Storm watch: Iceland's weather often overshadows Air Force mission

Airman, Oct, 2002 by Jason Tudor

Forget the mission. Everyone talks about Iceland's weather. It's like some Shakespearean character inspiring defiance, tragedy and romance in one sitting.

Winds rage across the Reykjanes peninsula's black pumice-crusted skin providing commercial airline passengers landing there the rush of a first-time bungee jump. Cold's teeth clamp down on cheeks, eyes, noses and lips. Thick snow drifts blow through like the playwright's fictional armies storming a castle, eager to claim victory on just one unguarded victim.

It sinks fishing boats. It musters Marines to form human chains for "kid-catching duty" so school-aged children getting off the bus won't blow away. It whips car doors past their limits, creating "The Keflavik Crunch."

Staff Sgt. Melissa Melger, a personnel troop assigned to the tenant 85th Group at Keflavik Naval Air Station, Iceland, knows the character of the weather well.

"You haven't seen weather until you've been to Iceland," she said.

The 650 or so airmen at Keflavik laugh at it. Most get used to the sun shining 24 hours a day, contrasted six months later with no sunlight for weeks on end. But the weather is always at the top of conversation, especially during winter.

Group Command Chief Master Sgt. Dan Kuester said there's no gradual acclimation.

"We welcomed the Hawaii Air National Guard for a rotation. They were like, 'What the heck is going on?'" the chief said. "It's not Hawaii. Your lifestyle will change."

Not always welcomed

Americans and their technological toys have not always been welcomed in Iceland. The United Kingdom originally set up camp without Icelandic permission. Then came the United States. When the British needed troops for battle, both governments insisted the United States should provide the island's protection.

After receiving approval from the Icelandic prime minister, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent in the Navy. He addressed the Icelandic occupation issue July 7, 1941.

"The United States cannot permit the occupation by Germany of strategic outposts in the Atlantic to be used as air or naval bases for eventual attack against the Western Hemisphere," the president said.

After the war, however, the United States broke a contract and didn't withdraw its troops. Instead it asked for and was refused permanent military bases. The two governments later reached a compromise in 1946 spawning Keflavik and a seven-year lease. Eventually, Iceland joined NATO in 1949. During the Korean War, the United States received permission to station troops in Iceland, this time under a NATO umbrella.

Hunting grounds

Keflavik is coupled with Keflavik International Airport. The naval station -- home to the joint-billeted Iceland Defense Force -- is a stone's throw from the Arctic Circle, wedged between Greenland and the invaluable, oil-rich storehouses beneath the North Sea.

These were once-fertile hunting grounds. American pilots sent here flew P-38s, P-40s, F-89s, F-102s, F-15s, F-16s and other aircraft in search of one of the Cold War's top prizes -- a silver hulking Russian turboprop-driven bear bomber. From 1962 to 1973, the Iceland Defense Force intercepted more than 1,000 Russian aircraft. In the mid-1980s, Iceland intercepted more than 170 aircraft each year.

Like any good hunt, 90 percent of the time spent is waiting until "Loki" spots the bear. Loki -- the Norse god of mischief and the call sign for the 932nd Air Control Squadron -- has watched 250,000 square miles of airspace in and around Iceland for 50 years [See "Band of Gypsies," August 2002]. A pair of New Orleans-based F-15 pilots made the most recent Bear catch in 1999.

Maj. Dave Sinnott, Loki's operations officer, said the key to air defense is keeping his team alert.

"The greatest challenge is keeping everyone on their toes," he said. "That's why we run so many exercises."

F-15 Eagle-driving hunters from around the world deploy with the 85th Group for three months. To sharpen the edge, aircrews fly regularly with Norwegian and other foreign services. But even the best hunts are spoiled by the weather, according to Capt. Mike Morgan, an F-15 pilot assigned with the group.

He said the greatest danger is a slippery runway. The nearest "divert" runway -- where an aircraft would go if it couldn't land at Keflavik -- is in Scotland. Diversion usually means calling out "the tanker," the sole KC-135 available for the task. Unfortunately, if the weather's bad, the bloated, fuel-filled tanker can't get airborne either. No gas means aircraft become large metal weights that can plummet helplessly into the ocean.

"The weather is a huge factor," Morgan said. "It puts us in a bind if we have to divert."

While the Eagles patrol the island and the humanitarian rescue team saves lives [See "Above Icy Waters," July 2001], the assignment's best secret may be hidden away in its education center. Iceland serves as a safe harbor to complete work on associate's and bachelor's degrees.

Airman 1st Class Joshua Highley, one of Loki's scope watchers, has extended his stay twice to further his education. Why not, he said, given the ample resources and opportunities the assignment provides.