St. Anthony, NF

Replacements are still coming in slowly but nevertheless many airmen were extended in order to carry out this squadrons mission. As will be brought out in detail under the Personnel section of this history, replacements have fallen far behind those scheduled and in some instances replacements were not even scheduled until two months after certain airmen were due to rotate.

Throughout this quarter the squadron has received numerous ships which brought in supplies for the coming year and the long winter months ahead. We are still expecting at least two more ships with supplies, because as of the end of the quarter, we are still short on supplies in general and particularly food. It might be mentioned that there are many long, sad faces about the squadron because our beer supply is completely gone, and has been for the passed month.

Since this quarter covered the summer months, there was a great deal of outside construction taking place. The two most significant construction projects this summer were the re-roofing of all the buildings on the base, with the exception of Pole Vault, and the addition of two new ten-room barracks. The roofing project was completed 26 September and our rooms, corridors, and offices are again dry. The re-roofing project seems to have finally stopped the leaks, a topic very prevalent in many of the squadron’s past histories. The new BQ wings have not been completed, but should be within a month. The twenty new rooms from this project should do a great deal in alleviating the housing problem that exists at present when large numbers of TDY personnel come to this squadron.

Air support during the quarter was generally satisfactory, although it fell off toward the end of the quarter. This apparently was due to an increased outage time on the two SA-16’s assigned the Transport Squadron, and also the decision to give maximum support to northern sites at that particular time, since their water landing areas freeze much earlier than ours.

The Commander attended a Commanders Conference at Division Headquarters and with the squadron supply officer, a logistics support conference at Headquarters, Goose Air Base, being gone from 2 to 15 September.

The squadron had a brief visit by Brigadier General Root of Headquarters NEAC, and Lt. Colonel Burns, DCSM 64^th Air Division. Two announced visits by the Commander of NEAC were cancelled due to bad weather elsewhere on his route. Colonel Knapp, Commander of Goose Air Base, flew in some playground equipment for the St. Anthony Orphanage and also visited the squadron on two occasions during this quarter.

In general, the daily operation of the squadron was very smooth and went off with little or no trouble. The following section histories will give the important and daily activities of the squadron.

On the job training for this quarter has progressed very satisfactorily with a maximum of personnel eligible for on the job training participating. Overall, twenty-seven (27) airmen are presently on OJT and the training program is making satisfactory progress in all sections. During the quarter fifteen (15) airmen were upgraded to the five (senior) level and one (1) airman was upgraded to the seven (supervisor) level. Two more five level airmen in the Operations Section are now eligible for upgrading to the seven level after successfully completing OJT and passing the seven level test. The monthly OJT Supervisors meeting is bearing fruit in that all supervisors are being kept up to date on current training directives and standard OJT folders are being maintained.

General Military Training for the quarter has been satisfactory with the exception of live firing of the light machine gun and M-1 rifle, which was curtailed due to lack of training ammunition. No light machine gun ammunition was available for training purposes and the 1,500 rounds of M-1 ammunition available were expended. This left 9 of 39 airmen on the M-1 rifle team without any live firing experience.

A new NEAC Regulation has reduced the requirements in man hours for GMT, consequently this organization has a high percentage rate of participation as the new regulation was received late in the quarter. With the approach of winter, most of the forthcoming GMT will be accomplished through orientations and available training films.

The three month period of July through September has been a time of very satisfying progress in the Operations Section. Although operational activity has increased only slightly, a normal seasonal increase, our operational capability has improved steadily because of highly skilled, new personnel and the successful training of others.

In mid July one 2^nd Lt. Controller was lost due to rotation, but the 1^st Lt. Replacement was found to have much more experience. This brought the controller strength up to three well qualified 1644’s and one 1641. The necessity for the Operations Officer to go to Goose Air Base for flying time has intermittently reduced the strength. He was absent for a ten day period in July and again for a 17 day period in the latter part of September.

In mid September, the pending loss of the Air Installations Officer made it necessary to release one of the controllers to temporarily fill that position. This same officer, Lt. McDougall, had started on a TDY cross training period in July, proceeding to get as far as Goose Bay. The training schedule was cancelled at that time and he subsequently returned to the site without gaining anything but a brief period away from the site.

Early in July we were brought up to authorized skill level strength by the arrival of a Master Sergeant and two Technical Sergeants. At that time we were fortunate in having two M/Sgts., two T/Sgts., and four Staff Sergeants active in the section. One seven level T/Sgt. Has been assigned as First Sergeant for the past six months or more. It soon became evident that one of the T/Sgts. Was not going to be happy here and apparently was doing some agitating for a mutual transfer to the ADCC. The ADCC had a M/Sgt. Who was looking for a short tour and the 641^st AC&W Squadron needed a new Operations Chief. A three way transfer was worked out with this unit receiving a 5 level airman second class. We felt this man would be as valuable to us as a Technical Sergeant who was going to be a continuing personnel problem.

The scheduled rotation of personnel did not go off as planned because replacements were not programmed in adequate numbers. We found it necessary to hold the three men scheduled for August rotation and all of those scheduled to leave in September. The present plan is to let some of these people go about 15 October and the others as the 14 scheduled three level airmen arrive in November.

The OJT program has continued to bear fruit and as of the end of the reporting period only one three level airman remained in the section. One S/Sgt. Was successfully upgraded to the seven level and two other Staff Sergeants have passed the tests with flying colors and have been submitted for upgrading.

In making physical improvements within the Operations Room, the status boards were redone. Difficulty was encountered in making them conform to the Air Division requirements. We did not attempt to paint the boards this time because the primary color for the plotting paints has not arrived. If the present status board arrangement is satisfactory, we will be better prepared when all the paints are on hand. Full scale maps of the boards are on hand and all of the boards will be repainted upon receipt of the last can of paint.

Two reports of Unidentified Flying Objects were submitted during this quarter. Because the ADCC was not properly prepared to receive these reports over tactical circuits, approximately ten man hours were experienced in preparing them for TTY transmission. One man hour would have been sufficient otherwise. In operational training we have been fairly successful in conducting two one hour operational crew training periods weekly. These periods have been devoted to the subjects required by 64^th ADDM 55-2.

Captain Tigner attended a Newfoundland complex operations conference at the 640^th AC&W Squadron on the 27^th and 28^th of September. Ways and means of improving sub-sector operations were the primary topics. Methods of combating ECM and improvements in fighter scramble and control were also discussed.

The Electronics Section has progressed while another quarter, July, August and September passed by. Personnel wise the Electronics Officer, 1^st Lt. Arvin Olson, rotated the 30^th of September 1955. 1^st Lt. Frank Schlager, the Assistant Electronics Officer will remain until the replacement, Captain Stocks, arrives from Goose Air Base. Repairmen carrying the following AFSC’s are presently assigned to the section. One T/Sgt., 30372, three airmen, 30352, and five airmen, 30332.

This quarter began, 1 July 1955, with the arrival of the USAF boat "AFFC" which made delivery of our spare motor-generator, PU-5004/TPS-502. Also returned was a small shipment of vacuum tubes used during the installation of the back-up search, AN/FPS-502. This will correct some of the deficiencies on the installations contract, 26-PT-502 and 26-PT-IFF501. Installation of the motor-generator was completed the same day and the following day the compiling shims began to break down. Alignment of the units were checked and found true. As a last resort, the entire frame on which the motor and generator were mounted, was placed on 5/8^th inch thick strips of rubber to decrease vibration. This has proven very satisfactory.

On July 5^th, the training program for radar maintenance personnel was turned over to A/1C Don H Rowe, previously an instructor, for the past three years, at Keesler AFB. The men seemed to be very satisfies with this arrangement.

During one day in July a mishap, which might have been serious, corrected itself. Two new maintenance men were up in the large radome when they discovered the pressure chamber door had swung open. Rather than call by the phone for assistance they attempted to go down through the hatch into the unsealed pressure chamber. The dome dimpled. All the maintenance men have again been impressed with the importance of procedures in entering and leaving all three radomes.

Later in July word was received by electrical message that two of our maintenance men would be sent to Ernest Harmon Air Base on TDY status, to alleviate a critical shortage of maintenance personnel there. A/2C Paul T Smith and A/2C Albert R Allen were selected and sent out on the next aircraft. Just prior to their arrival at Harmon, six radar repairmen arrived there and the two men were returned to this squadron with a minimum of time lost.

An additional duty of working in Tech Supply was assigned to the Assistant Electronics Officer. The Squadron Commander and Lt. Schlager reviewed the PPO files and the project folders were brought up to date. From this the squadron 16PT supply project developed. This program encountered a transfer of data from the different projects packing list of spares to the 16PT catalog. From this the visible files and stock record cards, were brought up to par. Then all spares not listed in the PT catalog were assigned NL numbers by project number and packing list item number. Bins containing these spares were inventories, AF Form 50C’s placed with each, and duplications in cards and/or stock were consolidated.

While nearing completion, a new 16PT catalog, dated 29 July 1955, arrived and over fifty percent of all NL cards were given 16PT numbers and expanded into the visible files. USAF C&E stock record cards were handled in a similar manner. Work was accomplished by two communications and two radar maintenance men, under the supervision of Lt. Schlager.

About the middle of August the CMC diesel repairman arrived to correct the voltage and frequency fluctuations which have been a constant cause for tube consumption and instability in operation of equipment.

Additional cable spares were received for the AN/TPS-502 and are now being stored under Tech Supply. Replacement of installed cables is presently not required.

On the afternoon of 17 August, just after the re-roofing project got well under way on the operations wing, it began to rain. The operations room was literally flooded. All equipment in operations was shut down. The PPI in the maintenance shop was used as an emergency monitor for search data. No damage to the equipment incurred.

A general clean-up program got under way in view of the long awaited re-roofing of both towers two and three. Paints and lubes were moved to a shed, cable covers were fabricated, painted and installed. The anemometers were relocated at the end of the operations wing. Two of the anemometers have heat tapes (de-icers) installed with the control switch located in the maintenance shop.

Resurfacing the tower roofs was completed allowing the men to continue painting the interior floors. All outdoor work has been done prior to the winter weather which will soon set in. In September Mr. Lawrence Freil, a Philco Technical Instructor was assigned to the radar maintenance section, the first since Mr. Walter Neumann left in October of 1954. Mr. Freil has been at Cartwright (922^nd AC&W Squadron) for the past ten months working in the same capacity as he will here, radar equipment instructor.

Another project completed during the third quarter was the installation of shelves for a small bench stock in each tower. This will speed up emergency maintenance as well as improve working conditions for the men. A stock record card file is being maintained in the shop which will give consumption data and stock available.

Last, but an important feature to all, is the initial establishment of the Squadron TO Library located in the Electronics Office. TO’s and EO’s relative to all sections are to be located here. ECL requirements have been reviewed by Lt. Olson, the Electronics Officer, and in future months the TO library will grow into a useful source of information.

The third quarter of 1955 was a period of HF silence. A directive received on 24 May calling for HF silence remained in effect. The NEAC radio relay system (Pole Vault) effectively took over the entire point to point communications load during this period. Very little outage time was experienced on the circuits and service afforded was highly satisfactory and adequate. Controls, previously in effect, on all calls made over Pole Vault circuits were eliminated. Calls are now being handled on a first come first served basis but instructions have been issued stating that only official calls will be made.

Air ground communications capability was reduced to about 75 percent during the latter part of September. Reduced capability was due to a lack of 6J4 electron tubes, which resulted in two UHF transmitters becoming inoperative. Tubes were received on 2 October 1955.

A new wire and radio maintenance system was put into effect to comply with the provisions of TO 31-1-10 (formerly TO 16-1-79). The authority for effecting this new system was contained in a letter received from Headquarters NEAC. The maintenance sections have prepared card files similar to stock record cards. The purpose of the card files is to permit these sections to record stock levels and consumption data on their bench stocks. A review of the project folders on the installation of radio communications facilities at this site was undertaken. The review indicated that the project folders were nearly complete and resulted in a better understanding of the various factors involved in the installation of the communication facilities.

Four radio maintenance men were assigned during the quarter and helped to alleviate the shortage we previously experienced in the radio maintenance section. A review of our technical order requirements was made and submitted to the Technical Order Officer. He then consolidated all squadron requirements for TO’s and forwarded them to the base supply officer at Goose.

On 27 July 1955 an installation team from the 1883^rd AACS I&M Squadron completed installation of a low frequency homing beacon at our transmitter site. Approximately six work days were spent by the installation team in completing their work. Interim and final acceptance of the facility are still pending.

On 26 September work commenced on rebuilding a low frequency antenna tower near our transmitter site. The tower will replace the one which fell during an ice and wind storm in March of this year.

This quarter was one of momentous changes in personnel policy and actions. A new commander and a new adjutant arrived and took over. Many of the old generation of officers departed and a new tone was set in the conduct of daily operations. A certain maturity and a sense of team work became observable; and without the least reflection on the previous group, it may be said that the cordial spirit now prevailing in the work areas augurs well for the squadron.

2^nd Lt. William T Seed arrived early in September, to relieve WO Shumacker as adjutant. WO Shumacker stayed on to help phase in his replacement. 1^st Lt. Russell J Vassar arrived for intercept controller duty, relieving 2^nd Lt. William F Smith, who rotated. 1^st Lt. William R Hughes, the Assistant Communications Officer left in July, having been previously replaced. Captain James E Alexander, Installations Officer, left late in September, unreplaced as (until the last moment) no replacing officer was expected until January. 1^st Lt. John R McDougall, a controller, was assigned additional duty as Installations Officer. An Installations Officer is now expected in October.

Chaplain (Major) Kucharski (Catholic) and Chaplain (1^st Lt.) Dean (Protestant) visited here from Goose Air Base during July and August respectively. Chaplain Kucharski, like his predecessor, Chaplain (Major) Shaeffer, also went to the Catholic settlement of Goose Cove to conduct services. Chaplain Kucharski went in our forty foot open boat, the Able Sugar, proceeding out of St. Anthony Harbor following the coast line for approximately ten miles to the small Newfoundland settlement. During his stay here, Chaplain Dean performed the marriage of one of our NCO’s to a daughter of St. Anthony, the second such wedding in a year.

The great event in personnel was undoubtedly the retention of airmen past their rotation dates. Reference is made to the personnel section of this squadron’s last two histories. During September and October of 1954 the entire squadron was replaced in mass movements. The turnover was itself enough to paralyze operations for a time but in addition replacements fell far short of losses in both numbers and skill levels.

In January it was planned by Division Headquarters to stagger these men’s rotation from July through November. This would lessen the mass turnover at any one time. A majority of these men, therefore, had their rotation dates moved nearer. They made all their plans to suit the change. As airmen replacement schedules were received, the outlook for July and some August returnees began to seem rosy. Replacement schedules for September and October were darker, however, as they showed no replacements for Operations and Communications personnel and replacements as much as two months after the rotation dates for many others.

It was late in July that all these things came to a head. Early in July every airman, then due for rotation, was sent out whether he had been replaced or not. The only section in which this policy created a hardship was the orderly room, which lost two unreplaced clerks on the same day. The two remaining clerks and the adjutant had to work extremely hard to get everything done. New clerks did arrive within a month. By the latter part of July it was clear that not only were replacements scheduled to arrive late, but also were arriving a good deal later than scheduled. It was clear, however, in light of the previous rotation experience, that to return a great many men unreplaced could only lower this units mission capability to an unacceptable level. It would fasten a staggering burden on the men who remained behind and who would put many tasks beyond our reach to perform. Therefore, we asked the Division Commander for authority to retain twelve unreplaced airmen due to return in August, as well as four replaced August returnees to complete the required on time inventory of Pinetree equipment and spares. This was approved. Later on, similar measures had to be taken with respect to twelve September returnees and a heldover July returnee. These men were retained until October. This was done by a blanket authority extended from Division Headquarters to hold airmen to their original twelve month tour plus an additional month if necessary.

These extensions were a sad blow to airmen who had made their plans months before. Nevertheless, when they were shown the figures and told the facts plainly and treated as men, they accepted the situation very reasonably and continued to maintain good morale and high performance of duties. Late in September, with the present of adequate replacements in the next two months, we were able to set a definite limit to the retention of almost all these men. This has helped quite a bit.

Arrival of several Master Sergeants, so lacking earlier, were an immense boon to the squadron. They heightened our capacity to organize. They added responsibility and experience and of course ability. The shortages mentioned above were mostly at the five level.

A systematic approach to reenlistment has been set up. The commander interviews each airman when he arrives and writes a letter to his family. After this follows a series of interviews by the NCO council and others throughout the year. Every point is covered. It is hard to say how effective this procedure is. Just the emphasis on reenlistment probably helps keep it in mind. One airman of this organization has taken advantage of the latest change to AFR 39-14 to take a discharge and reenlist for his own vacancy. He had to be sent to Goose Air Base for this purpose, and was gone for 23 days. This not only disgusted him but left the squadron without his services for a long period. This is a typical example of time lost due to poor transportation. Two airmen have extended their overseas tour to stay at this site.

Due to administrative difficulties encountered in our attempt to establish and operate an NCO Open Mess, the whole idea has been abandoned. This was severe blow to the morale of the NCO’s, especially since the on hand supply of PX beer has been completely used up, and annual re-supply forecast for approximately 1 November.

Mail continued to arrive slow. This can be understood. Misdirection of mail, however, which we know happens from receiving several pouches addressed to other sites, is inexcusable.

It came as a surprise that our men are spending as much as a week clearing Goose Air Base for return to the States. We found that part of this delay could be saved, in theory, by our pre-submitting a "rotation questionnaire" on each returning officer and airman to the pipeline unit at Goose. In practice this has not helped because apparently received questionnaires are misplaced at the pipeline unit.

Airman promotions were very poor, one to Technical Sergeant (Sgt. Coleman, the acting First Sergeant) and three to Airmen First Class; none other.

The squadron detail was reduced from four to three airmen (plus the NCOIC). The result was a net saving of five and a half man days a week, plus time formerly lost by other men on corridor cleaning, now done by the detail.

One day in August the entire orderly room staff took off on an excursion to Goose Cove to help (?) those people celebrate Ladies Day. The group was caught in a terrible wind and rain storm and their return voyage on a small boat could not be made due to the extremely rough water. The group reported that they spent a pleasant night enjoying the hospitality at Goose Cove. The following day amidst bitter winds and rain they walked five miles all the way back to the site. Despite the fact that they returned completely soaked and cold they still managed to smile and describe their trip as a "stimulating excursion".

An airman found, much to his surprise, that wildlife had found its way into our water system. He found a small, sucking worm-like creature in the drinking water. This confirmed the observations of T/Sgt. Copley, the veterinary inspector from Goose Air Base, who visited here during July, that the chlorinator pump must be replaced. After emergency requisitions and a great deal of on the scene follow-up at the transportation office at Goose we finally received the new pump just after the close of this quarter.

The International Grenfell Association Hospital at St. Anthony treated two military personnel as in-patients for a total of 15 days. This is an estimated saving of 45 man days. If these men had had to be sent to Goose for treatment, poor transportation and the time for medical treatment would have taken an estimated 60 days. The St. Anthony hospital also treated two men as out-patients and gave dental treatment to seven persons. These nine represent a saving of about 90 man-days.

There were seventeen (17) one-pint blood donations from military personnel of this squadron to the St. Anthony Hospital.

The medical technician saw, advised and gave limited treatment to 374 military personnel and 30 civilians.

This squadron’s library has been continually growing and now has over 1000 books on its shelves. The most noted improvement has been the receipt of over seventy-five (75) new reference books in the form of college text books. These new books cover a variety of subjects and will be very helpful to the increasing numbers of personnel taking USAFI courses.

During this quarter the theater had a big boost with the receipt of two new Bell and Howell projectors. The supply of incoming movies has generally been good, but on a few occasions we were out of movies due to the lack of aircraft.

Since the squadron has been practically out of mimeograph paper the newspaper, "The Early Warner" was not published in August or September. There has also been a lack of interest in participating on the paper staff and the majority of the work has been done by two people, A/2C Villarubia and A/1C Lueck.

During the summer inside recreational activities dwindled to a minimum and outside sports were very popular. Bingo games were virtually unattended and stopped for the summer months. The dances were resumed and were successful. We are all hoping that the squadron’s piano will be on the next boat from Goose Air Base. It was ordered through the BX the first of August.

There were many personnel changes within the supply section during this period. A/3C Bruce, AFSC 64150 and A/2C Williams departed for the ZI in July and September respectively. T/Sgt. Senal, AFSC 64173, arrived 6 August to take over as NCOIC of the supply section. Other replacements arriving during this period were A/3C Adams, AFSC 64131, and A/3C Strickland also a 64131.

Since the roof has been repaired, a general construction project has been going on within supply and is now completed except for painting the bins. This construction consisted of building a separate section for storing and issuing bedding, clothing and equipment and the construction of office space in the center of the building. This divides supply into three sections, Tech Supply in the front, Office in the center and Organization supply in the rear.

During the quarter the USNS Vela, and USNS Sagitta, along with a few other ships brought in supplies of all types. The USNS Nodaway arrived the 16^th of September bringing our yearly supply of POL products. The site is still short on yearly supplies in general but we have word that another ship is due in before the season closes.

There was a special project completed during this period on all C&E parts. This project consisted of changing the 16PT catalog over to 16-S class, re-binning all C&E items, inventorying and making stock record cards on all such items. This project was done by four airmen, two each from communications and radar maintenance. The rotation of these men was held up approximately six weeks in order to complete this project.

The dining hall has been unable to get rid of what seems to be a very well settled population of roaches. The medical technicians have repeatedly sprayed that whole wing with DDT and chlordane, but to no avail.

The quality and variety of food has improved a great deal with the arrival of most of our yearly supply of foods. We are still a little short on food and don’t have enough to last all winter but more food is expected at anytime. During the quarter we ran out of shortening and butter, and were down to the last two pounds of coffee before air and water transportation solved these problems.

During the past three months a great deal of time has been devoted to the continuation of the clean-up campaign. In addition to the sorting and stacking of seven thousand empty POL drums, completed last quarter, a large portion of the scrap lumber on the site was picked up and stacked at the dump.

Installations maintenance personnel repaired security fences at the pump houses and RX site. Near the end of the quarter a project to construct storm ports on all outside doors was started and nearly completed. These storm ports are being constructed on the landing at the top of the steps leading to the outside. Personnel of the electrical shop inspected all splices and tapes on the outside power cable and painted them with protective paint.

On 10 July 1955, Mr. NA Hansen, site superintendent for Drake-Merritt Construction Company arrived to begin the construction period. He brought a small group of men with him and immediately started the rehabilitation of the campsite and equipment. Work with the full crew started on 26 July and the Drake-Merritt project for the year was as follows: (a) Install wooden battens over the roof panels, install 5/8^th inch plywood over the battens and on top of this lay a Johns-Mansville built up roof. This was done on all buildings except the Pole Vault structures. The Johns-Mansville roof consisted of one layer of 45 pound roofing paper saturated with asphalt and two layers of 32 pound asbestos felt. All layers of paper were cemented together with low melting point asphalt. 78,730 square feet of roof area was covered. (b) Remove traffic deck from towers number two and three and cover the surface with low melting point asphalt. Then install a duct walk around each tower. (c) Adjust and regrade the steam rain in the BOQ. (d) Install central fire alarm indicator for the existing fire system. (e) Reinforce refrigerator door frame in TC warehouse. (f) Install cork installation on approximately sixty (60) feet of freon, suction tubing in the operations building and cold room pump house. (g) Install insulators in sectionalizing switch handles with chain and lock arrangement. (h) Paint top of wooden power poles with creosote. All the afore mentioned work was completed on 26 September and is ready for final inspection by the Air Force. The Resident Engineer from the Corps of Engineers on this project was 2^nd Lt. Kenneth D Cole and along with him were Mr. Karl F Young, Building Inspector and Mr. George P Patrick, Electrical Engineer.

Mr. Frank Rich, Site Inspector for the Bell Telephone Company, arrived during the quarter to construct two, ten-man barracks. This project has been delayed due to the late arrival of some construction supplies but should be completed shortly.

The vehicle maintenance section has been seriously handicapped in the past by the lack of personnel in the 47 career field, however, with the arrival of three Airmen Second Class, 47250, in August, the maintenance of vehicles is greatly improved.

During this quarter, the arrival of a S/Sgt. fire fighting specialist has greatly improved our fire prevention program. As usual, fire prevention procedures hold an important spot and are continually being stressed.