European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 29, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday jufy29, 1993 military the stars and stripes Page 11 i i 1 Andrus fakes command of 3rd of at Mildenhall from staff reports Raf m1ldenhalu England maj. Gen. James g. Andrus assumed command of the 3rd air Force at Raf Mildenhall on wednesday. Andrus succeeds maj. Gen. Charles d. Link who had been commander since july 1991. Link has been reassigned to . European come Headquarters i Stuttgart Germany As director of plans and policy. Andrus most recent assignment was chief of Sta fat the Allied air forces Southern Europe Headquarters in Naples Italy. His previous assignments included an f-4 phantom ii standardization and evaluation officer with the 92ndtac fighter so at Raf but Atwaters England chief of the americas Australia and new zealand div for the International programs directorate at air Force Headquarters in Washington  chief of staff for operations for the alaskan air come and director of operations for the alaskan North american aerospace defense Region at Elmendorf fab Alaska and director of the North american aerospace defense come planning staff at Norad Headquarters at Peterson fab Colo. Crail sheim ceremony set Crail sheim Germany the closure ceremony for Mckee Barracks will be held at 2 . Friday on the Parade  ceremony is open to the Public. A reception for invited guests will follow. Also a Barbecue for soldiers family members and employees will be held. The . Army has been in Crail sheim since 1945.the last major tenant units to serve at Mckee Barracks include he co 7th corps support group which will move to finder Barracks in Birndorf Germany this year and 5th in 2nd air defens Earty regt which will move to Bamberg Germany. Coleman takes command Naples Italy rear adm. Jon s. Coleman has taken Over As commander of Fleet air Mediterranean maritime surveillance and reconnaissance forces 6th Fleet and maritime air forces  succeeded rear adm. Daniel t. Oliver in those posts at Cap Dichino Airport near Naples last  commander of Fleet air Mediterranean Coleman will oversee . Naval stations and logistics squadrons in the Mediterranean sea. The maritime surveillance and reconnaissance forces conduct electronic reconnaissance and ship patrols in the Mediterranean. Maritime air forces Mediterranean coordinate patrol aircraft and other activities. Coleman a native of Shreveport la., previously commanded Nas Brunswick Maine and a Navy task Force responsible for air patrols Over the , who is from Camden s.c., will become the director of the assessment div a component of the chief naval operations in Washington . Security police reunion set san Marcos Texas the eighth annual meeting and reunion of the air Force Security police association will be held in Las vegas at the Imperial Palace hotel on aug. 12-15.the group is open to former and Active duty Security police members and publishes information about careers in Law  the association s number in the United states 1-800-782-7653, ext. 267, for information. Units train in Iceland Nas Kef Lavik Iceland servicemen Berstrom All branches of the . Armed forces Are participating in Northern Viking 93, a series of exercises scheduled to end aug. 6, according to a news  exercises which started monday Are designed to test the capabilities of Active duty Force stationed in Iceland and Reserve forces that would mobilize to support Iceland during a crisis  Swars or natural disasters according to the release. About 675 personnel from stateside units rejoining naval Marine and air Force members units based in Iceland As part of the exercise. About 3,300u.s. Servicemen of ciders Are stationed in Iceland. The stateside units include Active duty Reserve and National guard units from Massachusetts Rhode Island Pennsylvania Virginia Oklahoma and Washington . A Small number of personnel will come from Washington state Iowa Georgia Alabama and North Carolina. Navy unit finds sailing smooth at air Force base by Meridith . Bureau Raf Mildenhall England sailors Are used to finding themselves surrounded by Blue  . Navy members at Raf Mildenhall s naval air facility have encountered a sea of a different Hue of Blue that of air Force  re not the Only Navy unit at an air Force base but we re probably the Only one in Europe cmdr. Thomas e. Denham said. They the air Force treat us pretty Good. They take care of us and involve us in their activities jus like an air Force  the facility moves cargo mail an people to Navy units in the United King Dom and parts of Europe. The 28 serv ice members and three department of defense civilians Are under the naval activities United kingdom in London. Flying three uc-12m  King air aircraft air facility members often land a Brawdy in Wales Raf Machrihanish and Raf Edzell in Scotland and Nas Kcf Lavik  also make trips to Norway Den Mark Germany Spain and Italy. Our flying area encompasses approximately a 1,000-mile radius which is the Range or our aircraft said Denham the unit s commander. We Fly almost everyday. Adjusting to life in an air Force dominated Environ ment has its challenges. Some of our flying requirements Are different than theirs said Denham 43,.from Mobile Ala. We have different approach procedures depending on the weather. In those cases our rules  we have a Friendly rivalry with the air Force be Nior chief Petty officer Jim Bursley said. We inter face really Well with the people on  Force members have come to accept the Navy at Mildenhall and other than a Little teasing no real animosity exists said Bursley the top enlisted person at the  with the air Force has been inter Esting Petty officer 1st class John Aiello said. Trying to coordinate our rules and regulations Tomesh with the air Force Way has caused a  Aiello 37, is an aircrew member and assists in operations. The Tampa fla., native said some conflicts arise Over safety rules. The air Force rules Don t appear to be As stringent As the Navy she said. When some thing like this happens we have to go with the Denham hardest and most extreme cases. That Means following the Navy  although the Navy unit has operated at Mildenhall since 1964, some people Are still surprised when they see a Navy uniform Petty officer.2nd class Ang Lacook said. It was a Little bit of a Shock when i first got Here said Cook 27. Even today after Beijing Here a year you can walk up to quite a few air Force people and the look at you and say we have the Navy Here " air Force people express curiosity about the Navy and Navy people Are equally interested in the air  Are genuinely interested in what we do life aboard ship and a lot of other things Petty officer 1stclass James Johnson said. But i also wanted to learn Sas Dave of Domail and other parcels he on the ground at Brawdy Wales following delivery by a . Navy aircraft flying out of Raf Mildenhall England. About  Johnson 31, from Miami volunteered for duty Here. I be worked with marines so i wanted to see what twas like working with the air Force he said. If i get a Chance i want to see what the army is  most Navy people said the Quality of life is better a Mildenhall than at some Navy installations. This is the Best Navy Barracks i be Ever seen in my life Cook said. The rooms Are bigger and nicer than any i be lived  part of it stems from being at an air Force base an from being a Small unit Cook  i first moved into the Barracks there were Only four of us in Here said Cook from Ruston la. We have 11 rooms. It was different at first but we were like one big  being stationed at Mildenhall has some disadvantages some sailors said. We can t find Navy uniform items Here de Hamaid. Other than Short trips to West Ruislip in London or when we Fly to other Navy bases we have to order most of our uniforms from Norfolk  another mixed Blessing particularly for the enlisted people deals with their jobs. Just about everyone is working out of their rating Job skill Aiello said. It s excellent for career  Cook and Aiello Are aircraft maintenance technicians but they Don t get to work on the aircraft at Mildenhall which Are serviced by civilians under contract with Beechraft. If there s a mechanical problem while on a Mission the flight Crews can do Only limited troubleshooting. That s one of the Pitfalls of duty Here Aiello  get Rusty in your line of work. So when the time comes for you to test for your next rank you Don t doas Well and Don t Advance As quickly As others in your same  but most Navy people interviewed at Mildenhall said they would not want to switch services. The air Force is not bad Cook said. The facilities Are Nice and they take care of their people. The Navy does t concentrate so much on the Quality of life Type things. But i would t want to switch. She said it May not be quite As Nice but she know what to expect from the Navy. I also prefer being in the Navy Aiello said. There Are More opportunities to Excel and advancement to the next rank is a lot faster than in the air  . Colonel awarded German Honor Cross Sembach a Germany is a colonel from the . 17th air Force in Sembach recently was awarded the Honor Cross of the German armed forces. Col. Frederick Hollinger director of the wartime Host nation support Center at 17th air Force was presented the award by it. Gen. Peter Klatte commander of the German air Force support come at a ceremony in Cologne. The Honor Cross is the Only military decoration Ger Many presents to its military members and must be approved by the German Secretary of defense. It is rarely awarded to members of a foreign military service according to a 601st support Wing release. During the ceremony Knatte said Hollinger s efforts played a decisive part in creating and maintaining co operation Between German and american forces