The White Falcon - 03.12.1993, Blaðsíða 5

Mustang association promotes personal advancement
By J03(SW) Andreas Walter
The base has a new association. Yet this
non-profit organization does not require
yearly dues. In fact, its members don’t fore-
see any fund raisers in the near future, or for
that matter, ever. If this seems slightly out of
the ordinary, it is.
The Mustang Association, a group of 20
limited duty (LDO) and warrant officers on
the base, is available to the community for
any professional counseling dealing with
ascension to the officer ranks by enlisted
personnel.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Raymond Lynch,
president of the Mustang Association, “We
are an information source on any kind of
officer program, since all of us have, at one
time or another, been enlisted.”
The group traces its relatively young roots
back two years when select officers met
occasionally for lunch and a chance to dis-
cuss professional development and military
leadership issues. The desire to form a legiti-
mate organization came during the summer
months of this past year.
‘Nearly 70 enlisted personnel from vari-
s base commands submitted packages to
considered for an officer program during
the last year. Of these, almost half were com-
pleted incorrectly,” Lynch recalled.
“With twenty active members, base-wide,
I firmly believe that there are enough Mus-
tangs to be of service to anyone considering
one of these programs.”
The term ‘Mustang’ goes back many years
in the military. A Mustang is defined as any
naval officer who has served as an enlisted
person in any of the other services, be it for
two weeks or 15 years. According to Lynch,
the Mustangs of Naval Air Station Keflavfk
have spent an average of six to eight years as
an enlisted person. “For the young enlisted
sailor who wishes to pursue an officer pro-
gram, we offer a tremendous wealth of exper-
tise to tap into.” The Mustangs come from
many varied ratings within the enlisted
community, and today, as officers, range
from Warrant to Lt Cmdr.
Lynch knows all too well the benefits of
pursuing a commissioned path. As a first
term enlisted sailor, he thought he
was ready to quit the Navy.
His outlook changed
rather dramatically
though.
“When
I was ending my first enlistment, my only
objective was to get out. A chief took me
aside and asked me what I really wanted to do
with my life. This gave me the needed boost,
and I continued to work my way up through
the ranks.”
Lynch went on to be selected for the war-
rant officer program, and following that,
picked up LDO.
In addition to being a readily available
source of corporate knowledge for aspiring
officers, the Mustang Association seeks to
prepare sailors for officer program boards.
“We feel that every board should have at least
one prior enlisted person on it,” he said. “The
local boards are designed to aid the Navy, and
our goal is to ensure that commanding offi-
cers give the right information in the packets.
In some cases, it can be beneficial for a
person to wait another year.”
For now, the Mustangs are concentrating
on getting the word out to the local commu-
nity, and doing what they can to promote
knowledge about the various officer pro-
grams.
“If I can help one person that ten years from
now becomes a good officer - I’ve done
something worthwhile,” Lynch concluded.
If you are interested in finding out more about
any one of today’s officer programs, contact
Lt. Cmdr. Lynch at ext. 7525, or Lt. Cmdr.
Johnson at ext. 7410.
Sculptor instructs students, lets them hammer away
The students marveled at the sheer size of the marble
block and the texture created by the carving tools.
Story and photos by
JQ3(SW) Andreas Walter
Nearly two months after making the first
scratches in a 16-thousand-pound block of
marble, Mark Ebbert can be found in his
Ebbert explains his sculpture to the students.
small studio, steadily chipping away
at what is to become a life-size rendi-
tionofa Viking. The sculpture, which
Ebbert will be donating to the base
community next year, is based on a
likeness of a Viking from around 800
A.D.
Recently, the entire third grade
class of the A.T. Mahan Elementary
School had a chance to visit Ebbert’s
workshop and leam some background
information on his work.
“Children need to get out and see
things that happen in everyday life.
This gives them an opportunity to see
and experience something they would
ortherwise just read about in a text-
book,” Ebbert said.
The one hundred students arrived
in different groups throughout the
rainy afternoon. Ebbert gave the stu-
dents a briefing on the various stone-
working tools he uses as well as some of the
techniques employed when working with
Italian marble. Following the lecture, each
student was allowed to try their hand at
removing some of the material, before re-
turning to the classroom.
December 3,1993
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