treaty transition sep-oct 1979

7/27/2019 Treaty Transition Sep-Oct 1979

1/6

T h is i s ...Theweek thatwas

This past weekend started on a h igh no te with the Sunday arr ival ofAmerican Vice President Walter F . Mondale a t Tocumen A irport andwent up from there as activitie s were held all overthe former Canal Zonemarking the h is to ric occasion of implementat ion into .effect of thePanama C anal Treaties .

Cerem onies were held from Am ador to Gulic k, fr om Al br ook toHoward , and fr om Ancon to Gambo a. They were a ttend ed by peoplefrom a II over the world , including such dignitaries as Mondale ,Panam anian President Arist ides Royo , Mexican President Jose

Lopez-Portillo , and a ho st of other s offici ally repre senting theircount ries.

Thou sands of on lookers watched the b ig Panaman ian flag g o up onAnc on Hill at 8 a .m. Monday, where a t m idn ight the nigh t before agigantic firework s display h ad l it the sky .

From there it w as a whirlwind of activity , and the SC News was there .Pictorial cov erage of the se histor ical happening s appear throughout thisis s ue.

Vol. XV , No.5 Quarry Heigh ts, Panama Oct. 5, 1979

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EA U THORI ZE D U N OFFIC IA L PUBLIC A TIO N FO R THE U . S . A R M ED FOR C E S

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Signing Letters o f CredenceCol. Floren cio Florez A . (left) , chief of st af fo f the Panamanian Nat ional Guard, and Lt .Gen . Wallace H . Nutting, commander inchief

o-f the U.S . Southern Command , sign theLetters of Credence designating therepresentatives to the Combined Board and to

t he Joint Comm ittee -during _ ceremonies heldMonday at Amador. (SCNews Staff Photo byBobby ~. Masters)


2/6

F in a l ret re at ce remon ies were he ld by the1 93rd I nf a ntry Br ig a de a t F t . Amador Sept .

30 as th e U .S. fl a g was lower e d for the l as t

time in front of th e br ig a d e's h ea dq uar te rs.(Photo by SSgt . Ma rk L. C o merford)

Pet reqlstratlon setC LAYTON (193d P AO) - Pe t re g is trat io n,

w hic h n o rm a lly sta rt s on S ep t. 1 , w as d e la ye d

th is ye ar u n til Oct . 1 . Animal re g is tra tio n w illb e a c co mp lis h ed in D o D V e te rinar y Cl in ics inP a n a m a duri ng Octobe r.

F o r n ew co me rs , an y d o g o r ca t four

mont hs of a ge o r o lder on a m ilitar yins ta llatio n must b e re g ister e d w ithin f ive

d uty d a ys of t he animal b ei ng p e rma n en tly

h o u s ed o n th e in s talla tio n and a n n u a llyth e reaft e r.

R eg is tratio n or re -req istrat ion an d ra biesvacc inatio n , if v acc ina tio n is n o t cur re n t, ca nb e a cco m p lis h ed at a ny o f th e fo llo w in g Do Dvete rin a ry c lin ic s:

T o acco mpl is h th e F Y 80 re gis trat io n of al ldo g s a nd c a ts, sp e c ial c l ini c s w ill b e h el d

d u rin g O c to ber as fo llows :

Min d i and C o ro z al , 7: 3 0 . 1 1: 30 a .m .,M o nda y thr ough F rid a y, b y w a lk-i n .

Ho w a rd AFB , b y a ppointme n t, ca ll84 -4 1 35.

R ab ies a nd ot her reco mm endedvaccin at io ns m a y a lso b e a ccom p lis hed during

the ab ov e s p ec ial c linics. R eg ulara p pointm e nt s are r eq ui red f o r tre atmento ther th an vac ci nati ons an d re gi st rat io n a tC o ro za l an d Mind i.

If y o ur p et has a c urre n t ra b ies facci n a tio np e rfor m e d at a l o ca tion o th e r th a n t h e clin ic

w he re you re g ist e r yo ur do g o r cat, be s ur e tob ring your cu rre nt ra b ies v a c cinat ion

ce rt ific at e wi th you at th e t im e o fre gis tration .

USA F Ve ter in a ry C lin ic , H oward AFB ,tele ph o n e 84 -4 135 .

USA Vet e rin ar y Clin ic, Co rozal , te lep h on e52 -35 4 7 .

USA V e te rinary Cl inic, Mind i, t elep ho n e4 3 19 1 2 .

Friday , Oct . 5 , 1 979 SCNews 3

TvvoArmyposts lowerflag for last

time hereC LA YTO N ( 193d PAO ) - O n th e ev e n in g

of the im pl e m ent a tio n of t he n e w P an a m a

C a n al T .ea tv. c row d s gat h e red to wi tnes s t hecom me m o ra tio n o f th e f in al lo werin g o f th e

S tars and St rip es a t th e Army po s ts of F t.

Am a d o r an d F t. Gul ic k .As c alled f or b y th e t re at y, b e g inn in g Oc t. 1

on ly t he f la g o f th e R epu bl ic of Panama n owflie s ove r both i n st a lla tion s wh ic h b ec am eMilita ry Are asof C o o rd in at io n .

At F t. Ama d or t he c ere m o n y w as h el d n e a r

B ldg. 1 . former H ea d quarte rs o f the 1 9 3 d

Infan try B rigade. P art icipat ing i n th e sol e m nev e nt w e re the 79 th U .S . Arm y B and and

40 -man det a chments f ro m t h e 3 d Batt a lio n,5th Infa n try; 4 th B atta lio n (M e cha ni z ed),2 0t h In fa n try; 1 93d C o m bat S u p por t

Ba tt a I io n ; 2 1 0 th A via tio n B at talio n ; and

H e a d qu a rter s C o mmand. T he C o mm a nder ofT roo ps w as C o l. W a rd Le Ha rdy, d e put ycom man d er (Ope rations and T rai n in g ).

In hi s r e ma rk s o f trib ute to b o th po st s . the

B riga de Co mman de r a n d host of the e vent.B rig . Ge n . K en neth C . Le uer , not ed that

. "w hi le the e ven t m a y s ig n ify in the m ind s of

ma ny t he en d of a n e ra. it d oes not s ign ify ane n d to the vi tal ro le we ha v e h a d here fo r s omesi x ty y ea rs."

"Ou r most im p ortant mi ssi o n - 'thede fense of th e Pa n a ma Ca na l - wi ll co n tinue

for t h e l ife of th e new t re aty , but . wit hinc re a si ng p a rti c ipa tio n b y th e f o rc es ofP a na ma ."

H e wen t o n to st ress hi s D elief that

"th rou gh cooperat ion w ith Panama a nd th e

spirito f co m mo n purp ose o f o ur capability todef e nd the C a n a l ca n o nly b e enhanc e d '''' Is in cer e ly fe el t hat thi s a llia n ce re lationsh ipwill continu e t o be s tr e ng th ene d d u r ing t helife o f the tr e a ty. " h e s a id, a dd ing , "We look

for wa rd to fu rth e ring o ur e xc e lle nt wo rking

re lat ion s h ips w ith the Guar d ia N a c io nal inthis ne w ro le o f c o mb in e d d efe n se. "

Par tic ipa ting in th e Ft . G u lick cere m o n y

w er e 40 -m a n deta c h m e nts . fro m the 4 th

B atta lio n , 10 th In fa n try; 3 d B at tal io n, 7 thS pec ial F o rc e s G roup (Ai rb o rn e ); the U.S .Arm y S c h oo l o f th e Am eri cas; t he J ung le

Operat ions T ra inin g C e n ter ; th e 54 9 thMilita ry Pol ic e Co m p an y an d a c o mpo si teu ni t of th e U. S . Arm y He a lt h and "D en ta l

C lin ics at F t. G u lic k . Also p a rticip a tin g in thee v en t w a s th e Ai r F orc e R e s e rve Ba n d f rom

R ob in s Air F o rc e B ase , G a .T h e h o st of the G ul ic k e ven t w as C ol .

G e o rg e M. S ch eet s rC o rn m a ndan t of t h e U.S.Arm y Sc h oo l of t he Am e ric as , and th e

C om man der o f T roo p s w a s Maj . R o n a ld H .D a rne ll, E x e c u tiv e O ffic er o f th e 4thB at ta lio n. 1 0 th Inf a n try.

T h e co lor s w e re lo were d a t F t. Ama d o r a n d

Ft. G ul ic k b y m em be rs o f th e 5 3 4 th and

5 49t h M ilitary P ol ic e C o m p an ies .

It was a very eventful few days. We (534th MP Co.) were deployed to Ft. Amadorand stayed in the building that was later converted into the QRF barracks. We wereon full alert in case something happened during the transition celebrations between

30 Sep and 1 Oct 1979. John S. Sporrer (MSG / Ret.)


3/6

Ra ising the flagMembers of the Panamanian Vic torianoLorenzo Company, mil itary police, take partin Mon day's historic cere mony at the NavSta,Ft. Amado r (above). President Aristides Royo(I), Guardia Nac ional chief of staf f, Col .Flor encio Flores A. ( second from I),Vice-President Mo ndale and Lt. Gen. Wa llaceNuttin g, CIN C, USSO UTHCOM , review t hetroops in format ion in f ront of the NAVS T Abuildin g Monday (upper right ph oto). A nd,the Panamanian and U .S. Flags a re ra ised tosignify th e joint o peration of the area. ( Photosby Capt. Bobby K. Masters and SS gt. BarryPurkis)

Frid ay, Oct. 5,1979 ,SCNews 7

N a v S t a f la g c e r e m o ny~

On the night of 30 Sep 79 a group of Panamanians tore down the U.S. Flags that were onthe bridge of the Americas, stopped traffic, and burned them on the bridge. We loaded upthe trucks in full riot gear but never got the call. During V.P. Mondale's visit we werestationed to the rear of the buildings for a faster response time but again never got the call.


4/6

10 SCNews Friday , Oct. 5, 1979

Reserve Band provided music

Trooping the line during change of commandceremonies held at Howard AFB Sept. 30 aret he Highland Bagpipe Corps of the A ir Forc e

Reserve Band , Robins AFB, Ga. (Photo bySSgt. Mark L. Comerford)

Fire PreventionWeekFire Prevention Week , obser ved b y

pres idential p roclama tion during O ct. 81 4,gives nat ional emp has is to the importan ce ofpracticing fire p revention meas ures a ll yearround .

No professi on is mo re aware of thedest ructivenes s of fire than the m ilitary,which, through the ages, ha s e mployed it as awea pon. "Greek fire ," a pr imitive so rt ofnapa lm bom b, was a flaming fireba ll,prope lled b y ca tapult ag ainst ene my ships andfortresses. Fire s hips - vesse ls s et afire an dsailed into the midst o f an ene my fleet - we ree ffec tively used i n the days of sa il. This ta cticplayed a major role in the de s truction of theSp an ish A rma da by the s maller British flee t in1588 . Todavs m ilitary ars en al includes avarie ty of fire-oriented wea pons, such a sflame thro wers and ince ndiary de vices.

But the destruct iveness of fire is no tconfined to the b a ttlefie ld. It can be aneverydiry enem y, lurking ab oa rd sh ip; inbarracks, at o ffices and an ywhere tha t firesaf e ty mea sure s are not prac ticed.

For example, invisib le vapors fromimproper ly store d flammab le liquids ma ytravel for man y f eet , and if these vapor s rea chan ignition po int. the y burst into flam e. T his

is true not only for gasoline - a g allon ofwhich ha s the ex plos ive potential of 12 to 15s ticks . of dynamite - but also f or pa ints,turpent ine, n aphtha, contact adhes ive s and' anumbe r of cleaning f luids .

Over loa ded elec tric extens ion cords inoffices a nd h omes c an cau se the wire tobecome so hot that it will ignite the in sula tioncovering a nd set ablaze other nea rbyflamm able o bjects.

Ca reless ness an d inattent ion to fireprevention p recau tions .ha ve cau sed s uchdisas ters as the G rea t Chica go Fire whichs ta rted on Oct. 8, 1~71, whe n a certa in Mrs.

O'Leary's c ow kicked o ver a lante rn in a barn,se tting it, and s ubse quently the city, ablaze.The ' cos t was .250 lives an d $20 0 million inda mag es. This year 's Fire P reven tion Wee kobser van ce coi ncides wit h the ann iversa ry oftha t Chicago disaster .

Fire saf e ty an d prevent ion are not so lelythe res pons ibility of the fire ma rsh al or safety

inspe ctor They a re jobs tha t must be 'performed e very da y by every respo ns iblecitizen. In most cases when the fire ala rm goesoff, someone has f a iled to do his or her job offire pr evention.

HOWARD (24COMP W 01) - The AirForce Reser ve Band pla yed the ir way throug htreatv w eeke nd with gus to. They per formed20 time s in thei r six-day visit th e P anamaCanal a rea .

The Show Ban d played for the Curundu

Junior High and Ba tb o a Righ School s tude nts.The Howard and Kobbe Eleme nta ry Schoolchildren wer e t rea ted to the Dixieland C omboand Hi ghlander s, a nine -piec e ba gpipe band.

The Panam a Canal's area rn iti ta r vcommunit y were t rea ted to threeperfo rmances. The firs t concert wa s h eld atHowa rd, Sept. 27; the secon d at the HowardNCO Open M ess, S ept. 29 ; and t he final "bigshow" at B ea m S tadium a t Albrook Air ForceStat ion, Tues day .

Elemen ts o f the Air Force Reserv e Bandalso performed at s eve ral treat y-relate devents, include d the Re trea t Ce remony atHoward, Sept. 28, the U.S . S outhe rnComman d Change of Comma nd cere mony atHoward, Sunday; t he F t. Gulick Re treatCeremo ny, Sun day; and the Flag Ra isingce remon y at Howard, Monda y.

Near ly 10,000 Pana ma Cana l area res identssaw and h eard the Air Force R es e rve B an d's36 mus icians at these events. The b andproud ly ser ves the citizen- airmen of the AirForce Rese rve an d is based a t Rob ins AFB,Ga.

With les s than two weeks n otice , acco rdingto C apt. Roger W. Sebb y, band command e ran d condu ctor, "Our vis it to Pana ma wassuperb . The m usicians enjoyed the trip andwere ho nored to be a p art o f this h is toricalo c c a s io n . "

Se bby add ed, "The supp ort we receivedwas trem en dous. The 2 4th Transp ortat ionS quad ron , 24th Ser vice s S qua dron, 210thAviat ion Batta lion, 193d Infantry Brigade' sMoveme nt Control Cen te r, the Southern

. Command Network, the Southern C omma nd

News, and th e pe ople at Ft. Gulick gave theband g rea t sup port. We could n ot haveaccomp lished our mi ss ion he re with out theca n-do spi r it we found wh erever we went inthe U.S. Sou thern Comman d."


5/6

1 2 SCN"Fridav_ Oct . 5_ 1979

United States Vice-President Walter F . Mondale exits Air Force Two at - happenings. Behind Mondale ishis son, who acted as interpreter for hisPanama's Tocumen Airport Sunday and prepares to greet Panamanian father's speech at Tocumen , and U.S. Ambassador to Panama, AmblerPr esi dent Ar isti des Royo upon arrival for .this weekend's historic M~ss.(SCNewsstaff photo by Capt . Bobl5yK. Masters)

Mondales' arrival

U.S . Vice President Walter F. Mondaleaddresses the Panamanian peop le upon h isarri val at Tocumen International Air portSept . 30. He was greeted by PanamanianPr esi dent Arist ides Royo (right) and Col .Florencio Florez A. (left), chief of staff ofthePanamanian National Guard. (Photo by SSgt.Barry Pur kis)

- ---__ ---- - ---------------

Midnight shift, 30 Sep 1979 I was assigned to a position on the Ft. Amador golf course overlookingthe mud flats across from Chorillo. I was there to notify the unit if anything suspicious happened orif someone tried to cross the mudflats and enter onto Ft. Amador. We had Naval support withspotlights and night vision. I still remember the call sign of the Naval ship. "Steel Raider 3". They

came by a few times to shine the spotlight on the mudflats. I was surprised when I found out it wasonly a wooden PT boat and not a Naval Ship that was our support.


6/6

Panamanian Pres ident Aristides Royo (left)and U .S. Vice "President Walter F. Mondaleadmire the huge Panamanian flag which was

raised at Ancon HillMonday morning . (Photoby SSgt . Mark L.Comerford)

Panamanian air force h elicopters fly over thecrowd assembled for ce remoniescommemorat ing the turn over of the Canal

Zone to Panama . (Photo by SSgt. Mark L.Comerford)

Wavingfrom its 150-foot mast at Ancon Hillafter having been raised by a special motordriven hoist is a Panamanian Flag measur ing33 by 48 feet. The flag was raised byPanamanian President Aristides .Rovo whopressed a button to activate the flag-rais ing"motor Monday . (Photo by SSgt. Mark L.Come rford)

A ctivitie s

TreatyDay

1 Oct 1979, I was still at my position on the golf course and was able to watch thePanamanian flag raise for the first time atop Ancon Hill. It kind of left a twisted feeling in mystomach. After all that had been going on with the pre-transition events, it felt as though wehad just lost a battle that we never even tried to fight for. This was only the beginning of more

crazy things to come. Twenty years to transition the treaty and a "war" in 89. This is where itall started A historical time for Panama and the Military Police Corps

treaty transition sep-oct 1979

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