European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 07, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                For . Feeling Lakenheath s bar ranks up there by Nancy Torner . Bureau when the work week ends and Mem Bers of the 494th fighter so at Raf Lakenheath England congregate a their private pub military ranks an surnames Are left outside the door. The Guys come Here and unwind said tech sgt. Edgar Poe the Squadron historian. The 494th s fighter bar is distinguishable from other rooms in the Squadron building by its red padded door and stained Glass window depicting a Panther the Squadron s Mascot. Its Interior resembles a British pub with wooden tables and easy chairs and its Walls Are decorated with Squadron Memorabilia. By Day the pub serves As a general lounge. By night especially on fridays the pub s atmosphere is festive and familiar As Squadron members Congre Gate to draw themselves a few pints of Beer Chal Lenge each other to games of fuss Ball and darts or simply Chat with work associates who also happen to be their closest friends. It s a Chance to talk about what we be done said it. Col. Steve Turner the 48th operations group commander. There s a lot of things that happen to these Guys throughout the week. There s a lot of learning that can go  Turner is fairly new to the Squadron and when interviewed at the pub he had yet to be officially initiated into the tight knit family. Every f-1s Crew member must undergo an initiation and naming cer Emony that according to those who have been initiated it similar to a mild fraternity hazing. None of the Squadron members will give specific details about initiation ceremonies but they say Friendly teasing definitely plays a part. The 494th Calls the ceremony a Dupp party which is the family name taken by every initiate. New members also Are Given a nickname that Gener ally is based on something they be said or done since joining the Squadron. When you put the two names together such As Luv Dupp the combination Equa Tes to loved  official name tags Are stripped from uniforms and replaced by Dupp tags when members frequent the pub. Rank is nonexistent in Jhc Dupp family. Normally you get Dup cd on your first deploy ment said Earl Dupp. It Means a  Earl was dumped almost immediately. He joined the 494th after it already had deployed to in Ciurlik a Turkey and no one knew who he was when he arrived. There was another Pilot in the Squadron who went by his first initial Only because he did t like his first name which was Earl. This Pilot was Given the dumbest name beginning with the letter e that the rest of the Dupp family could think of Earl Dupp said which was Eugene. That s Eugene my real name Earl said so i became  most Squadron members Are reluctant to talk about How they earned their nicknames but it s Clear that most handles Are based on embarrassing experiences. Take gun Dupp whose name is the radio Call letters for Raf Mildenhall. He earned the name when he mistakenly landed at Mildenhall after one sortie instead of at Lakenheath. The two bases Are about seven Miles apart and gun said he was t the first or the last Pilot to land at the wrong Airfield. Still he got stuck with the name. The Bright Side of the Story was that he gun was off Only one let Ter Earl said. Lakenheath s Call letters Are Elul. This Type of razing is rampant in the pub and could Only be acceptable among friends and family. To members of the 494th, the Squadron is both. Anthul., Sas Dav Ovidio Squadron personnel and guests after hours in the 494th fighter so bar at Raf Lakenheath England. Our closest friends Are right Here Earl said. Most of the time Squadron members keep thoughts about combat to themselves and the pub is where they unwind and maintain familiar ties with each other Earl said. However the thoughts and fears Are still there whether spoken or not especially for those who have seen live combat. For instance before deploying for the persian Gulf War a lot of Squadron members wrote a postmortem to their families Earl said. Although he had Given up cigarettes years prior to the Gulf War he started smoking again when the Squadron deployed. Cancer was the least of my worries Earl said. I saw a lot of Guys Start smoking that  for Earl the first sight of enemy fire was almost petrify ing he said. Later we kind of got used to it. I guess you acclimate to  velcro has not been initiated yet but other Mem Bers have begun calling him that because he strips off his official name tag while in the pub leaving the vol cup name tag Fastener exposed. He recalled that the first time he flew into anti aircraft artillery and saw it streaking past the sides of the plane he asked out loud can they do that just As terrifying is finding that someone else in your Squadron can t do the Job in the line of actual fire velcro said. Every Squadron has at least one person who endangers the safety of everyone by making wrong moves or no moves at All he said. They need to think about that the actuality of live combat when signing up velcro said. Gun who has t seen any live combat says he worries about the risks sometimes but generally tries not to think about it. We train the Way we fight so that when we go to War we re ready gun said. If you allow yourself to get caught up in the thinking you re probably not going to be  Wheeling in the latest for 494th s pub Squadron Memorabilia and the antics required to obtain it is a big part of what makes a fighter bar unique to its  Walls of the 494th fighter so s water ing Hole have been stripped of most older Memorabilia to make room for newer acquisitions that Are relevant to current Squadron members. Some of the More dated pieces Are kept in a display Case in another part of the Squadron building but most of the older items Are in storage said tech sgt. Edgar Poe the Squadron historian. The historical pieces have been replaced in part by several paintings including one of an f-15e fighter bomber the latest aircraft to be assigned to the Squadron. There s also a Large wooden wheel hang ing on one Wall that was usurped from the Wagon. Wheel bar at in Ciurlik a Turkey. The wheel was one of a half dozen wheels hanging outside the bar in Turkey that somehow went miss ing every weekend while the 494th was deployed to in Ciurlik in 1990, Poe said. No one from the 494th was Ever caught red handed with an errant wheel but fingers were pointed in the Squadron s direction. That was one of his the former Squadron com Mander s nightmares when he was Down there Poe said. But every monday morning it the wheel would Roll Back to the Wagon  that is except the one hanging on the 494th s pub Wall. It arrived in England shortly after the Squadron returned from the Turkey deployment. The package was addressed to the Squadron commander from any lieutenant Poe said. Who actually mailed it is a Well kept secret. The 494th also takes pro do in its two Panther statues one of which sits in the commander s office and is prone to theft by the 492nd fighter so the 494th s sister Squadron at Raf Lakenheath. After one kidnapping members of the 494th sneaked into the 492nd s Squadron building stripped the commander s office of everything that was t nailed Down and held the items in Ransom for the Panther. A Neutral meeting place was arranged for the two squadrons to reclaim their rightful property. Name tags also arc a significant part of the decor. It has been a tradition since 1977 for each departing Crew member to attach his official name tag1o a pub Wall when he moves to another assignment. Upside Down tags designate that the former Squadron Mem Ber has died. Another coveted item which is common to All fighter squadrons is called the beak Book Poe said. The Book is a source of Squadron entertain ment and serves to boost morale. Its pages Are filled with script from Squadron members that ranges from stress releasing tirades to unsubstantiated rumours about each other or about themselves. Nancy a Torner \ november 7, 1993 sunday pages