The White Falcon - 10.12.1993, Blaðsíða 1

Serving the Iceland Defense Force Community
Vol. 52 No. 48 December 10,1993 “
Icelandic Comer
Do you accept dollars?
Tekur J>u dollara?
(Take-kuth thu dol-lara?)
Spirit of giving
The Officers’ Wives
Club makes substantial
donations to base asso-
ciations. See page 4.
Soccer kicks
Base youth keep fans
opponents in sus-
ense during soccer
bumey. See page 8.
Did you know
Force Educa-
tion Office is accepting
spouse tuition assis-
tance forms unti
22. Call ext. 2698
more information.
Inside
Editorials.........2
Briefs.............3
Lyte Bytes.........3
Features.........4-5
Awards.............6
Classifieds........7
Sports.............8
57th FS - beating the elements
A combination of high winds and an ice-covered taxiway forced this F-15 ofl the tarmac recently.
Story and photo by
J03(SW) Andreas Walter
The words Icelandic weather
bring forth a bag of mixed emo-
tions. To some, the brisk winds,
horizontal rain and snow-to-sun
in five minutes are an adventure
to enjoy. To others, displaced
from warmer climes, the words
send shivers.
The pilots and ground crew
personnel of the 57th Fighter
Squadron, 35th Wing, take these
conditions in stride. In the pleas-
ant breezes of summer and fero-
cious gale force winds of winter,
their mission remains the same:
to stabilize the North Atlantic re-
gion and protect the sovereign air
space of Iceland through com-
bat capable surveillance, air su-
periority and rescue forces.
Judging by the many accident-
free hours flown and missions
completed by the pilots, the 57th
Fighter Squadron is accomplish-
ing their mission.
“This environment is very
challenging for even the most
experienced pilots,” said Capt.
Dillon Marshal, ‘B’ Flight com-
mander. “The combination of
low cloud height, poor weather
mid ice make for a tough flying
scenario. Here, flying single-
seat F-15s, one guy has to do
everything.”
Marshal, one of 18 pilots as-
signed to the 57th, has logged
four years behind the stick of an
F-15.
“Nowhere else in the world
can one be so challenged,” he
added.
Although actual intercepts
have diminished considerably
over the last four or five years,
the pilots still log many hours,
even exceeding average state-
side flying hours to hone their
skills and become as experienced
as possible in their field.
“Many squadrons are a mixture
of seasoned pilots and ones that
are new to flying. I can honestly
say that the 57th Fighter Squad-
ron has no inexperienced pilots,”
Marshall stated emphatically. “An
experienced pilot is one who has
logged 500 hours in the same type
of aircraft, usually after two or
three years airborne. Our pilots
“Nc one )wh ere :: il ie can
best id ial 'le ng ed.”
put in roughly 250 to 300 hours a
year.”
With the squadron’s main em-
phasis on training, the harsh
weather conditions of Icelandplay
an enormous role in determining
whether or not the pilots will
launch. The day to day decisions
concerning flying are based on a
variety of factors, primarily the
runway surface condition and the
Continued on page 5