European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 16, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes saturday March 16, 1961 ots rules for volunteers by Marc Huet is Washington Bureau chief Washington is the air Force announced a new plan to implement an enlistment policy for those who Volunteer specific ally for officer training school ots1. To take effect this sum Mer. Starting with ots class 69aselectees will be enlisted in the regular air Force for four year with the understanding that if they Are eliminated from school for other than medical reasons or unsuitability they May election writing to Complete their four year enlistment contract Orbe immediately discharged. Previously they enlisted for two years and were required to Complete the enlistment contract if eliminated from a related action the air Force said it is changing the procedures for those individuals who enter ots As Pilot an navigator trainees and change their minds or Are physically Dis qualified. In the future the semen will be withdrawn from ots and subjected to the new discharge procedures unless they hold a no rated skill with in the ots quota and receive a favourable recommendation fro their tactical officer. Shows True interest truth in lending Bill to Aid gis Washington is under Secretary of the Navy Charlesf. Baird believes passage of the National truth in lending legis lation by Congress will bring about an increasing clamor on the part of military person Nel to join credit unions. The truth in lending Bill is aimed at showing borrowers the actual True annual interest of Loans. Baird in a speech at the an Nual meeting of the Navy fed eral credit Union Here promised the Navy will continue to work towards credit Union service for100 per cent of our Navy Marine corps and Nicu is the largest credit Union in the world wit More than 102,000 members including about 5,000 in foreign countries. About 1,000 military and civilian members attended the annual session. In this Day when so Man Yyoung people Are away from Home performing their patriotic duty in the defense establish ment we in authority have a definite responsibility to protect these Young americans from the unscrupulous who would take advantage of their youth and in experience Baird. department of defense has been aware of the abuses practice by certain Gran tors of credit to servicemen. In the absence of an effective truth in lending Law Steps were taken to provide Protection for our own personnel As users of credit part of this policy he noted was to encourage the operation Viet bound troops to get stripes orientation Issue Scott fab Iii. Special troops airlifted to Vietnam this summer by military Airlift come will be Able to read up on their Desti nation while in flight. Starting july 1, a stars and stripes special orientation Issue will be delivered at Mac ports of embarkation at Mcguire Norton Travis and Mcchord. Deliveries also will remade at the Marine corps air station at Eltoro Calif. Newspapers will be Given to servicemen aboard their flights so that they can read the i s no. 1 newspaper during the flight to Vietnam. Newspapers will be provided on both military and contract aircraft. The orientation Issue details activities of the ., vietnamese and free world forces covering their missions and combat records. The stripes Issue also covers civic action pro Grams and development of the action in Viet included Are tips on calling Home use of currency and local customs All designed to make the transition , copies of the stripes orientation Issue were Given to replacements during orientation sessions after arrival in Vietnam. Of credit unions serving Mil Tarand civilian personnel 51 2 Quiring that credit Cost of stated in terms of True Annis interest the defense i fish ment has been established As Macader in promoting truth in lending he added. N in discussing credit unions Fornall Navy and Marine corps personnel Baird also said i can not ignore the fact that Many four personnel Are still denied effective credit Union service Al though All officers in the Navy already have the Opportunity to affiliate with Nicu and from time to time with a number of other credit unions far too Many enlisted personnel and civilian employees both in the and overseas have no such Baird pointed out that he strongly encouraged All credit unions when approved by regulatory authority to serve All military personnel afloat within their jurisdiction and to serve military and civilian personnel not Only on base but at outlying facilities which Are too Small Coset up their own credit Union. The Only Way All Navy personnel can be properly served is if All credit unions actively search out new members and make every attempt to bring new members within their Fields of membership if no credit unions available to serve fac in Vietnam Pilot tells of swashbuckling9 Day by Peter Kuirt staff writer f u l d a Germany is capt. David Tracy s sendoff from Vietnam was a real blast. They gave me my going away party during the Battle of Dak to last november he said and before it was Over we were mortared by the Viet Cong Al most tear gassed by our own people when the wind shifted and i wound up with shrapnel in my that Farewell party probably was my closest shave there. I almost did t make not that there weren t plenty of other close Calls for the 27 year old army Pilot who Swash buckled his Way through 21 months of Bird dogging Over the Jungles and mountains of South Vietnam. A round faced Stocky fellow with a latin moustache Tracy was relaxing in the pilots lounge of the 14th air Cav co Here reminiscing about his action packed stint in Southeast Asia. He returned from an extended tour there late last year and was reassigned in january to the 14th Cav As officer in charge of aircraft maintenance. But he obviously was itching to get Back where All the action i m trying to get reassigned right now he said pensively staring out at the. Cloud swept but peaceful hessian Countryside along the. Iron curtain. And this time i m Gonna stay until the kick me still single and intending to stay so for some time Tracy ii kide no Bones about Hie excite ment and adventure that went with Hunting an elusive enemy from the cockpit of a trusty old Bird you be got to play it by the he mused. Down there i was my own Boss most of the time set my own hours. And you really had the feel ing you were accomplishing assigned to the 219th recon Naissance air plane co head Hunters at Plesku in the Centra Highlands in March 1966, the Captain was one of Only a hand Ful of army fliers engaged in fac ing fac Forward air control. His Job was to spot enemy troop concentrations and move ments fortifications Supply de pots and routes and it included the authority to Call up air and artillery strikes on targets. It s a Tricky business Al right said Tracy who Calls Honolulu his Home but caught on fast and eventually i got pretty Good at much of the credit he said had to go to his Eagle Eye vision of 20-15 meaning he can see at 20 feet what others with a Normal vision of 20-20, can seat 15 feet on the Eye Chart. Reconnaissance missions took Hunter 26"his radio Call sign Over the densely Jingle a montagnard country of Korntum prov Ince the trails and staging areas along the Laos Cambodia Border to the marines at the Doz an to the seashores. After a while you learn what to look for said Tracy but even with plenty of experience you never really know what to you May find some tanks or Nicks where by All intelligence reports no tanks or truck should be. Or trails mysteriously congregating at a clump of Bushes in the Middle of nowhere. Or ingeniously camouflaged new Bridges. Or merely a couple of fish traps in a Stream. He said he once spotted some holes that looked like Tunnel entrances in an area thought to be deserted by the turned out to be a regi mental Headquarters Tracy said and when we got through with them we had killed 166charlies." Tracy said he often took offal night when the Viet Cong or North vietnamese regulars Felt relatively Safe from Aerial recon i looked for reflections of fires or lights shining from holes in the ground he said. One could t do much of course but just dumping a few rockets in top of them was enough to destroy their interest in a leisurely one time Tracy said he was slowly winging Over a Valley where nobody was supposed Mohave been since the Indochina War. He said he was surprised to find it was loaded with cultivation. The North vietnamese army definitely was in i pointed it out to the air Force people who sent in crop dusters after one week the place was denuded revealing an extensive Bunker system another military installations. Crop dusters of course Are air Craft dumping defoliation Chemi cals on vegetation to denude Jungles or destroy enemy food i had known what was Down there Tracy grinned i would t have gone Down that Tracy said some of his most Cut. David Tracy stud us beside plane at Fulda. Rewarding cruises came during noon Chow hours. Charlie was Well acquainted with that sacred american tradition of the 12-to-l lunch break. That when he liked to come out of hiding to do his digging. An that s when you could really clobber the two seater Bird dog which he usually flew alone was not designed to carry Arma ment except flares and up tonight rockets under the wings but Tracy said he liked to take along some grenades to do a Little Hunting of my Bird dogging was his full time Job Tracy said but there never was any Lack of other duties As these included Aerial medical Supply drops medevac missions radio relays or giving an isolated patrol an exact fix on its location that Job of evaluating the wounded was a miserable Busi Ness he recalled. Sometime you had to make the decision whether to take a Guy who Losta leg or another who had his guts torn up. There were some pretty emotional scenes. At Christmas time thanks giving Hunter 2 i dropped booze in grenade cases Ana fruit Rake in ammo boxes k ran extra special Holiday real he ran a one Man airlifting strippers to api gis in the Way out boy what a reception we m from those Guys he Maru Ltd in retrospect. Tracy said be Kepi la 1 battered often patched up u dog throughout Bis , ring to it affectional Al As out Holl of a a it never failed me u and it could be relied upon get you Back even if u full of
