-
other.”
Sullivan received his award last Saturday.
Sullivan has flown over 2,700 hours in the
past two years.
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The White Falcon