The White Falcon - 05.11.1993, Blaðsíða 4

Four wheelers on a quest to lend a hand
Story and photos by
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
It was a bitterly cold morning. If not the early
hour, the sleet and strong gusts of wind were
reason enough to stay bundled up inside. Yet,
oddly enough, a group of American service
members from Naval Air Station Keflavfk were
building a fence, and of all things, they were doing
it on their day off!
Members of the Arctic Quest Club have put in
more than 450 volunteer man hours over the past
four to five months in helping a drug and alcohol
re-hab center, The Krusavfk Association, with
much needed repairs.
The Arctic Quest Club is primarily a four-wheel
drive off-road vehicle group which has as its main
interest the exploration of Iceland. So,why are
they helping with a drug re-hab center? Well,
there’s a trade off according to club President, E02
Jim S treicher. “In exchange for services, we wanted
connections with Icelanders who could show us
Using a front-end loader, Arctic Quest members easily drive stakes for the fence.
MSgt. Littrell determines the placement offence
poles by line of sight.
around Iceland,” explained Streicher. “In
addition, it’s great meeting people instead
of just sitting on base. By getting off base
we’re also giving the Icelandic nationals
an idea of what base people are really like.”
Cees Meyles and Tineke Koers, the
caretakers of the re-hab center in Krusavik,
are from Holland and have been working
intensely to fix up the center so it can
accomplish what it’s designed to do.
However, there were some projects that
were practically impossible for the Dutch
to do by themselves. But through a series
of events, members of the base community
heard about the needs of the center and
offered their help.
“At first, it was difficult for me to accept
help from the Americans, because I’m a
pacifist,” remarked Meyles. “However, it
has been a very positive experience. The
help has been a big encouragement to us.
The negative image I had of America and
its people has changed because of the in-
volvement.”
The Arctic Quest volunteers were asked
to tackle three major projects for the cen-
ter before winter set in. The biggest and
most important job was the extensive repair
made to the center’s stable wall which
was falling apart. The group also brouj»
equipment to help cut away metai frdH
some dilapidated buildings. The stru?
tures were a hazard, especially in times of
high winds.
The final project of putting a fence
around the perimeter of the Center’s prop-
erty was needed to keep grazing sheep
from entering the grounds in trie summer
when farmers let their sheep run free.
The caretakers want to begin cultivat-
ing the land so the center’s patients can be
totally self-sufficient in years to come.
For the members of the Arctic Quest
Club, helping out has been a fulfilling
endeavor. “They need the help, and we
have the skills,” noted club member LT
Jack Conrad. “Helping out strengthens
American/Icelandic relations. Also when
you do something for someone who needs
it, it gives you a ‘warm fuzzy’ feeling.”
A journalist takes a wild ride, lives out a dream
By J03 (SW) Andreas Walter
For years I’ve longingly flipped
through the pages of automotive
magazines, filling my head with
trivia that, to others, might seem
droll, uninteresting and, frankly,
boring. My dreams have been
laced with images of flinging
overpowered, rear-engined
Porsches through winding coun-
try roads, letting my right foot
determine my ultimate destiny.
Simply being behind the wheel
of an exotic car with miles upon
miles of highways and nary a
radar- wielding policeman in
sight would have sufficed.
T wenty minutes on a rare sunny
afternoon last week turned my
thoughts into reality. While fol-
lowing up on last week’s article
about Dunlop’s tire testing on the
base, I drove to where the com-
pany had set up their temporary
track. There I was greeted with
clearing skies, a slight Iceland!
breeze and the very sweet w]
of a BMW straight-six engi
being wound to the utmost limits
See RIDE on page 6
ndi^^^
hi£ H
4
The White Falcon