NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen 27 August 2010Volume 26, No. 16
Next NATO Skywatch:
10 September
Submissions due by:
2 September
Unmanned Airborne System
See page 4
By Capt. Wilko ter Horst
On Sunday morning,
22 August, the first NATO
humanitarian flood relief
flight for Pakistan departed
at NATO airbase Geilenkirchen
in Germany. The flight was
conducted by the NATO
AEW&CF Trainer Cargo
Airlift squadron (TCA).
Due to the magnitude of the
disaster in Pakistan, the Alliance
decided earlier this month to
contribute to the relief efforts
at Pakistan’s request.
Following that request, the North
Atlantic Council (NAC) stated that
NATO should respond as quickly as
operationally possible to the Pakistani
request for support. Therefore the
TCA at Geilenkirchen was tasked for
this first humanitarian relief flight.
The goods for Pakistan, which were
donated by the Republic of Slovakia,
arrived on Saturday morning by truck
at Geilenkirchen and were loaded in
the TCA, Boeing 707-302C that
was specially prepared to carry
9 pallets for the humanitarian flight.
The pallets were loaded with power
generators, water pumps, blankets
and beds.
After arriving in the heat and
humidity of Pakistan the whole crew
received a warm welcome by the
Commander of the military site at
Islamabad National Airport, military
officials and the NATO technical
civil-military team (deployed on
authorization by NAC to coordinate
local arrangements) who had arrived
a few days earlier.
PAKISTAN continues on page 3
NATO’s first flood relief flight
for Pakistan
Photo Capt. Wilko ter Horst
Photo
Maureen Geraets-Head
Photo Lt.Col. Antje Krekeler
After a 9.5-hour
flight NATO TCA unload the
relief goods at Islamabad.
Loadmasters
securing the
cargo on board
the TCA.
TCA take-off: 22 August, 08.30 hrs,
destination Pakistan.
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27 August 2010 NATO Skywatch 3
NATO Skywatch is an authorized, unofficial
commercial enterprise newspaper published
under exclusive written agreement with the NAEW&CF E-3A Component by HOUX DIGIPRINT,
Arendstraat 3, 6135 KT Sittard, +31 (0)46 4582111. Opinions expressed by contributors are their
Volume 26, No. 16 27 August 2010
own and do not necessarily reflect the official views of, or endorsement by, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or
supplements, does not constitute an endorsement by NATO of the products or services advertised.
Submissions are due seven days before publication and may be edited for style and space.
Send articles and classified advertisements to the NAEW&F E-3A Component Public Affairs (PA),
Postfach 433007, D-52511 Geilenkirchen, or base distribution Mail Stop 33. Call PA at (02451)
632480 or fax (02451) 7936 or e-mail [email protected]. For paid advertisements call Hub
Durlinger media at +31 (0) 46 452 9292, fax +31 (0) 46 452 9285 or [email protected].
Articles may be reproduced after permission has been obtained from the editor, provided mention
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Commander
Brig. Gen. Burkhard Pototzky
Chief, Public Affairs
Lt.Col. Antje Krekeler
Editor
Maureen Geraets-Head
PAKISTAN
Continued from front page
The different media, mostly
from Pakistan National Television,
were anxious to interview the
Commander of the TCA Lt.Col.
Massimiliano Macioce and the
pilot in Command Maj. Marcus
Glatt-Kallenberg.
After the first interviews the
crew started to offload the pallets.
They were handed over to the
Pakistani Government. Within
two and a half hours the crew
started the six hour flight back
to Konya, Turkey.
The TCA aircraft and her
crew arrived safely back at
Geilenkirchen on Monday,
23 August early in the evening.
Tired, but proud that the crew
could assist in Pakistan’s relief.
At this very moment 16.8 million
people are directly affected by
the floods and at least 8 million
people are in desperate need of
emergency assistance. Almost
one third of Pakistan is flooded.
This catastrophe is of unknown
magnitude and many more people
may die due to lack of medicines,
food and clean water.
Photo Lt.Col. Antje Krekeler
Using a mobile phone while driving – not the safest choice
This aircraft landed
at Geilenkirchen
Air Base
Do you know
what it is?
SEE PAGE 10
The Airbus A300 (B4 Cargo), which landed on 22
July at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, is a short-
to medium range widebody aircraft, which is a
large airliner with two passengers aisles, also
known as a twin-aisle aircraft. It’s the world’s
first twin-engine widebody and, launched in
1972, the first product of the Airbus consortium
of European aerospace companies, wholly owned
to day by EADS.
Airbus Industry was formally set up in 1970
following an agreement between Aérospatiale
(France), the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace
(Germany). They were to be joined by the
Spanish CASA in 1971. Each company would
deliver its sections as fully equipped,
ready-to-fly items.
In 1972 the A300 made its maiden flight. The
first production model, the A300 B2, entered
service in 1974. Initially the success of the
consortium was poor, but by 1979 there were 81
aircraft in service. It was the launch of the A320
in 1981 that established Airbus as a major player
in the aircraft market.
The A300 B4 was the major production version and
features a centre fuel tank for increased fuel
capacity. Production of the B2 and B4 totalled 248.
Photo PAO
By MSgt. Christopher Brown,
Safety Division
One fascinating element of
technology is how we suddenly feel we
can’t live without it. Take for example
the mobile phone. We talk on them,
we text on them, we check and send
e-mails on them, we’re on social
networks, we even play video games
on them. However, it wasn’t very long
ago that the average person didn’t own
a mobile phone. When you wanted to
communicate with someone you either
used a home phone, an antiquated
pay phone, or actually spoke to them
face-to-face. If you wanted to write to
somebody you actually had to use a
pen and paper and send it through the
post office. Of course things change,
and today almost everyone has a
mobile phone. It’s now part of our
makeup, one that we would feel lost
without. In one way they define our
social status, and another they ensure
we are always connected and never
more than a phone call, e-mail or text
away from friends, family and work.
Of course this element is more
focused on the social impact of
technology; and will be analyzed
for years as our children grow up
in a world where they never have
to be face-to-face with someone to
communicate with them. The social
impact of mobile phone and e-mail
technology may not be known at this
moment; however, what is known is
that mobile phone usage can have
a real and negative impact on our
safety.
The safety impact that I’m
speaking of is when individuals
choose to use a mobile phone while
operating a vehicle. Did you realize
that at any given time 11% of drivers
are using a mobile phone while
driving? Did you know that the
National Safety Council (NSC) in the
United States has shown that mobile
phone use while driving has been
associated with quadrupling the
risk of an accident? Did you know
also that the NSC estimates 28%
of accidents per year are the result
of talking and texting on mobile
phones, which equates to 1.6 million
accidents in the United States alone
due to mobile phone usage? Are we
so addicted to our mobile phones
and the instant communication they
offer that we can’t set them aside for
20-30 minutes while we drive to our
destination? Is this addiction worth
losing your life?
Even as a safety professional I can’t
plead innocent from taking part
in this type of risky behaviour on
some occasions. Like everyone else
out there who has ever chosen to
use a mobile phone while driving,
I rationalized it by thinking an
accident wouldn’t happen to me.
I’m too good a driver, and besides
I’m only going to talk for a little
while or the text I’m sending is
short. Heck, I can drink a cup of
coffee, listen to the radio, talk on
my mobile phone, check my e-mail,
check-up on Facebook, mentally
prepare for work, think about the
upcoming sports game, look at the
beautiful German countryside and
still pay attention to the roadway.
Sounds silly doesn’t it? For some
reason we’ve forgotten what
you’re supposed to be doing inside
a moving vehicle – driving and
making sure you don’t kill yourself
or someone else while doing it!
So what should I have done
instead of putting the mobile
phone to my ear? Would it have
been safer to use a hands-free
device? Studies have shown that
even using a hands-free device
degrades a drivers performance
in a similar way to driving under
the influence of alcohol. Instead
of focusing on key visual and
audio cues needed to avoid an
accident the driver is focused on
the phone conversation.
What I should have done
is pull over to the side of the
road in a safe manner before
I answered or made a call. Of
course the safest choice I could
have made was to wait until I
arrived at my destination. Again,
are we that addicted to instant
communication that we can’t
wait a few minutes to answer
that phone call or check an
e-mail?
And in case these
considerations should not be
enough incentive for you to
carefully look at your habits,
let me remind you that using a
mobile phone without a hands-
free speaking device these days
is banned on-base and in
30 European countries, several
Canadian provinces and US states.
Local fines would be:
On-base 4 points under the
Component’s traffic
point system
(when you reach
10 points you walk
for a month)
Off-base DEU: 40 EUR + 1 point
(25 EUR for bicyclists)
NLD: 150 EUR
BEL: 100 EUR
TCA crew arrives back
home, tired but satisfied
after another successful
mission.
4 NATO Skywatch 27 August 2010
By SMSgt. Johan Hijmenberg
A sixty persons large NATO
AWACS detachment,
consisting of Operations and
Logistics personnel, added
with personnel from Force
Command and NC3A, and in
cooperation with the Boeing
Company, demonstrated
during Exercise Empire
Challenge from 26 July until
13 August the control of the
ScanEagle unmanned airborne
system. The event was hosted
by the U.S. Joint Forces
Command and found place at
Fort Huachuca, Arizona while
the AWACS aircraft flew out
of Nellis AFB, Nevada.
“The ScanEagle is a small
Unmanned Airborne System
(UAS) which provides intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance
capabilities for various allied
militaries,” says Maj. Mark Youkey,
system project officer. “It allows
Command and Control (C2) agencies
to receive real time, high quality
imagery in both the ground and
maritime environments.”
Empire Challenge brought together
about 2,000 participants worldwide
in a live, joint and coalition exercise.
The Empire Challenge flight mission
demonstration started on 2 August
and paved the way to enable any
airborne C2 platform to control
unmanned vehicles as remote
intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance sensors without a
major modification to the controlling
aircraft. Unmanned vehicles and
AWACS have been tested in previous
Empire Challenge demonstrations,
but this was the first time NATO
AWACS demonstrated full control of
an unmanned aircraft by an airborne
command and control (C2) platform
during an operational scenario.
“The deployment existed in three
phases,” explains Maj. Youkey. “The
first phase involved deploying a tail
to the Boeing Company in Seattle,
State of Washington, to have the
ScanEagle control station installed on
the aircraft. Once this was completed
and tested, the second phase began
by moving the jet to Nellis AFB,
Nevada, to participate in Empire
Challenge 2010 to utilize ScanEagle
and other systems aboard the E-3A
aircraft to provide the real capability
to find, fix, track, target, engage, and
assess tracks on interest. The final
phase of the deployment involves
returning the jet to Seattle to have
the ScanEagle equipment removed
from the plane.”
The mock scenario included a
counter-piracy operation in which
the NATO AWACS aircraft detected
suspicious activity and directed
ScanEagle to fly to a location and
track a suspect vessel - a vehicle
representing a pirate ship - while
sending real-time video back to the
AWACS. The AWACS aircraft, in
collaboration with the Combined
Air Operations Center (CAOC),
determined whether the ‘vessel’ was
a threat and directed other coalition
assets to respond appropriately.
The AWACS aircraft was equipped
with a Tactical Common Data Link
system that relayed commands to the
ScanEagle from an onboard operator.
“The intent was that the Automatic
Identification System (AIS) system
onboard the E-3A was tracking a
‘maritime’ target attached to a truck,”
explains Maj. Youkey, “which was
simulating a ship that the participants
tried to find, fix, track, target, engage,
and assess. The idea was to identify
the target on AIS, then take the
ScanEagle and correlate the AIS
information with a live video feed
to verify the target.”
This information would then
be passed on to the CAOC for
further execution of the track
of interest. Ultimately the same
scenario is applicable in a maritime
and counter piracy mission. “The
tests have gone much better than
anticipated,” adds Maj. Youkey. “The
crew performed extremely well,
and employed the brand new
experimental system at a combat
ready level. During the missions,
several surveillance taskings were
successfully performed in support
of ground troops, including convoy
route recce and forward operating
base surveillance. Additionally, all the
new systems were employed in an
integrated fashion; the AIS detected
a suspected pirate ship, CHAT was
used to coordinate with the CAOC
and the ScanEagle provided a positive
identification and ensured collateral
damage would be avoided. The
AWACS then controlled F-16s to the
target, ScanEagle provided a post-
strike assessment, and the results
were relayed to the CAOC via CHAT.
Other aircraft like Joint STARS and
Rivet Joint were also integrated into
several missions through Link 16,
and enabled, by cross-cued sensors,
to find and sanitize targets, with the
results being immediately relayed
to the ground via CHAT. These
capabilities were expanded into
night missions, using ScanEagle’s
night detection and surveillance
capabilities.”
Linking NATO AWACS with
other sensor platforms - like
unmanned vehicles - provides new
opportunities in the field of air battle
management tasks, joint intelligence,
surveillance, reconnaissance and
refined information sharing methods
to harness operational asset and
network synergies. The accelerated
data exchange between ScanEagle
and the AWACS aircraft will not only
mean improved observation angles
from both higher and lower altitudes,
but also shortened response times
based on immediately actionable
intelligence.
NATO AWACS controls an
unmanned airborne system
The ScanEagle control station
temporarily installed on board the
E-3A. Photo Capt. Jürgen Koller
Empire Challenge crew with a ScanEagle, a small unmanned airborne system.
Photo courtesy Boeing
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6 NATO Skywatch 27 August 2010
Squadron 3 sponsors ‘Temudschin’
Text and photos
SMSgt. Johan Hijmenberg
A golden eagle uses its agility
and speed, combined with
extremely powerful talons,
to snatch its prey. Its territory
may be as large as 155 square
kilometres. That’s why it
was logical that Squadron 3
has adopted this bird as the
symbol in its coat of arms
for the past 25 years. “On
10 August, as the golden
eagle is the official symbol
of the squadron, we agreed
to sponsor the golden eagle
‘Temudschin’ at Aachen Zoo,”
says squadron commander
Lt. Col. Ekkehard Heinichen.
The sponsorship idea started when
Squadron 3 surveillance operator
SMSgt. Jürgen Wieczarkowiecz heard
about the Zoo’s intention to acquire
two golden eagles. “As both my
daughters help out frequently in
the children’s farm at the Zoo,
I heard about this project. As most
of the animals at the Zoo are
sponsored, I suggested that one of
the golden eagles could be sponsored
by Squadron 3. When I contacted
the Zoo director, Mr. Wolfram Graf-
Rudolf, he immediately agreed to
the proposal.”
The need for protection of golden
eagles is clearly shown by the fact that
only 600 pairs of these impressive
birds currently exist in Europe. “For the
last 25 years the golden eagle on the
patches of our flight suits has always
escorted squadron members during
our flights,says Lt. Col. Heinichen.
“And when I heard about the
opportunity to start the sponsorship
I didn’t need much time to approve
this with pride. For us it is important
to become involved in the protection
of this species.
The second golden eagle, named
‘Olga’, is sponsored by the Alemannia
Aachen football team, which also
has the bird in its coat of arms.
“We are extremely pleased that our
golden eagles found two such terrific
godparents,” says Mr. Graf-Rudolf.
Aachen ZOO/Euregiozoo, Obere Drimbornstr. 44,
52066 Aachen. Entry fee: adult €5 (yearly card €25),
child2.50 (yearly card €10).
Opening times 0900-1830.
For more information go to www.euregiozoo.de.
Four E-3A Component members (from left to right: SMSgt. Rudi Herr, Lt. Col.
Raimond Schulz, Lt. Col. Ekkehard Heinichen and SMSgt. Jürgen Wieczarkowiecz)
watch their sponsored golden eagle ‘Temudschin’ with great respect.
27 August 2010 NATO Skywatch 7
By SMSgt. Johan Hijmenberg
E-3A Component
commander Brig. Gen.
Burkhard Pototzky said
goodbye and safe flight
to TCA crewmembers on
9 August, just before they
departed with aircraft tail
# 19997 for its last flight
to the desert of Arizona.
The aircraft was taken over
by NATO in 1997 from the
German Air Force, and in
NATO service it flew more
than 5,000 hours.
It found its last parking spot at
the Aerospace Maintenance And
Regeneration Centre (AMARC), a
joint-service facility managed by the
U.S. Air Force Material Command
and often referred to as ‘The
Boneyard’. Its mission is to store and
maintain aircraft and other aerospace
vehicles, withdraw aircraft from
storage, reclaim parts, and prepare
aircraft for disposal after they are no
longer needed and when all required
parts have been removed.
As for TCA # 19997, Davis-Monthan
AFB, near Tucson, is the last stop for
many “decommissionedmilitary
aircraft. Reclamation involves removal
of parts and assemblies from stored
aircraft to meet customer needs.In
addition to the crew, the TCA carried
two Sabena Technicians and one
storekeeper,” says Mr. Peter Lubosch,
on-base Contractor Services Manager
of International Aerospace Management
Company. “They stayed at AMARC
for one week to remove the high
value items to bring them back to
Geilenkirchen as spare parts for the
other two TCAs. Items such as electronic
parts, e.g. UHF/VHF radios, digital
autopilot and audio selector panels,
and also the APU or ight controls.”
Many aircraft at the “Boneyard” are
damaged but could provide parts
to still-flying comrades. Not all of
the aircraft are retired. Also in the
desert collection are modern aircraft
like F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons.
They too have found a place on the
hard-baked soil. The warmth at this
facility, along with low rainfall and
humidity, makes it a perfect place for
storing surplus combat aircraft that
can be preserved for use at a later
date if needed.
There will be no second life for TCA
# 19997. All the TCA airplanes will
be phased out by the end of 2011 and
will be replaced by an aircraft
of TNT Airlines S.A. from Liege,
Belgium, which was awarded a
five-year contract on 28 July to
provide cargo and passenger service
beginning 1 January 2012.
First TCA phased out
TCA # 19997 found its last parking
spot in the “Boneyard” at Davis-
Monthan AFB, near Tucson in
Arizona.
Photo TCA Squadron
In the early morning of 9 August,
E-3A Component Commander Brig.
Gen. Burkhard Pototzky (middle)
said goodbye to the TCA # 19997
crew.
Photo Andrea Hohenforst
satellite
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10 NATO Skywatch 27 August 2010
Visit the Food Service System
Web Page on the Component
Information Portal or the
Services Branch Web Page for the
latest programme information
and upcoming events.
MWA Membership Card Issuing
Office
MWA Membership Cards are
now issued in Building 80 (Services
Branch Accounting Section), Room
16. Office opening hours Mon-Thurs
0900-1130 & 1300-1500; Fri 0900-
1130. As a member you will receive a
discount on all food/beverage items
purchased at the Sentry Club/E-3A
Club/Rotodome, along with the
entitlement to participate in all MWA
programmes on Base. You will also
receive the Food Services Newsletter
and the weekly Rotodome menu per
email, if you so wish.
Food Services System (BPWF/4990)
POC: Mr. Rene Peeters, ext. 4990,
New information on the Food
Services System will be published
soon! The changes will take place
in September 2010; however, an
exact date is not yet available
due to organizational change
requirements. For those not aware
of the new future Food Services
System at the Component, here
is a short update: The Rotodome
and Sentry Club operations will
be combined together in the
Rotodome facility with one line
serving fast food and one line
serving regular lunch. Breakfast
and dinner (until 1900 hrs) will
also be offered. The E-3A Club will
remain as the main bar facility on
the Component offering a variety
of small snacks and sandwiches,
providing conference support
and limited support of official
functions (Opening hours: Mon-
Fri:1100-2200).
Rotodome
Opening Hours Mon-Fri: Breakfast
0530-0900; Lunch 1100-1400.
The daily menu is published on the
Component Wise Page. Customers
wishing to receive the menu per e-mail
are requested to send their e-mail address
to rpeeters@e3a.nato.int for inclusion in
the automatic
distribution
list.
Sports
Depart-
ment (BPWS/
4946)
05 Deadline
for Registration in
the Winter Schedule
for the Old/New Gym
& Multi-Purpose Room.
12 Closure of Swimming Pool.
18 Start Registration for Volleyball
League/Tournament.
20-23 Sports & Fitness Week
(Nordic Walking, Mountain
biking, Running Events, etc. Group
Fitness, Spinning Marathon).
Open to all Component members
and dependants.
All Component personnel are
authorised to utilise the sports
facilities free of charge. However,
participation in sports classes with
instructor, like spinning, aerobics,
dance classes and is restricted to
personnel in possession of a valid
MWA Membership Card. Dependants
are required to be in possession of a
valid membership card to utilise the
Gym. Daily checks will be conducted.
New Issue of Equipment Policy
Consumable sports equipment,
such as rackets, bats, balls, goggles,
table tennis nets, shirts will only be
available for sign-out/sign-in at the
New Gym (First floor, room 118),
during the following staff working
hours: Mon-Thu 0630-1630; Fridays
0630-1400. Patrons/Teams using the
Gym in the evenings/weekends are
required to sign out the items during
these times, using a Sports Cell
Temporary Issue Receipt Form.
International Library
(BPWL/4956)
Operating hours 1100-1500,
Mon-Fri.
Visit the base’s International
Library and see the expanded travel
section, books and guides for most
European
countries as
well as other
fantastic
vacation
destinations!
They are there
to help make
your holiday
travel planning run
smoothly. We also
have compiled lists of
discount airlines and hotel
booking agencies to help you.
Remember to come back often,
since a lot of the music and movie
collections are frequently updated.
We have material to help with your
continuing education as well. The entire
Embry Riddle section has been recently
updated as well as many of the CLEP
materials. We even have some CLEP
material on DVD to help you make the
grade.
Don’t be one of those unfortunate
people who visit the library only
during out-processing, only to
realize how nice it would have been
to use the facility while you had a
chance. The friendly and helpful staff
members are always available to
assist you. Some brand new CDs and
DVDs have arrived!
Also, a 6th Internet computer has
been installed for our customers. All
computers are brand-new and have
17-inch LCD monitors.
International Pre-school
(BPWP/4957)
1 Sep until 17 Dec 2010: Pre-School
Class, 0745 to 1230. The cost will be
€250/per month, €200 Euro for the
month of Dec.
International Youth Activities
(BPWY/4954/5)
Information and registration at the
IYA Office in Bldg 95, ext. 4954/5.
IYA Trip to Amsterdam
On Sat, 2 Oct, 0800-2100, you
can join the IYA to explore the
historic center of Amsterdam. Take
a canal cruise through its wealth
of waterways along the beautiful
houses built by wealthy merchants
during the Golden Age of the
Netherlands. You can visit the Royal
Palace and famous museums like the
Rijksmuseum with its paintings by
Rembrandt and Vermeer, the Anne
Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum
or Madame Tussaud’s and you will
find street markets and thousands
of stores and restaurants. Point of
departure and return is the parking
lot outside the Front Gate. Cost is
€21,50 per person, pay only €15 per
person with your valid MWA Card.
IYA Dance Classes
The IYA Dance programme under
the experienced and certified
instruction of Mrs. Stella Schinagl
is starting again at the IYA Multi-
purpose Room the week of
30 August. Cost is €14 for 4 lessons.
Register in class. The following classes
are offered: Tots (age 3), Wed 1515-
1600; Pre-primary Ballet, Mon 1500-
1600; Pre-primary Ballet and Tap, Thu
1600-1700; Primary Ballet and Tap,
Mon and Wed 1600-1700.
Ballet: Grade I, Tue 1500-1600;
Grade II, Wed 1700-1800.
Tap & Jazz: Grade I, Tue 1600-1700;
Elementary, Tue 1700-1800; Grade II,
Mon 1700-1800.
Volkshochschule Language Courses
on NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen
Volkshochschule, the official
German College for adults, is
starting its fall semester soon.
Classes are held in Bldg 141. Register
in class. Further information at
ext. 4954. The following courses
are offered:
German: starting the week of 20
September 2010, the basic price for
intensive German courses is €77 for
24 mornings/evenings.
A1 - Beginners - Intensive Courses,
Schritte 1 Tue & Thu, 1030-1200,
instructor Tanja Rzeppa, Room 109;
Tue & Thu, 1730-1900, instructor
N.N., Room 118; Tue & Thu, 1900-
2030, instructor N.N., Room 118.
A1 - Advanced Beginners -
Intensive Courses, Schritte 2 Mon &
Wed, 1000-1130, instructor Meral
Alkan-Oncu, Room 109; Tue & Thu,
1730-1900, instructor Christine
Mertens, Room 109.
A2 - Intermediate - Intensive
Course, Schritte 3 Tue & Thu, 0900-
1030, instructor Tanja Rzeppa, Room
109.
German Conversation
Mon & Wed, 0830-1000, instructor
Meral Alkan-Oncu, Room 109. Basic
knowledge required. Increase your
fluency by discussing current topics
and interesting texts.
B2/C1 - Advanced – Intensive
Course, Aspekte 1 Tue & Thu,
1900-2030, instructor Christine
Mertens, Room 109. This course
directly prepares you for the C1
exam “Mittelstufenprüfung”, an
internationally acknowledged degree.
You will have the opportunity to take
this exam.
French: starting on 20 September
2010, the basic price for the French
course is €38 for 12 evenings.
A1 – Beginners, Mon 1730-1900,
instructor Stéphanie Dinh-Phung,
Room 109.
English
The basic price for intensive
English Beginners and Intermediate
courses is €77 for 24 mornings. These
courses start on 14 September: A1 -
Beginners - Intensive Course,
Tue & Thu, 1015-1145, instructor
Janet Budzyna, Room 118.
Thrift Shop (BPWT/4919)
Opening hours 1000-1400 every
Tuesday and Thursday.
MWA InforMAtIon
September
A C-17 from the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC), based at Pápa Airbase in
Hungary, made an overnight stop here on 9 August. It is a large strategic
transport aircraft capable of carrying 77,000 kg of cargo over distances of
up to 4,450 km. It is able to operate in difficult environments and austere
conditions.
All three SAC aircraft were delivered in 2009. The planes are configured to
the same general standard as C-17s operated by the USAF. The crews and
support personnel come from the participating countries and are trained
for mission profiles and standards agreed by those countries. NATO
participants in SAC are Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Nether-
lands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States. Two
Partnership for Peace nations, Finland and Sweden, are also members.
Membership of the airlift fleet remains open to other countries, subject to
agreement by the consortium members.
These strategic lift aircraft are to be used to meet national requirements,
but could also be assigned to NATO, UN or EU missions, or for other inter-
national purposes such as humanitarian airlift and disaster relief, as
agreed by the nations.
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In down town Heerlen you find now the Greek restaurant El Greco.
Located behind the church at the Pancratiusplein 39, you enter modern
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At El Greco you taste the traditional Greek cuisine with-
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Having dinner at the Greek restaurant puts you to a higher level at
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The ambiance reflects modern Greece, but the cuisine
is completely authentic. The diverse menu is like a
poem to connoisseurs and lovers.
Everyone can find something of his or her choice on the menu. All
products are of top quality. The close team of El Greco continuously
works at a high level. From the kitchen to the table, it is pure pleasure.
However, the price of the offered products is completely reasonable.
That is why El Greco is the perfect address not only for a family dinner,
but also for your friends, for a delicious Greek night out.
You will certainly experience the authentic Greek cosiness during
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Those who would like to pre-taste the
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Phone: +31 (0)45 574 2096
www.elgreco-heerlen.nl
Opening hours: Mon to Sat 1600-2400 hrs
Sun and Holidays 1300-2400 hrs
Kitchen open until 2230 hrs
As an introduction:
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