Cartwright, Labrador

1964 – Historical Report – USAF Historical Division


Historical Record
922nd AC&W Squadron
Cartwright, Labrador
1 April 1964 to 30 June 1964

Section I

REQUIRED DATA

  1. Unit and Location

922nd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron,
APO 433, New York, New York 09433

  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

    11

    82

    20

    113

     

     

    Attached

    0

    23

    1

    24

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 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); R-361A/GR Single UHF Receiver (2ea); AN/GRT-3 Single Channel UHF Transmitter (3ea); AN/GRC-27 Multi Channel Transmitter/ 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); AN/UPX-14 (1ea).

    Section II

    COMMENTARY

    Personnel and Administration:

    The normal rotation for the quarter gave this squadron a gain of four officers and fifteen airmen, while losing three officers and nineteen airmen. The Non-Commissioned Officer’s Dining-In was held on 24 June 1964, with the guest speaker being Air Vice Marshall Harvey, Commander of the Northern NORAD Region. Other guests attending the function were Colonel Beeson, Commander of the Goose Air Defense Sector, and Colonel Myers, the Director of Materiel for GADS.

    The late receipt on personnel rotating to the CONUS continues to be a problem within the squadron. This places an extreme hardship on the personnel who must vacate the homes and apartments they are renting and still have sufficient time to have furniture and household goods shipped to their new duty assignment.

    Operations:

    The Ops people now have a new "honcho" in Captain F Cullinan who replaced William G Garvey. 2nd Lt. Douglas Flores reported to the squadron in June and put the Controller strength to five.

    Operations participated in a total of eight live exercises during the quarter including a NORAD Operational Readiness Evaluation "Mute IX" in April, and an ADC ORI "Saga 14-64" in May. A total of twenty-four simulated exercises were run which included one "Desk Top". A total of 3800 tracks were plotted during this period of which one hundred and seventy-seven were unknown. The IND’s kept busy with 461 intercepts being attempted, resulting in 365 Missions Accomplished and 96 Missed Intercepts.

    During this period many improvements took place with all dias positions in the dark room getting covered with Formica for cleaner and more efficient operation. The entrance into operations stairs and Crew Briefing Room were repainted. Ducting was installed in the Ops Room to deflect warm air from the control consoles to the lower operating area to compensate for heat dissipation. A track number board was constructed and installed behind the vertical plotting board to account for track numbers assigned to air traffic. This board alleviated the problems of two plotters posting the numbers on the vertical board so each would have control of the numbers assigned. The Tactical Mission Data Board was raised a total of twelve inches to allow for easier and more efficient plotting on the lower portion of the board and better visibility of the using agency. The door leading into operations was louvered and a new door installed on the Compressor Room to improve air circulation and increase the effectiveness of the air conditioning unit.

    Civil Engineering:

    Captain Ken Taylor rotated to the CONUS in May and was replaced in June by 1st Lt. Frank G Springs. Mr. Fred Bird was promoted to Power Plant Foreman and Mr. Malcom Pardy was promoted to Motor Pool Foreman.

    The contract for MCP Projects 100-1 and 105-1, construction of a forty-three man dormitory and multi-purpose building, was given to Colonial-Boiard Company with construction expected to begin in July. This building will have recreational facilities for all personnel and will be a tremendous asset to the squadron in the long winter season. Seven projects were submitted for FY 66 totalling $62,800.

    The Power Plant has once again been recognized for its superior rating, as it has been submitted by GADS to compete in the Outstanding Power Plant competition. The Motor Pool is having problems receiving the necessary parts to keep all vehicles in operation. At present the two Trackmasters, the Snow-Go, Dump Truck, and Front End Loader are all awaiting parts. Nevertheless, the vehicles assigned were driven a total of 8,481 miles for the quarter.

    Supply:

    The Supply Section received a helping hand from many sections in accomplishing the mission of pumping fuel from the lower POL tanks to the upper tanks. This project was necessary in order to prepare for the new shipment of fuel which is scheduled to arrive the first week in August. The screening and shipping of excess items continued to be a major project, and this quarter ninety-nine line items values at $7,086.35 were turned in.

    At the present time Supply is without an NCO, but all assigned airmen have proven their ability to get the job done. A/2C Gains participated in the 26th Air Division Talent Contest at Stewart AFB, and received a trophy for winning second place in his class of competition.

    Communications and Electronics:

    Captain Charles H Miller arrived on station in April to replace Captain Elwood Steinhauer III and Ground C-E-M Supervisor. Captain Steinhauer departed for Ent AFB, where he is assigned to NORAD.

    The installation of the 0A 2525 (ECCM) modification on the FPS-90 was started and stopped in May. The modification was rescheduled for July because of conflict with down-time needed for other installations at Melville and Hopedale. The AN/UPX-14 (Transmitter-Receiver for IFF/SIF) was installed and the AFTO 88’s signed in 22 June 1964. Phase out of the UPX-6 will be sometime in August, when it will be reverted to a standby status. The RCAF have installed VHF FM radio terminal equipment in our transmitter site. The equipment will be used to provide a telephone circuit from the SAR evaluation center at Eagle River through existing USAF Pole Vault facilities to the Canadian switchboard at Goose Bay.

    Action was taken in late June by Goose Air Defense Sector to realign the UMD to authorize personnel for the Squadron Maintenance Control Center. Manning of this section is presently accomplished by "borrowing" personnel from other sections.

    Medical:

    The "Medics" treated a total of 308 Air Force personnel and 30 civilian employees during this quarter. A total of 37 non-disabling injuries requiring first-aid were treated on out-patient status. Seven Air Force members were referred to Goose AFB Hospital for medical treatment. Of this number, three were for dental treatment, and all were returned to duty.

    Once again there are six airmen on the overweight roster. Grossly overweight personnel are being counselled on proper weight reduction diets and are checked twice weekly for weight loss. Overall process is considered to be satisfactory.

    Typed Name and Grade of Commander

    BE Thayer, Major, USAF

    Signature