European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday april 8, 19b7 the stars and stripes pane 9 Zinnen on he roof of the control Tyrer Boudina it Septa he a Germany Witch As pilots practice their la by formation for the Safe change of command ?0T 15-aircraft formation a cinch pilots say by Daryle. Green kit Lautem Bureau Sembach a Germany celling15 aircraft from the seven nations of Al lied air forces Central Europe in together Over the same target at the same Lime is As simple As following a Road map after everything is formed up on their last turn they turn and go right Down die a6 autobahn and that Lead them right to said capt Robert Flaxen Airfield manager at Sera Baobab Germany. On tuesday the a6 Lead them to the Safe and Allied air forces Centra Europe Chairge of command ceremony. The four formation flyby included 15 planes from Germany the United King Dom Canada Belgium the Netherlands France and the United states. . Planes came from Tilburg harm Spang Dahlem and Stenbach air bases in Ger Many Raf upper Heyford Alconbury and Ben Walen m the United kingdom and Soester Bergrab Netherlands Saidt co. Deane t. Gordon Mission com Mander and an f-1s Pilot from Pitburg. After a practice monday there did t seem to be any fear among the pilots that they would have trouble getting into for mation because of their different aircraft and different native languages. Of no we got a thorough briefing about what we Are going to do said capt. Felip flip Heyl Esonni an f-16pilot from Belgium. The briefing gave us first of All Tim ing he said minutes after Landing Mon Day. We will be there at 9 01 when the actual change of command takes place said Gordon the Lead aircraft Pilot on monday the first element takes off at 8 10 followed each seven minutes by an other tour ship for a total of is aircraft. Well be in Diamond formation with about a three foot Wing tip clearance be tween Wingman. And the Slot Man to form the Diamond will have nose Tail separation on the Leader cordon of the formations will Fly 2,000 feet apart for a total of one mile betwee the Leader and the last hey Esonne said they were Given a word about we re actually Hying 300 knots at an Altitude of 1,300 feet above ground he said. There is no language bar Rier for the pilots. The language of the sky is English now and All our allies speak excellent English so there s been no communication problem whatsoever Gordon addition they did t plan a great Deal of talking in the air. The commander asked us to zip Ligand hold communications to a mini mum hey Esonne said. Kirk takes Over command of Safe Aaice kaisers Eulern Bureau Ramstein a Germany Gen. William l. Kirk look command wednesday of Safe and Allied air forces Central Europe. During a morning ceremony on the Ramstein flight line Gen. Bernard Rogers supreme Allied commander Europe welcomed Kirk and bid Farewell to Gen. Charles Donnelly jr., who retires May i. Kirk 54, is familiar with Safe from his time at Raf event Wien England from i960 to 1964 and As Safe Deputy chief of staff for operations from 1982 to 1985. He comes to Safe from commanding the 9th air Force at Shaw fab . Having served in the Allian Ceon previous occasions i am mindful of the tremendous responsibility we All face in pre serving peace and Security in the free world As we know it today Kirk said after taking Flats symbolizing his command of Fth air forces. German Gen. Leopold Chalupa commander of Allied forces Central Europe said during the ceremony that Kirk s challenges include delays in implementation Kirk of new command and control systems postponement of Force modernization initiatives and inadequacies inc Novation programs for air bases. Kirk joined the air Force in 1951 and received his regular commission in 1954. He has More than 5,800 hours in Jet lighter aircraft and flew 130 f-4 missions in Southeast Asia. During the ceremony attended by about 500 people Donnelly received he distinguished service medal first Oak Leaf Cluster. The ceremony opened with a seven nation 15-air-Craft flyby and ended with a Vintage p-51 Mustang buzzing the flight line. Donnelly flew a Mustang during his first regular air Force assignment. Man wife team wins Hemingway mimic contest los Angeles
