The White Falcon - 05.11.1993, Blaðsíða 5

AWARDS : For Wilson it's as easy as 1,2,3
Story and photo by
J02 (AW) Natalie Dias
AMS 1 (AW) John R. Wilson of the Coun-
seling and Assistance Center (CAAC) should
be accustomed to receiving awards. He was
selected as Senior Military Member of the
Quarter. Then he was selected as Senior
Military Member of the Year 1992. Now he
is also a recipient of the USO/General Dy-
namics Community Service Award.
“Helping others makes me feel good,” said
Wilson. “I don’t see myself doing anything
out of the ordinary.”
Besides being a Drug and Alcohol Couselor
at CAAC, Wilson is an American Red Cross
instructor, a volunteer Red Cross caseworker,
instructor for the Enlisted Aviation Warfare
Specialist Program, and is involved with the
Midnight Sun group of Alcoholics Anony-
mous held Friday nights in Reykjavik.
His dedication to helping others not only
led to his selection as Senior Military Mem-
ber of the Y ear, but also to his nomination for
the community service award by the Iceland
Defense Force this September. The USO/
General Dynamic final selection board looked
at packages from all over the world and chose
a winner from each branch of service. Wilson
was notified Oct 23. “It was the morning of
the Navy Ball. It was a great way to start the
day,” he said.
Secretary of Defense Les A spin will pres-
ent Wilson and the other winners with then-
awards at the USO’s 7th Annual Christmas
Celebration on Dec. 2. The USO is providing
winners and a guest with roundtrip transpor-
tation and a suite at the Hilton and Towers in
Washington D.C. The celebration will also
be held at the Hilion and Towers.
Wilson said that he would be taking his
wife with him. He said they are not only
excited about the award, but are also eagerly
anticipating being back in the United States.
“It’s been a long time. I can’t wait,” he said.
“I’m a recovering alcoholic, and there was
a time in my career when I was struggling and
the community service people helped me,"
Wilson said. "Now helping others helps me.
Wilson works with Alcoholics Anonymous.
I probably get more out of helping people
than the people ihat I help.”
A newcomer’s first impressions and observations
JOl David W. Crenshaw
As the new kid on the block, arriving here
at what has been described as Iceland’s bleak-
est time of the year, you would think that I’d
have been overwhelmed by how dismally my
tour in Iceland has kicked off. Maybe I’m the
type who’s heard “a tour is what you make it”
one too many times, but I’m still not de-
pressed.
Consider this an open letter to the barracks
rats who hide in their caves on weekends and
moan that there is nothing to do in Iceland,
and that services here are lackluster. Some
people just don’t know when they’ve got it so
good.
Okay, so only a duck could enjoy the
drizzly rain that has greeted us, even Charlie
Brown could fly a kite in this wind (not to
mention the lack of kite-eating trees), and the
commissary doesn’t stock the four hundred
varieties of com flakes I was used to back in
Norfolk. But these are all things I expected.
Ever since I stepped off the Rotator two
weeks ago, however, I’ve been pleasantly
surprised by the many things I didn’t expect.
For one, I did not expect to be greeted by my
entire shop when my plane touched down,
nor did I expect them to have stocked my
kitchen so I would not have to go shopping.
Above and beyond is apparently the motto of
the Keflavik sponsorship program.
I wasn’t expecting a bus to come by my
quarters every 40 minutes, drop me off at my
office after only a five minute ride, and an-
other one to take me home that afternoon. In
Naples, Italy, a bus ride from housing to base
was an hour long, the bus ran every two
hours, and it was still a fifteen minute walk
from the stop to my office. Norfolk’s public
transportation system wasn’t much better.
Okay, so the community here is small. I
prefer cozy. Small bases, I’ve found, have
more of a sense of family than their larger
counterparts. There is more of a sense of
bonding that happens and stronger friend-
ships made among a few hundred people than
several thousand because there is iess oppor-
tunity to get lost in the crowd.
I guess some people have trouble seeing
the forest for the trees, which is funny here
considering the lack of trees obstructing the
view. And oh, what a view! Sometimes, we
need to all stop what we’re doing and look
across the bay into the mountains to appreci-
ate the beauty of this country. Even if you’re
stranded on the base, you can still enjoy the
panorama.
Maybe it’s just “new-guy eagerness,” but
so far, Keflavik has the potential to be my
best tour yet. There isn’t any reason why it
can’t be your best tour, as well. But the
attitude adjustment begins inside...
Ar
^^s to
^PTnd,
Another alternative to turning to the bottle
turn to a friend or acquaintance. The
ts of caring and concern are long lasting
don’t dry-up after the bottle is empty.
Although reaching out involves risk, it’s im-
portant to remember risk-taking guarantees
Con tinued from page 3 realness, because it sparks ii rner feelings.
leave Us as king the question, “What’s miss- Lastly, an alcohol abuser body with alcohol by tumin can loosen their g his/her atten-
ing?” tion to the livelihood of ano ther. It is in the
giving we receive, and in doing good deeds
for others, we entertain the likelihood of
forgetting our own problems. By doing so,
alcohol will maintain less control over the
individual and offer a newfound freedom to
explore more rewarding endeavors.
The bottom line is this: Alcohol abuse is
not a solution to a problem but is a problem in
itself. It takes and does not give back to the
individual. Individuals who have lost a sense
of “realness” due to substance abuse, should
know help is available.
Best wishes to you for a Merry Christmas
and a fun and safe New Year’s Eve. For
additional information or assistance on alco-
hol abuse contact CAAC at ext. 7688/7333.
November 5,1993
5