United States: NATO Infrastructure Committees Visit

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Having been the recipient of the hospitality of many NATO nations, I was looking forward to hosting the NATO Infrastructure Committees on a visit to my country - the United States of America. As Linda would play a major role in hosting the spouses, I brought her along. This meant that we needed baby sitters for our three kids. Mom and Carol volunteered. They arrived on October 16th.

19 October 1991 Saturday. We flew TWA from Brussels to JFK. Our aircraft parked the next gate over from the USAF 727 that would take us to Washington DC. USAF Protocol had arranged this and a special customs and immigration checkpoint between the two gates, so all we had to do was walk off, check through, and walk on; and we were on our way to DC.

We arrived at Andrews AFB and took Air Force buses to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at the Pentagon City Mall. The autumn leaves were in their full glory and everyone was amazed at the vibrant and varied colors. We checked in and had the evening free to have dinner. Many of us walked around the mall and ate at the food court.

20 October 1991 Sunday. We had an escorted tour of Washington DC; the Capitol, the Smithsonian Museums, etc. It was a very full day.

21 October 1991 Monday. We had a State Department briefing in the morning followed by lunch in the 7th floor dining room.

After lunch we proceeded to the Pentagon for more briefings. That evening we were hosted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense at a dinner at the Ritz. Our entertainment was provided by the Air Force Singing Seargents and the Strolling Strings. They were very good; and a fun evening was had by all.

22 October 1991 Tuesday. We took buses out to Andrews for a short flight on an Air National Guard 727 to Langley AFB. We were taken by buses to our hotel in Norfolk. Air Force Protocol had told the Navy, who was responsible for this part of the trip, to use commercial buses, not Navy buses. They meant nice new buses, but the Navy didn't get the hint, so we ended up on clunkers. The hotel was also bad. It was in the process of being remodeled and somehow many of the committee members ended up in the older rooms. Linda complained to the front desk, and we received a better room, but I don't know how many members kept quiet and accepted what they got.

Meanwhile the committee members were taken to SACLANT and CINCLANTFLT headquarters for briefings, and a hosted lunch. That evening CINCLANTFLT hosted a dinner cruise on the Spirit of Norfolk, which was very scenic and pleasant.

23 October 1991 Wednesday. We took buses to Langley AFB where we were briefed by the commander of the Tactical Air Command and then had a tour of the base.

We then proceeded to the Yorktown naval Weapons Station where we had another briefing and a tour of the pier and some other facilities that NATO was funding. The tour was followed by a lunch hosted by the base commander.

I had scheduled for the committee to meet their spouses at Williamsburg, but the spouses decided they wanted to shop at the Langley PX instead so we all headed there for the rest of the afternoon. We had the evening free after returning to the hotel.

24 October 1991 Thursday. We returned to Langley for a short flight to Fort Benning, Georgia. On the flight my Netherlands colleague complained of an ear ache. When we landed, a doctor from the Army clinic met us at the bottom of the ramp and gave my colleague a prescription bottle of pills to take care of the pain. This was just one of the many instances that Air Force Protocol took such good care of us.

We proceeded to the Corps headquareters where we were briefed by the Corps commander. His corps had a major role in reinforcing Europe in case of war, so we were providing his forces with numerous embarcation facilities. The commander hosted us for lunch and then sent us on our way.

It was a quick flight to Orlando, where we then were taken by buses to a resort hotel next to Disney World where we would be until Sunday. We had the evening free to explore the extensive grounds and swim in the many pools, some with waterfalls. We then ate at a Caribbean themed restaurant.

25 October 1991 Friday. We took buses to Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force Base where we received briefings and a tour of the launch facilities. NATO was launching two satellites from here, paid for by the Infrastructure program. The French had previously invited the committee to French Guiana to see the launch of an Ariane rocket in an attempt to secure the NATO launch on their rocket, but I put a stop to that.

After the tour the commander of Patrick AFB hosted lunch at the officers club on the beach.

Afterwards we drove to the Grumman Aircraft JSTARS facility in Melbourne, where we got a tour of one of the JSTARS aircraft. It had just returned from Kuwait where it had played a vital role in targeting Saddam Husseins night time retreat from Kuwait City, but was totally visible to JSTARS, resulting in the complete destruction of his forces. It was pretty late by the time we returned to our hotel in Orlando, but not too late for a swim before bed.

26 October 1991 Saturday. Being the weekend, we gave everyone the day off; with the intention that most would opt for one of the Disney World parks. However, many chose to go shopping or otherwise tour around Orland. Linda and I did the Majic Kingdom. My sister Sue, huband Rob and kids Brendan and Alyssa joined us for the day as they only lived two hours south. Anyway, a good time was had by all.

27 October 1991 Sunday. We rejoined our USAF 727 for a flight to Bermuda. While technically a British colony, the U.S. provided the defense forces and was receiving considrable Infrastructure funding for our maritime patrol aircraft stationed on the island.

We arrived at noon, and the plan was to do some sailing, courtesy of one of the Navy Civil Engineering Corps officers who had a boat. However, a hurricane was on its way so the water was too rough. So instead we were taken to our resort hotel and after lunch toured the island. We had the evening free.

28 October 1991 Monday. The weather was still ok so we stuck to our itinerary. We visited the Naval Air Station for a briefing and tour of the NATO facilities.


We then drove to the Governor General's residence for lunch; or perhaps it was high tea. Nevertheless, it was very posh...and the food was good too.

After this affair we drove to the east end of the island to visit the British Naval Facility. We then returned to our hotel via some shopping in Hamilton.

29 October 1991 Tuesday. About 1 am we were awoke by a high whistling noise and saw our curtains standing stright out even though the windows were closed. Hurricane Grace had arrived. We got dresses and went down to the reception area only to find the rest of the committee starting up a hurricane party. No fear here!

In the morning we learned that our 9 am departure had been delayed to noon. Other guests were asking how we even had a flight that day, as all the commercial aircraft had evacuated to the mainland. Our 727 was tied down and survived ok.

At noon we boarded our aircraft, but the pilot advised us that he couldn't take off until the windspeed got below 60 mph for ten minutes. We waited awhile and then were given to go ahead to fly to Dover AFB in Delaware.

Upon Landing hours late we were still graciously received and the briefings proceeded. Then we were scheduled to have a tour of the base. We had seen the flight line upon landing, with C-5s parked for as far as one could see...talk about impressive. I wanted to depart right away but my boss overruled me in favor of a visit to the morgue, where all U.S. military deaths from overseas are processed. He wanted out allies to see the sacrifice that the U.S. has made for them.

So we made a brief stop there, and then caught our plane to New London, CT. We were taken to our hotel and then to dinner at Mystic Seaport. This time the committee hosted the U.S. hosts.

When we returned to our hotel about 9:30 pm, I received an urgent phone call from Linda's sister saying that her husband Trevor was diagnosed with brain cancer and that his operation was scheduled for Saturday. This certainly dampened our spirits.

30 October 1991 Wednesday. We visited New London Naval Base and toured the NATO funded facilites and the nuclear strike submarine the SSN Miami. Strike submarines have very limited space compared to the ballistic missle subs. We learned that they store their food in the hallways and then eat to the deck after whcih they have to go home. We also saw the Nautilus Museum.

Then we took the buses to New York City where we checked into a very tall hotel near Times Square. Our room was on the 45th floor. Hurrican Grace was just off the Atlantic Coast and we could feel out building sway. Hurricane Grace eventually worked its way up past New England where it became the "Perfect Storm." We had the evening free to visit Times Square and Rockefeller Center, etc.

31 October 1991 Thursday. We took buses to see the NATO pier for the Naval Weapons Station at Earle, New Jersey. The traffic was bad, so we were running late and had to curtail our visit. The station had prepared a delicious dinner for us, but Air Force Protocol, who by then was exhausted, said we had to leave for JFK if we were going to cathc our flight.

We had givine the committee members an option of either flying back at the end of the official program, or staying through the weekend. About half opted to fly back that afternoon, as did Linda and I as we had to standby to hear from Shirley regarding Trevor. We barely arrived in time to cathc our flight.

1 November 1991 Friday. We landed early in Brussels and upon arriving home learned that Trevor had died. His funeral would be in a few days. We told Shirley that we would be there.

In the meantime, I had promised Mom and Carol to take them to Rothenburg, so we jumped in the car and headed to Germany. Somewhere east of Heilbronn, the traffic on the autobahn came to a complete standstill. After waiting a half hour with no movement, we noticed that some other cars were driving off the autobahn and across an adjacent field to a local road. We joined them. We eventually arrived in Rothenburg by mid afternoon and toured the city walls and the city.

2 November 1991 Saturday. After some more touring in the morning, we drove back to Overijse.

Mom and Carol returned to the States on Tuesday November 5th, and we drove to Northern Ireland for Trevors funeral on Wednesday, November 6th.

We arrived and found that traditional customs were being observed. Family and friends are gathered for a wake. Trevors body was laid out on the dinning room table. We stayed for awhile and comforted the family. Then we stayed at friends of Shirleys who had a farm. They were very nice to put us up for a couple nights.

On the day of the funeral Trevor was placed in a wooden casket. Five others and I were the pall bearers. We carried the casket at the head of a procession from the house to the church that was over a mile. Britihs military helicopters hovered over us. A British army patrol came out of the hedges and followed us. It was all very eirie. We had the internment ceremony and returned to Shirley's home.

The next day we drove back to Belgium.

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