European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday january 6, 19$4 the stars and stripes Page 3 l g r r i. At 1c r of b it 0 it n d. N . Is on input pact still affirms Kef Lavik s importance official says by Nancy l. Torner . Bureau an agreement Between the United states and Iceland will mean some reduction in forces at Nas Kef Lavik. A. The agreement which has been in negotiation for More than a year was signed tuesday by William j. Perry . Deputy Secretary of defense and Jon Bald Vin Hannibal son Iceland a minister for foreign affairs said it. Cmdr. Joe Quimby Public affairs officer for the . Iceland defense Force. Although no scheduling or draw Down details have been released the agreement provides for removal of As Many As eight of the 12 f-15 Eagle fighter jets assigned to the naval air station. The agreement called the agreed minute generally reaffirms the commitment to the 1951 bilateral defense Accord by both the United states and Iceland As Well As by the United states on behalf of All nato countries Quimby said. A the agreed minute lays to rest the speculation that the base in Iceland is going away a Perry said. A the 1951 bilateral agreement Between the United states and the government of Iceland remains As Strong As it Ever has and the base at Kef Lavik continues to be strategically  Iceland Atlantic Ocean however the agreement also specifies operational changes at Kef Lavik that will affect some base personnel. Details of How changes in operations will affect military units military staffing and icelandic civilian personnel still must be worked out by . Military officials Quimby said. A a it a Safe to say the changes wont be drastic but we will see the loss of some military personnel a Quimby said. Currently 2,700 . Military personnel and a like number of family members Are assigned to Kef Lavik. There Are 107 . Civilians and 900 icelandic civilians employed at the facility. Under the agreement the . Air forces 57th fighter so could be reduced from a dozen f-15s to a minimum of four air planes Quimby said. The reduction would be possible because of a greatly reduced air activity in this part of the world a he said. The number of aircraft that will remain at the base is a amps not known. A we believe and the icelandic government agrees a said Perry a that it will be appropriate to reduce the size of the f-15 Force at Nas Kef Lavik but maintain what we Call an Active air defense system sufficient aircraft that can maintain an Alert at All times and be capable of detecting and intercepting any aircraft that might present an intrusion on icelandic  the . Naval Security group activity will discontinue operations in March Quimby said. The command which operates High frequency direction finding equipment in support of the bases communication operations has90u.s. Military and civilian personnel he said. The agreement also specifies that the . Will retain the following the infrastructure needed to operate the remaining f-15 aircraft the 56th search and Rescue so which operates four . Air Force Hh-60g pave Hawk helicopters and the Iceland air defense system which includes four ground based radar systems. The Northern Viking series of military exercises also will continue to be held biennially at Kef Lavik Quimby said. Changes that occur at Kef Lavik As a result of the agreement Are expected to set the course for the base for at least the next Twoy cars Quimby said. I a r amp a. Weather fits the Bill a amps Dove Didio a playful Duck takes a Gander beneath the Waters surface As he and his companions enjoy fowl weather in East Anglia. Despite Gray skies and a Little rain the unseasonably mild temperatures around Raf Mildenhall England make things just Ducky for these Pond paddlers. Deny flight shifts affect by King Cruger Northern Italy Bureau Avi Ano a Italy a major changes involving fighter aircraft and personnel supporting operation deny flight Are taking place at Aviano a in Northern Italy. The changes involve rotations of . Air Force air Force Reserve air National guard and Marine units based both in Europe and the United states to participate in deny flight. The operation is natos enforcement of the . Flight ban Over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the changes a six air Force Reserve f-16 fighting Falcon aircraft assigned to the 301st fighter Wing from Carswell fab Texas ended a one month deployment sunday when they were flown Home. Six f-16s from another Reserve outfit the 944th fighter group from Luke fab ariz., replaced them at Aviano according to senior airman Tony Jacob an Aviano spokesman. The Arizona based f-16s, together with their Crews and support personnel will remain at Aviano until feb. 5 they then will be replaced by f16s and personnel from the 526th fighter so from Ramstein a Germany Jacob said wednesday. A eight Marine f/a-18 Hornet fighters and personnel from the 533rd fixed Wing Marine fighter attack All weather so based at Beaufort Marine corps air station s.c., will conclude a six month deployment to Aviano on Friday. They will be replaced at Aviano by hornets and personnel from another Beaufort based Squadron the 312th, Jacobs said. A three dozen a-10 Thunderbolt ii aircraft and 220 accompanying personnel from a mixture of air National guard and air Force Reserve units Are to return Home to the United states on Jan. 15. Most of the a-10 aircraft and associated personnel Are deployed primarily from the reserves 303rd fighter so at Rich Ards Gebaur fab mo., and from the guards 103rd fighter group Drbra Ley International Airport Conn. Replacing them will be a los and personnel from the 510th fighter so at Spang Dahlum a Germany Jacob said. Also currently deployed to Aviano for deny flight Are a Trio of eg-130 command and control aircraft from Keesler fab miss., and a pair of nato e3-d airborne warning and control system aircraft from Raf Waddington England. Frankfurt s an am out for repairs Frankfurt Germany a amps the american forces networks am radio transmitter in the Frankfurt area  off the air wednesday morning for three weeks of repairs according to an an broadcast. The transmitter outage will affect Only those am radio listeners in the greater Frankfurt area. Afna Sam station and other am stations throughout Europe Are unaffected by the outage. An officials did not comment on the transmitter repair wednesday but Frankfurt Sam transmitter has experienced frequent outages and dead air time in recent weeks. The Frankfurt signal on the dial at 873 am ordinarily can be received in the Frankfurt Darmstadt Giessen Hanau Mannheim and Wiesbaden areas. Some of these areas also May receive the am signal on 1143 from Stuttgart or 1107 from Kaiserslautern. King scholarship fund Raiser slated Heidelberg Germany a a scholarship fund raising dinner will be held saturday Jan. 15, at the Heidelberg officers and civilians club to commemorate the birthday of civil rights Leader Martin Luther King or. The Theta Theta Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is sponsoring the event which will feature judge it col Larry Vick As guest speaker. Entertainment will be provided by the Ron Ringwood gospel messengers. Organizers Are asking for a $25 donation and All proceeds will go to scholarships for department of defense High school students. For More information Call 06221-390667 or 06227-61259