The White Falcon - 14.01.1994, Blaðsíða 5

35th Wing commander answers questions
Mponsultations spark interest among troops
Editor's note: The following
is a summary of comments made
by the Commander of the 35th
Wing, Col. Bran McAllister,
during a recent question and
answer session held Jan. 7for all
base Air Force personnel and
theirfamilies concerning the con-
sultations.
Following the summary is a
listing of the questions that were
posed and the answers given by
McAllister.
McAllister started by touching
on morale issues affecting base
personnel and went into the state-
ments made by Rear Adm. Mi-
chael Haskins, Commander Ice-
land Defense Force, during his
recent NBS interview. He also
discussed issues such as the re-
duction in F-15 forces, manpower
reductions and more. “Manpower
es depend on which organiza-
|nal structure is finally decided
for the 35th Wing for the fu-
ture,” McAllister said.
On the issue of F-15 alerts, he
stated that this feature will re-
main since it is the most visible
method of demonstrating the Air
Force’s capability to provide an
air defense for Iceland.
Question: Will we continue
to see the KC-135 here in support
of the F-15 operations?
McAllister: Whether there are
four F-15s here or a whole squad-
ron of F-15s, we will continue
certain things because they are
not related to the number of air-
planes, but rather to the fact that
we have airplanes here at all. We
will continue to have a tanker
here for the same reasons we
have always had one, it enables
us to perform our mission. With-
out the tanker, we have a signifi-
cant shift in our ability to provide
a longer more continuous air
defense presence.
Q: How will this (the Agreed
Minute) affect the Department of
Defense schools?
A: There is concern, with
potential impact on their enroll-
ment. Many implications for staff
sizings and textbooks will need
to be addressed. In my opinion,
depending on drawdown, there
will always be somewhat of an
impact The enrollment
will undoubtedly change.
For those of you who will
be here for the next school
year, the quality of the
education your children
will receive here will not
diminish in the least.
Q: How will this affect
mobility exercises and
TDYs (Temporary Duty
Assignments)?
A: The decision was
made to keep F-15s here, a
smaller number. In many
respects, nothing has re-
ally changed except the
number of planes. The
mission has two parts:
operate day to day, and
support forces to augment
us, such as additional F-
15s. There remains the
requirement to exercise.
There is no reason to think
that any TDYs will change. The
scheduled mission will not
change in any way.
Q: What will be the effect on
quality of life with the drawdown.
Can quality of life be enhanced
Wing to wing and tail to tail in the sky
Col. BranMcAllister,Commander35th
Wing. (File photo)
due to fewer personnel in the
barracks?
A: Planners have to consider a
number of factors such as: cost,
combat capability, safety and
quality of life. In a Total Quality
Leadership Air Force, our lead-
ership believes that quality of
life may be the most important

ws
P-3C Orion aircraft belonging to Patrol Squadron 45 (VP-45 ) and the Royal Netherlands Navy fly above
southeast coast of Iceland during aformationflying exercise last week. According to Lt. ChuckCleary,
ventional Weapons Officer for VP-45, the formation flight was the first of its kind for the squadron
had an added benefit of being pilot1 aircrew training. VP-45 is on a six-month deployment to Naval
Air Station Keflavlk, and the Dutch keep a permanent presense with one aircraft and a rotating crew.
(Photo by J03(SW) Andreas Walter)
factor to consider. Every oppor-
tunity we have to improve the
quality of life, we will act on.
There have been discussions
concerning living conditions. We
should expect no decrease in the
quality of life and should expect
it to remain as good as now.
Q: Do you have any idea
where the aircraft will be going
to?
A: The challenge is to figure
out where they all need to go.
They will probably go to where
the same types of aircraft already
exist
Q: How will this affect per-
sonnel coming to Iceland?
A: There is the possibility that
there is a temporary hold on some
inbounds. Some assignments
might also be slowed down.
January 14,1994
5