European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1959, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday july 28, 1959 the stars and stripes Page 9 Parka to tie switch Marks new Era for Iceland yanks by Thomas a. Reedy Kef Lavik Iceland a a switch from parkas to neckties accents the drive the . Armed forces Are making to get this Barren windswept nato outpost out of the Klondike years ago the air Force army and Navy teamed up. To form an Early warning station Here As part of the North Atlantic Alliance defense system. 0. The setting was volcanic lava surrounded by icelandic objections to the whole idea the uniform was the Parka. Quarters were tents and quonset the capital of Reykjavik 30 Miles away political officials made no secret of their resentment. In wartime some1 com ment american soldiers took All our icelandic labor was used in the construction work. The program netted Iceland $15. Million in foreign reserves. Hard Money cascaded into the towns contributing to a free Wheeling Klondike atmosphere and inflation. Now steady construction programs have extended the base. Brig Gen h. G. Thome the commandant is supervising a new $6 million operation that includes dormitory housing for his men. It May take a while to get them out of the quonset but the aim is there and a Start has been made. There also is a construction program to provide housing for families. The first 50 units Are to go up next Spring and 50 More each year for the next six years. When this makes enough Progress it will be practical for married men to undertake a two year tour of duty. This will offer More trained and experienced units to patrol the wide expanses of the North Atlantic. Tours now Are for one of the most important factors stimulating a More solid Outlook has been the shift in Iceland s political thinking. There is a new pro american pro nato and therefore pro defense base kind of think ing. The armed forces planners now feel they can build recreation facilities and other morale boosting projects without fear of being told by Iceland to go away As they once were. The icelandic government Laid Down some stiff restrictions on troops during the anti base Days and they still Are in Force. Thorne says passes to leave the base Are kept to a minimum and they still go buc the gradual civilizing of life on the base has shown itself in the Way the 5,000 officers and men conduct themselves in such isolated conditions. Though there Are Only 150 families now the family kind of conduct has made an impression. The parkas have gone and Thorne say proudly the men Wear the everyday defense operation of the base itself is run by the air Force. Patrol planes Are Ever on the go and the slightest kind of radar Blip sends Jet Takeoff Nep Lunes sweeping to the area for signs of a potential enemy. Will the missile age eliminate the value of Iceland As a land mass radar Carrier Ata Midway Point Between Moscow and new York the Slaff Here says the answer is no. They feel that As Long As the Arctic route is the feasible Way of attack the Western forces will have to consider it Eland 7th army men seen Topping 59 a goal Stuttgart Germany special seventh army appears certain to pass its. $150,000 goal in the 1959army emergency Relief Campaign officials indicated. It Gen f. W. Farrell 7th army cd has announced that More than 72 per cent of the goal was attained during the first half of the fund satisfaction with the Campaign s Progress Farrell urged All unit commanders to make concerted Effort to ensure that All 7th army troops Are Given an Opportunity to contribute before the aug. 1 g. L. Eatman 7th army Charity Campaign chairman said a Small number of units have sur passed their fair share goals and that 41 out of the organization s 48 units Are Well Over the Halfway unit in contributions to Date is the 8th inf div with $14,280, followed closely by the 3d inf div with $14,022. Next comes the 3d army div with $13,000. No divisional units named As outstanding contributors in the drive s first half include he v corps Lith army Cav regt 6th pm up 210th arty up 555th engr up 34th signal in 7th army tank training Center aviation training Center and weapons As Sembly school and the 5th loud speaker and leaflet co. Seventh army he staff sections and special troops units have donated $1,400, or 70 per cent Otheir $2,000 goal. The go Section has contributed at a rate of More than $3 per Man. 3d Battle up plans fete Augsburg Germany special a military review and a carnival will be features of the 151st organization Day of the 2d Battle up of the 2d inf. Activities will Star at 10 30 am Friday at Gablinger Cavern. Engineers lend helping hand using Crane with a 40-foot Boom engineers from the Usa eur Engineer ordnance school at Turnau ease a 6-ton steel tube int place at a new sewage disposal Plant at Garmisch Parten Kirchen Germany. City officials discovered they had no equipment heavy enough to move the 28-foot tube and asked the Engineer ordnance school for assistance. Army photo bids prove popularity of Usa eur Bondsmen Heidelberg Germany is Usa eur s 18 bands do a note worthy Job of playing musical ambassador according to the com Mand s new Slaff band officer two b. G. Cook. A measure of their popularity is the number of invitations the bands receive from european groups. Cook said some of them play for foreigners More than 40 per cent of the time taking part in local festivals and in joint Musi Cal events with . Military allies. Musical standards in Europe Are h i g a he pointed out and the bands in Usa eur try to measure up. He said european audiences appreciate . Army bands play ing local favourites. Cook who has been 1 e a Ding army bands for eight years and blowing the trumpet for 25, said the Usa eur bands stack up quite Well with those throughout the army. We have some very Fine bands men and bandmaster in this com Mand he said. They Are very Well qualified and Are doing a Good took Over this month As Usa eur band officer in the adjutant general division. Next month he is setting out on a familiarization tour of the 18 bands 20 per cent of those in the army ranging in size from 28 to 42 says he will try to assist each local bandmaster by giving an out Sider s View of his band and by helping out with personnel and Supply problems. Cook s three Day clinics will in clude auditions and the testing of concert marching and dance bands and band choruses. The testing will include prepared numbers and sight Reading. Cook a 14-year Veteran of army bands moved up to his new Job after leading the Usa eur he. Band. He also has directed bands of the far East he in Japan 1st Cav div 3d army div and theft Mason Post. He said he is qualified to teach All brass instruments and is familiar with wind and percussion instruments. Army wives find flying a Breeze Stuttgart Germany special some women say the darn est things. Take the 160th signal Gas wives Day for instance. Guides at the Stuttgart army Airfield were hit with quips and queries that May be unprecedented in Mili tary Public relations. Shadowy invader rouses aps to predawn manhunt Toul France special an unidentified Man invaded a 50th tactical fighter Wing restricted area in a Midnight visit which roused the entire 50th air police so to a manhunt which lasted until Daybreak. " an alarm was raised by a/2c Orlandus Bell a night shift guard at a base Margherite restricted Are when he spotted what appeared to be a human Silhouette and in True guardsman style shouted halt but the intruder darted into the Forest and minutes later was sighted at another guard Post. Again the invader refused to com Forward to be recognized and retreated into surrounding Woods. Summoned to the scene capt John e. Stacey base Provost Niar Shal mustered air policemen from their Barracks and just after Midnight posted them around the invaded area. As the aps advanced Closuit a human net about the Quarry others caught sight of the fleeting Shadow. Suddenly a figure sprang from Coyer and bounded against a Fence. Recovering it leaped again sailing Over the 15-foot Barrier enclosing the 417th tactical fighter so and dashed to. Freedom. Afir police were aghast their pen Trator was the first Deer Ever. J in Tope Rof la avg ii use fill Fer v .--0- the occasion was an open House for wives of 7th army personnel assigned to the 160th signal up and its subordinate units. About 50 Spike heeled women descended upon the Airstrip armed with keen interest in their husbands Trad and some new approaches to army aviation. One Young wife studied an h19 Chickasaw helicopter carefully then asked is it easy to Park another visiting housewife pointed to the Craft s foot controls and wanted to know if those Little things were the brakes. When the party advanced to the display of an h13 Sioux copter a wife exclaimed that it looks like Doodlebug and promptly wanted to know How come it did t have any doors. The guide explained that the doors were removed Dur ing warm weather. So what keeps the Pilot from falling out?".the woman continued. Honor for 46th inf sgt Grafe Woehr Germany special sgt Cebert r. Brown ing of the 1st army Rifle in of the 46th inf was the Honor graduate of the first Ngo chemical Bio logical and radiological class to be graduated from the 7th army training Center s new Ger Section at Yil Selc. The Pilot wears a safety Belt m Ain the guide explained. What if it Breaks she Femi nicely persisted. The guide suggested that the ladies proceed to the next exhibit. Inspecting an l19 Bird dog plane equipped with dual controls for Pilot instrument training the women Learned that the student s Cabin is blacked out for training Pur poses. They unanimously agreed that the practice in t at All fair to the student. Short on space they called aircraft control pan Els a mess and wondered How their lanky husbands could fold themselves into those tiny Little Driver the wives were ushered into the link tra Iner room and those who dared climbed into the fully instrumented training devices. Most of them dared. Most of them a few of the wives however were successful in their link flights and were advised by training supervisors that if you can Fly a link you can Fly an air plane. Yeah remarked one accomplished aviatrix but it s so sin Saco cuts Accident rate Munich special accidents in the Southern area come dropped from 67 in May to 56 in june and showed an appreciable decline from the total of 72 for the san Mont last year Vernon e. Cross Saco safety director announced Here. For the first time in the history of Saco said Cross military Drivers of army motor vehicles exceeded local National Drivers in Miles driven without . Civilians on the Job in a com still headed the safety list. With a no Accident record for the month of june. Military personnel who decreased their Accident rate by 40 per cent were second. Ger mans employed by the . Govern ment also bettered their safety rec Ord with a 17 per cent drop in on the Job a breakdown of unsafe acts on Lacoin highways careless driving still held the spotlight. Care less driving practices cited by the safely director As chief causes of accidents included assuming the right of Way following too closely improper backing excessive Speed misjudging clearances and improper and Grafe Woehr posts each reported Only two accidents during the month while the 793d military police in and the 142dmilitary police co were the two troop units that went Accident free for the entire month. Band tells me he had a Tough Day 1 lean youths. Southern area scouts be Fin Scotland tour Stuttgart Germany special american boy scouts of the South Ern area District Are off on a 16 Day visit with scouts of Northwest Ayrshire at Stevenson Scotland. Heading the 39 scouts and four leaders from the Stoi Tygart area is m sgt Benjamin j. Macginnis of Rolla mo., chief clerk of the 7tharmy signal Section and assistant scout District commissioner. Scot Tish scouts later will return Faery plea wait lathe next time Myhiis-for.a14-Day visit with
