Cartwright, Labrador

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15 November 1965 Revision

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Labrador is the continental part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland. It’s rugged, rocky country covered with rolling foothills, fir trees, quiet lakes, and rushing streams. Total population of Labrador is about 10,000. There are no interior roads or railroads.

Goose Air Base is vital to us because our supplies, mail, and all incoming and outgoing personnel come through it. One thousand miles north of McGuire AFB, NJ, it is the headquarters of both the Goose Air Defense Sector (GADS), to which we belong, and the 59th Fighter Squadron (F-102s), which we control. Goose AB is a SAC base and is an aerial refueling center. Only 8 miles from Goose is the Melville NORAD Control Center, our immediate superior for operations. By the compass, almost due east at 124 miles, lies the 922nd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (ADC), Cartwright AS.

Cartwright AS is located on the soil of Canada leased by the USAF. It stands on a hill of almost 600 feet on the eastern end of Sandwich Bay, (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean). This bay extends some 20 miles further west and for about half the year is frozen over.

Three and one half miles by road west of the site, along the same bay, lies Cartwright, a fishing village of about 600. In the village, the USAF has leased land for its dock and nearby warehouse. Starting in June, ships dock there and deliver bulk supplies. More perishable supplies, small items and mail are brought in frequently throughout the year by helicopter.

The 922nd is but one of a string of AC&W sites in GADS strung out along the coast of Labrador and on the island of Newfoundland, and called "The Chain." Cartwright AS is called "The Pride of the Chain."

The primary mission of the 922nd AC&W Squadron is to maintain constant twenty-four hour air surveillance throughout our area of responsibility. We have a secondary mission of training aircraft directors and associated technicians in the tactics and techniques required for successful intercept activity.

The 922nd complement is approximately 11 officers, 40 NCO’s, and 60 airmen. Besides military personnel, there are about 20 civilians employed on the site. The station can best be envisioned with the use of a base diagram.

Detachment Number Eight, 1932nd Communications Squadron (AFCS) with 4 NCO’s and around 12 airmen, is attached here and shares the facilities. Known as Polevault, this detachment operates the tropospheric scatter system which connects us by telephone and teletype to Goose AB.

In addition, there is one attached NCO from USAF HQ Command who runs our post office.

This is a one year remote assignment without dependents and all personnel must live on site. Signing in and out is done in the First Sergeant’s office. All weapons must be registered with Supply. No vehicles or pets are allowed here.

Thirty year averages of monthly temperatures in Fahrenheit:

(Since these figures are averages of day and night temperatures, they will be lower than average day temperatures.

The average precipitation over 30 years is 19.84 inches of rain and 183.1 inches of snow per year. Average humidity is 70-85% throughout the year. Humidity inside the site however is low. High winds are not unusual but are not constant in any season. Temperatures, precipitation, and wind may differ tremendously from year to year.

Clothing: -- All official uniforms may be worn on this site. In general, NCI’s and airmen wear 1505s and fatigues (mostly fatigues) and officers wear 1505’s. Officers should bring their mess dress and NCI’s a white shirt and black bow tie. because we usually have one or more dining-ins during the year.

Several kinds of arctic clothing are issued each man at Goose AB. Because this arctic gear may be worn with civilian clothing, there is not need to bring heavy military or civilian clothing. (But if you arrive at the Goose in the winter, you may need something warm before your arctic issue).

One suite and/or sport coat is recommended since there are parties on the weekends with the villagers. Casual summer clothing is worn indoors when off duty. Dry cleaning must be sent to Goose and is slow in returning. Wash and wear items are easiest to maintain here. There are enough washers, dryers, irons, and ironing boards here for everyone.

Allotments and Finance: -- Married personnel are advised to take out Class E allotments for their families before they leave the States. This can be done by contacting your Central Base Personnel Office or (on smaller stations) Personnel Officer. You should also make arrangements for possible delays in regular payments going to the US for loans, car payments, insurance payments, etc., since mail can be delayed leaving here. Sometimes pay calls are also late due to bad weather.

Hold Baggage Shipment: -- Be sure to ship your hold baggage early so it will be here when you arrive. It usually takes from 3-6 weeks for it to get here.

General: -- All the rooms and buildings of the site, with the exception of the transmitter building fire department, and three small buildings of Polevault, are connected by completely enclosed hallways.

We have almost everything found at a CONUS location including barber shop, individual rooms for all personnel, gym, clubs, radio station, communications center, hobby centers, sixteen vehicles (trucks, bulldozers, bus, trackmasters, etc.), three warehouses, and a dispensary.

BX: -- Our small BX stocks film, tobacco, food snacks, uniforms, some civilian clothes, underwear, socks, and a large assortment of toilet articles. It has a few cameras, watches, electric shavers, perfumes, fishing tackle, tape recorders, etc. Other items may be special ordered through the Goose BX, of which we are an outlet.

Snack Bar: -- We have a snack bar run by the NCO Club which serves coffee, soft drinks, beer, steaks, sandwiches, french fries, soups, spaghetti, turnovers, cookies, candies, cigarettes, cigars, etc. The large room also serves for card games in the evenings. Dances for airmen are often held on Friday nights here.

Religion: -- Catholic and Protestant services are held periodically by Chaplains on temporary duty from Goose AB. The village of Cartwright offers religious services for those of us of the Anglican, Pentecostal, or Congregational denominations. Jewish personnel may obtain permission to attend the High Holidays at Goose AB.

Education: -- This includes the following programs here:

Extension Course Institute (ECI) courses are the most popular here, many people completing several while on station. These courses are oriented directly to the USAF. Almost every AFSC is represented by courses that can increase job effectiveness. There is no charge for ECI courses.

USAFI Correspondence courses have an initial $5.00 fee for the first course. These courses are less directly oriented to the USAF. There are also USAFI College Extension Courses available at a slightly greater charge.

USAFI Group Study Courses. At least one of these is usually in progress here. There is no charge. These courses are high school, technical, and college level.

High School General Education Development Tests (GED) are given here for high school equivalency.

The new College Comprehensive Tests for college credits are also offered.

Note that the Education Office has been moved since this site drawing was done and is now in Wing One, "A" Bay, room 24.

Information and Family Services: -- This office stocks information on almost every AC&W Squadron and AFB in the States for the benefit of out-going personnel curious about their next assignment. The nearest Red Cross Chapter is at Goose Air Base.

Officer’s Club: -- The club adjoins the BOQ and consists of cocktail lounge, dining area, game room kitchen, and laundry room. Parties with guests from the village are often held on Friday nights.

NCO Club: -- Facilities consist of cocktail lounge, dance floor, a small stage, and a "Chopper-watching" picture window. Dances are held with guests from the village every Saturday night. Also popular with members are the Juke Box, darts, and amusement machines. Membership is also open to A1C with over four years service. (There is no Airmans Club or Service Club).

In addition to the NCO Club, there is also an NCO Lounge located in the newly complete Senior NCO Wing, which is open to enlisted men E-5 and above.

Gymnasium: -- Opened March 1965, it is set up for basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, weight lifting, and conditioning. In addition, it has available winter outdoor items including skates, skis, snow shoes, hockey sticks, etc. In the summer and fall, items like football equipment, baseball equipment, horse shoes, archery supplies, fishing and hunting gear, etc. can be checked out.

The gym floor is 75 feet by 50 feet and 27 feet high. There are addition separate rooms each for weight lifting, table tennis, conditioning, and equipment. We are fortunate to have a brand new steam room too.

In addition to frequent games in the already mentioned sports, we have marksmanship contests, casting matches, track events, "Ski-Doo" races, tug-of-wars, soccer games with the villagers, dart-throwing contests, and many others. Sorry, there are no swimming pools, ball diamonds, or tennis courts.

Theater: -- The "Igloo Theater" seats 48 and has a cinemascope screen. We show five new movies from the States each week. Movies are 16mm.

Radio Station: -- One of the most popular enterprises here is our closed circuit radio station (an outlet of the Armed Forces Radio Service). All newcomers wishing to OJT as disc jockeys are welcome. We are fortunate in having a very large stock of long-playing records (over 5000). About 20 squadron members are regulars and keep the station on the air about 12 hours a day. Over 150 individual speakers carry our programs to almost every room on the site. FRS sends us recording of "Top Pops", comedy, western, movie sound tracks, etc., every week. Short wave pick-up from FRS transmitters in the US rebroadcast here keep everyone on the site up to date on the world happenings.

Bowling Alleys: -- We have two lanes equipped with automatic pinspotters. Team bowling is very popular, particularly in the winter. Price is thirty cents a frame. You may prefer to bring your own shoes, but almost any size is available. For your convenience, there is also a small snack bar in the bowling alley.

Library: -- It has approximately 3000 volumes and is open 24 hours a day. It subscribes to the following magazines: Air Force Times, Consumers Reports, Esquire, Field and Stream, Flying, High Fidelity, Life, Look, Modern Photography, Popular Science, National Geographic, Newsweek, Popular Mechanics, Popular Photography, Reader’s Digest, Post, Scientific American, Sports Illustrated, Time, True, U.S. Camera, U.S. News and World Report, and several others.

MARS Station: -- Our MARS Station was reorganized in March (1965). We have a KWM-2A Collins transmitter-receiver and a 75A4 Collins receiver. Operation is on amateur frequencies only because of Canadian law, which means a license is necessary to broadcast. Several people here on site are licensed and provide phone patches to all parts of the States for us.

The station operates for an average of 8-10 hours a day but is open 24 hours a day for operators. It is located in the first room on the left in "B" Bay, Wing One, or very near the center of the site.

Fishing: -- Fishing on the coast of Labrador is considered to be among the best in the world. This reputation is based largely on Trout and Cod catches. Fishing starts in late May when the bay unfreezes. although it is possible to catch fish through holes in the he ice.

Brook Trout are the most fished for at the site. They are brought in on spinning or fly tackle and average 2 to 5 pounds with occasional 15 pounders. Various parts of our Sandwich Bay (salt water) are the most popular places for the trout. However, numerous lakes and streams nearby hold the same variety of Trout, though usually smaller.

Cod running in huge schools are caught even more easily in our Sandwich Bay. Villagers catch them either with nets, traps, or by jigging. Jigging is dropping baitless, weighted hook into the schools and jerking upwards. The hook catches on fins, tails, bodies, and gills. There are so many down there that the hook grabs one or two each time. We at the site catch them on spinning, deep-sea tackle, or by jigging. These Cod are a large fish, running usually 10-50 pounds, and like Brook Trout, when fresh and prepared with care, are second to no other fish in flavor.

Salmon are the biggest money-making fish for the villagers (they use nets and traps). Americans are permitted to catch them on fly tackle in rivers or with any gear in river mouths or on the Bay. This fishing in the rivers offers the best sport because catching a 10-20 pound Salmon on fly gear takes considerable skill and patience.

Only river fishing requires a license and only it has a season. The season is from June to middle September. Licenses cost $5, available from the local RCMP (or Mountie).

We have in our gym for check-out: 20 spinning rods and reels, two complete fly tackles, 8 deep-sea rods and reels, and many pairs of waders. The Squadron has two 17 foot boats. One is powered by a 40 H.P. outboard and for the other boat we have choice of 6 outboards including two 28 and two 40 H.P. engines. In addition the NCO Club has a 16 footer powered by two 28 H.P. outboards.

Hunting: -- The wild fowl season lasts from September through November. This is by far the most popular hunting here. A license from the Mountie costs $2 for the season.

Black ducks, teals, and Canadian geese are the main water birds around. They are hunted in the numerous bays, inlets, and ponds near the site.

Ptarmigan (a kind of white partridge, the size of a small duck) and Spruce Partridge (the same size and mottled brown) are hunted all around the area. (The latter can be hunted until April).

Rabbit season lasts from September to April. There is no season or limit to Black Bear (rare), foxes or Lynx (Wildcat).

We are too far south for Polar Bear and only Canadians may hunt Caribou, which are pretty scarce anyway. There are no Moose.

Special Services has nine 12 gauge shotguns, two 30/30 rifles, and six 22 rifles available to anyone for check-out.

Camping: -- Overnight camping or week-end cam-outs are popular here at sites all around the bay. We have two very popular spots, where very shortly permanent campsites will be constructed. This will include a small hut complete with lighting, camp stoves, cots, etc. Naturally, these places are also near the best places to fish.

We have sleeping bags (12), portable camp stoves, tents, gas lanterns, folding chairs, etc., all ready for your use.

Hobby Shops: -- We have our own photo hobby shop with enlarger, chemicals, contact printer, drier, photo paper, trays, etc. Anyone wishing to work on his own film is welcome and photo contests are held from time to time.

Our leather shop presently has 2 tooling benches and $300 worth of leather goods, including handbags, shoes, wallets, wallet backs, desk sets, and knife sheath kits. The shop includes some 225 cutting, pressing, and punching tools as well as many kinds of dye and lacing. The shop is always open.

"Ski-Doo" Riding: -- Probably this is the wildest recreation during the months of deep snow.

A "Ski-Doo" is a tracked vehicle with two skis under its nose for steering and is about the size of a small motorcycle. Top speed is about 35 m.p.h. There are but two controls - throttle and brake. But no one here ever uses the brake.

We think if you’ve never tried riding through our three-foot wide trails flanked by unyielding fir trees, at 35, you’ll get a big thrill.

The NCO Club has 4 of these beasts and the O’Club two.

We are scheduled to receive mail 3 times a week by helicopter from Goose. Weather can cause changes in this schedule and delays of up to 14 days have occurred. Mail, however, has first priority on our helicopters. In addition, large items in the summer and fall may come by ship. Money orders may be obtained at our BX. The form of your new address is:

A1C John A. Doe, AF 12345678

922 AC&W Squadron, Box _____

APO New York 09433