Holberg, BC

The principal events and developments for this period are as follows:

During the period, five female and two male infants were delivered at the Station Hospital.

Movements of medical personnel during the period were as follows:

The depleted medical staff was augmented by Sur/Lt. G Dubois RCN on TD from HMCS Naden. 72804 P/O KM Tomm, Med/MO UMSP, University of Alberta, was also TOS for summer employment.

Dental Corps personnel visited the unit twice to administer to the requirements of unit personnel.

First Aid courses were conducted in accordance with ADC Directive 408-2 (CStaffO) dated 18 Jan. The course duration is 1 ½ days. Ninety-five airmen and two officers attended the course between 12 Feb and 31 May.

Parish Retreat convened 1 Apr and terminated 5 Apr. Retreat was preached by Reverend Richard Griffith, OMI.

The construction group from 2 CMU completed work on the GATR building and bridge at the Operations Site. The CMU group also completed the antennae farm project and returned to Calgary.

Installation of the second engine in the power plant was again delayed. The target date for installation is now early Oct 62.

There were several small projects completed during this period which included: addition to the Guard House, renovation of the Dispatcher’s Office at the MSE Section, construction of garbage racks, repairs to counter tops in the apartments and the installation of a new pump in the station water supply system.

Regular maintenance of station roads, grounds and buildings was carried out by the project flight of the CE Section.

Construction of the antennae farm was completed by 2 CMU personnel. RCA employees then commenced installation of the Telecom equipment.

A windsock was erected at the Holberg dock as an aid to visiting aircraft.

On 11 April, the Nimpkish II entered dry dock at Victoria for annual refit. A replacement vessel was procured on loan from Naval Dockyard, Esquimalt.

An accelerated safety program was conducted to impress upon unit personnel the importance of safe driving habits. Both lectures and films were used as a medium of instruction.

S/L and F/L Qualifying Examinations, Staff College Entrance Examinations were written during the period 4-8 Dec.

An Indoctrination Course for new FtrCop arrivals was held 10 to 13 Jan.

From 22 to 26 Jan F/O Qualifying Examinations were written.

On 7 Feb a Projectionist Course was held with eight personnel attending.

On 10 Apr Airmen’s Trade Examinations were held.

F/L WS Deacon, former SGTO, left the unit on transfer. Effective 5 May, SGTO duties were assumed by Sgt. R Griechen.

On 24 May Group 4 Examinations were written.

Cpls. Qualifying Examinations were written 30 May. There were no personnel eligible to write the Flight Sergeant Qualifying Examinations which were held 31 May.

A Canadian Aviation Electronics MRP consisting of Mr. R Volland, Engineer, and twelve technicians arrived on site to carry out the annual overhaul of the AN/FPS-508 Search Radar. The overhaul was completed on the 29 Jan 62.

A Canadian Aviation Electronics MRP consisting of Mr. R Hominick and Mr. R Swain arrived on site to overhaul the AN/GPA-30 Video Mapper and the AN/GPS-T2 Simulator. Both overhauls were completed during the period 12 May to 29 May.

The semi-annual inspection was carried out in March by the Assistant Command Fire Marshall.

Two fire alarms were recorded for the period. Neither fire was of a serious nature.

Four false alarms were answered by the Fire Department.

On 26 and 27 Feb Station Holberg played host to two prominent members of the press. The Victoria "Islander" was represented by the editor, Mr. J Shaw. Mr. JB Curran attended in his capacity as editor of the Nanaimo "Daily Free Press".

S/L EJ Hudson, SOPR/ADC, accompanied the press as the escorting officer.

As a result of the visit, a separate series of articles featuring RCAF Station Holberg as "Canada’s Most Westerly Pinetree Station" were published in each newspaper.

During this period the unit participated in a number of Sector "Bear Down" exercises each month. In addition, 25^th NORAD Region conducted two exercises each month. The Region exercises are somewhat larger than the "Bear Down" exercises and both types provide satisfactory live training.

409 AW Squadron converted to CF-101’s during this period. As a result of the conversion, the Controllers were required to employ new tactics and procedures.

The ADC Air Staff Visiting Team made their semi-annual visit. The findings during the visit indicated an improvement in the operational knowledge of the personnel on the unit.

Routine training has continued with a schedule of SSTM Exercises and live intercept activity from CF-101, F-102 and F-106 aircraft.

The FtrCop strength established at between 60 and 65 airmen. Controllers strength is fluctuating due to the large number of officers being transferred. Transfer instructions have been issued on a total of ten officers.