Cartwright, Labrador

1964 – Historical Report – USAF Historical Division


Historical Record
922nd AC&W Squadron
Cartwright, Labrador
1 January 1964 to 31 March 1964

Section I

REQUIRED DATA

  1. Unit and Location

922nd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron,
APO 433, New York, New York

  1. Name and Grade of Commander

BE Thayer, Major, USAF

  1. Chain of Command (Superior Echelons)
  2. Goose Air Defense Sector
    26th Air Division (Defense)
    Air Defense Command

  • Subordinate Units (Down to and including squadrons)
  • None

  • Mission (Give authority and brief statement of primary mission)
  • GADS Regulation 20-5.
    The mission of the 922nd AC&W Squadron is to conduct Air Defense Operations within an assigned area of responsibility and function as a Direction Center in the Air Defense System.

  • Personnel
  •    

    Officers

    Airmen

    Civilians

    Total

     
     

    Assigned

    10

    85

    23

    118

     
     

    Attached

    0

    26

    3

    29

     
                 
  • Equipment (Give official nomenclature and quantity of mission-type equipment)
  • AN/FPS-20A Search Radar (1ea); AN/FPS-6B Height Finder (1ea); AN/UPX-6 and AN/GPX-7 IFF/SIF (1ea); AN/GRC/27 Multi-Channel UHF Transmitter and Receiver (2ea); AN/GRT-3 Single Channel UHF Transmitter (3ea); R-361A/GR Single Channel UHF Receiver (2ea); AN/FRT-502 Single Channel VHF Transmitter (3ea); AN/FRT-503 Single Channel Transmitter (1ea); AN/URG-60 Single Channel VHF Receiver (3ea); NE-612 Telephone Central Office Equipment (1ea); SSM-7 & TT-21 On Line Encryption (1ea); TT-7 Teletype Machine (1ea).

    Section II

    COMMENTARY

    Personnel and Administration:

    The normal rotation for the quarter gave this squadron a gain of four officers and twenty-one airmen, while losing four officers and fourteen airmen. Major Burton E Thayer assumed command of the squadron on 11 March 1964, at a formal change of command ceremony held at the Motor Pool. Lt. Colonel W Knisely was relieved as Commander and reassigned as Commander of the 678th Radar Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Florida.

    Operations:

    This has been a very busy quarter for the "Ops" personnel, with a heavy schedule of training and many physical changes taking place. Two new positions were established in setting up the Emergency War Orders position and the Electronic Counter-Counter Measures position. Two tape recorders were installed and are now in use. An adapter for the helium cylinder was made and installed in order to provide balloon ceilings for weather observations. A new dias was built for the Intercept Control Technicians and installed between the two control scopes. A new control dias was built and installed to provide space for the Battle Commander and the Battle Staff Intelligence Team. The Controller Director’s Information File was re-accomplished and a new cabinet which provides for the CDIF, crew boxes, forms, and miscellaneous publications was also installed.

    The total operations strength at present is four officers and twenty-nine airmen, with five officers and thirty-seven airmen authorized. Captain Joseph DeLaurentis was assigned here TDY as the Operations Officer from the 641st AC&W Squadron, but returned to the States PCS at the end of 45 days. At that time 1st Lt. William G Harvey stepped in to head this position.

    In training, a total of 3,389 tracks were carried and reported to the 641st, and a total of six live and twenty simulated missions were completed. Intercept Directors ran a total of 341 intercepts and completed 253 academic hours in training. Examinations were administered to all crew members concerning the pertinent regulations and manuals from the command levels within NORAD. All results were satisfactory thus showing once again the proficiency of the Operations Personnel.

    Civil Engineering:

    The Mobile Maintenance Team arrived on station in March and have been kept very busy with essential projects. The Base Exchange is being remodelled and will be a first class facility upon completion. It will now have better facilities for displaying the merchandise and more room to stock the many items in demand. The station theater is being remodelled, and upon its completion will have a curved Cinemascope screen and a larger seating capacity. The Maintenance Team also retiled a portion of the Officer’s Club, which adds to the overall beauty of remodelling accomplished by the Officer’s in their off-duty time,

    In the Power Plant, Mr. Leon Hawker, who had been foreman of the Plant since November 1960, resigned his position and returned to his native England. Mr. Fred Bird has taken over the controls of this position until an official foreman can be appointed.

    S/Sgt. Buell, the station Fire Chief, rotated to the ZI in February, leaving A/2C Van Hoy to hold the reigns. Airman Van Hoy conducted six fire drills, all of which were satisfactory, once again emphasizing the importance of a strict fire prevention program.

    In the Motor Pool, the two Track-Masters assigned have experienced several breakdowns due to inadequate seals on the drive shaft suspension bearings. 26th Air Division is aware of this problem and has initiated action to correct this discrepancy. The vehicles assigned to this section were driven a total of 9,861 miles over ice and snow.

    Supply:

    1st Lt. Clarence E Walker arrived on March 18, 1964, as the new Supply Officer replacing Captain Charles M Lowe who returned to the ConUS. Along with the account transfer, the records were audited by a member of the USAF Auditor General Detachment from Goose AB, Labrador. The records were found to be in good shape, and no major discrepancies were found.

    Preparation is now being made to set up a bench stock on many of the items now handled by Tech Supply. This should prove to be a better system than the present one. The screening and shipping of excess items continued to be a major project in Supply. During this reporting period, 624 line items valued at $19,664.77 were returned to the host supply unit.

    Communications and Electronics:

    Manning in the CEM Maintenance Sections has improved, although few of the sections are fully manned. The greatest concern in manning is the lack of skilled NCO’s authorized on the Unit Manning Document. This quarter has resulted in several personnel changes in the upper echelons. 1st Lt. David Casteel arrived in March as Radar Maintenance Officer, relieving 1st Lt. Joseph Fortuna. M/Sgt. William H Applegate arrived early in January and has taken over the position of CEM NCOIC, and T/Sgt. Willis Benham arrived in March to assume duties of NCOIC of the Communications Center.

    The teletype circuit is back on the air and was operational for 50% of the quarter. Although this is a definite improvement over the previous quarter, this still represents unsatisfactory operation. Channel #2 of the search radar has gone through five compressor units, totalling 596 hours of unscheduled maintenance time. Mr. Phillip Dasch, a CTSP representative from GADS, investigated these numerous failures, but found no significant reasons for the break-downs.

    The GPS-T4 trainer has been inoperative during the first half of the quarter. The squadron’s most qualified technician has been attending a special training class on a new modification for this equipment, so it is expected to be fully operational in May.

    Medical:

    The Medical Section treated a total of 285 Air Force personnel and 36 civilian employees during this quarter. A total of 34 non-disabling injuries were treated on outpatient status. Six Air Force members were referred to Goose AB Hospital for medical treatment. Of this number, two were for dental treatment, and all men were returned to duty.

    There are six airmen on the overweight roster as compared with eight last quarter. Grossly overweight personnel were counselled on proper weight reduction diets and were weighed and checked daily for weight loss. Overall progress is considered to be satisfactory.

    Typed Name and Grade of Commander

    BE Thayer, Major, USAF

    Signature