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CAPE SARICHEF INFORMATION
BOOKLET
Mid 60’s
(This is a transcript of a copy provided by Bernie Holland)
FORWARD
This booklet was put together by the men of Cape Sarichef
Loran Station to give you some idea of what to expect and maybe
give you some helpful hints in your preparation prior to
arrival. It is not to be construed as a directive or instruction
but is simply an unofficial information booklet.
The crew here live close together for a full year and see
very few people from the world outside. It is necessary for you
to realize that the other men here are also separated from their
families and friends and life aboard entails the same hardships
for everyone. “Peaceful Co-existence” is a requirement.
Though you won’t believe it now, the tour will pass rapidly.
I can not truthfully say it will pass “before you know it”,
because if you ask anyone here, he can tell you exactly how many
days he has left on the island.
All hands are looking forward to meeting some “new blood”,
especially the person you will relieve.
UNITED STATES COAST GUARD LORAN
TRANSMITTING STATION CAPE SARICHEF, ALASKA
GENERAL INFORMATION BOOKLET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I General Information
A. Location
B. Climate
C. Environment
D. Buildings
E. Loran
F. Communications
G. Light Station, Fog Horn, and Radiobeacon
H. Commissary
I. Engineering
CHAPTER II Personnel
A. Assignment and Rotation
B. Compensatory Leave
C. Emergency Leave
D. Medical
E. Training and Education
F. Morale
G. Recreation
CHAPTER III Administration and
Supply
A. General
B. Logistics
C. Pay
D. Mail
CHAPTER IV Odds ‘N Ends
A. What to Bring
B. Plan of the Day
C. Maps of Vicinity
CHAPTER I
GENERAL INFORMATION
A. Location
Cape Sarichef Loran Transmitting Station is
located on the Northwest tip of Unimak Island in the
Aleutian Chain, Latitude 55°36.0’ North, Longitude
164°55.7’ West. Scotch Cap Light Station, a sub-unit
of Cape Sarichef, is on the Southwest concer of
Unimak, approximately 23 miles overland from
Sarichef. Unimak is the first island on the chain.
Cape Sarichef is approximately 630 miles Southwest
of Anchorage and 480 miles west of Kodiak Island.
B. Climate
The temperature varies from the 50’s during warm
days in the summer to the 20’s during the cold days
in the winter. Fog is more common than clear days
during the summer days. The winter weather is made
more uncomfortable by the prevalent high wind which
increases the chill factor and makes 40° feel colder
than 20° where there is no wind.
C. Environment
The outstanding colors of the island are black,
from the volcanic sand and rock, and brown from the
vegetation. There is a few short months during the
summer when the grass adds some green. Cape Sarichef
Loran Station boasts the only trees on the island.
These are small pine trees, transplanted from
Kodiak, which manage to stay alive but seem to have
no remaining energy to spare for growth. Unimak
Island is the largest in the Aleutian Chain, being
approximately 75 miles long and 17 to 30 miles wide.
Pogromni Volcano, with an elevation of 6568 feet, is
the dominating feature of the western part of the
island. Approximately 2 miles from the station,
setting on top of a 600 feet hill, is an Air Force
DEW line site with 24 men and an Air Force Captain
as Commander. Relations between the two services are
very good with a lot of swapping back and forth of
everything from chow to vehicle parts.
The crew’s quarters at Sarichef are sufficient
but not with not much extra room. Two men are
usually assigned to a room and that room is their
personnel domain. The policy has been to let the
crew furnish and decorate their rooms as they please
within reason.
D. Buildings
There are presently five buildings in use at Cape
Sarichef Loran Station and three at Scotch Cap. Cape
Sarichef’s buildings are:
1) Main bldg containing the engine room,
garage, recreation deck and bar, galley, mess
deck, ship’s office, CO’s quarters and office,
crew’s berthing, amateur radio room, laundry and
storage spaces;
2) Fog bldg. containing Main Light, fog horns
and associated equipment, and radiobeacon coders
and transmitters;
3) Pole bldg. containing DC and wood-working
shop, storage space and heated parking space for
station vehicle;
4) Loran bldg. containing loran equipment, radio
equipment and storage for associated spares and
test equipment;
5) Quonset Hut used for storage but due to be
surveyed. The buildings at Scotch Cap consist of
1) Main bldg containing garage, engine
room, recreation and mess deck, crew’s
berthing, galley, radio and beacon room,
supervisor’s office, laundry room, and
storage spaces;
2) Fog bldg, containing Main Light, fog horn
and associated machinery; 3) Quonset Hut for
storage.
E. Loran
The primary mission of this station is to
transmit and maintain synchronization on loran rate
1L3 as a slave station, Adak being the master. The
station is equipped for high power and operate type
3 modified.
The billets for Et’s are one E7, one E6, one E4, and
two E5’s. The ETC is also the Executive Officer.
The other electronic equipment on this station and
Scothc Cap Light Station include radio beacon
transmitters and monitors, MF transceivers, SSB
transmitters and receivers, FM portable sets and
model 28 teletype equipment.
F. Communications
This station is an emergency backup in
communications for the Alaska Loran C Net of which
Adak normally has control. If Adak loses teletype or
radio communications for any reason, this unit comes
up to maintain guard for them and relay traffic for
LORSTA Attu, St. Paul, Port Clarence and Sitkinak.
There is a billet for one Radioman Second Class at
this unit. Loran watchstanders normally maintain
communications watch after regular working hours.
The RM is on call 24 hours a day for emergencies.
Most traffic is on teletype provided through
microwave facilities from the Air Force site 2 miles
away. This teletype connects us directly to the
District and to Adak. We have the traffic for Scotch
Cap. All traffic for Scotch is handled via voice AM
radio. We work SSB to Cg Aircraft Logistics flights
from CGAS Kodiak every two weeks.
We have a few medicos and an occasional vessel
assist via radio. We also provide communications for
the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Research vessels
and to US Environmental Science Services
Administration (formerly US Coast and Geoditic
Survey) ships operating in the area. We guard 2182
and 2678 continuously. Our communications is very
subject to atmospheric disturbances which usually
occur seasonally.
We have AFRN (Alaskan Forces Radio Network)
relayed via our local Air Force site by microwave.
This reception is better than local station as it
has no static and commercials. There is a speaker in
every room supplying music and news and ball games
from AFRN.
This station ha(sic) amateur(sic) radio gear for
recreational equipment. The operators, if any, try
to run phone patches every Sunday morning to
anywhere in the lower 48 so you can talk to your
home. If you are a ham operator, bring your key, log
book and license and you’ll be right at home.
Equipment for those interested is as follows:
Receiver HQ-170A; Transmitter HT-37 Exciter; HT-41
Linear Amplifier running maximum of 1200 watts SSB
and 900 watts CW or AM; Antenna 3 element
Thunderbird Tri-band beam by Hygain up about 35 feet
on a Hamm-M-Rotor; E.F. Johnson Power meter for SWR
and forward power out. QSL cards and stamps are
provided by the station and DX is great, we have
cards from all over the world. Call sign is KL7CGA.
G. Light Station, Fog Horn and Radiobeacon
Cape Sarichef Light, with a luminous range of 23
miles, Scotch Cap Light, with a range of 19 miles,
Cape Sarichef and Scotch Cap radiobeacons, operating
on 290 KC and 300 KC respectively, and Cape Sarichef
and Scotch Cap fog horns are major aids to
navigation and equally as important as the loran
capabilities of this station. During the summer
months you will become quite accustomed to the
seeming continuous deep bass of this foghorn.
H. Commissary
This station has one cook (CS1) and a messcook is
assigned on a rotational basis, to assist him in the
galley. A Seaman or Fireman can expect to spen(sic)
a few months as messcook. Well prepared and
appetizing meals are the order of the day. The cook
and messcook have no duties on weekends when each
man takes advantage of our “open galley” policy and
does his own cooking (?????????). It is very easy to
‘put on the pounds” here. We are supplied bi-weekly
from Kodiak by CG aircraft but store enough food to
eat well for many months. Scotch Cap receives
commissary supplies from Sarichef twice a month by a
local flight.
I. Engineering
The engineering department personnel allowance is
1 EN1, 2 EN2’s, 1 EN3, 4FN’s and 1 DC2. Presently
one EN2 and two FN’s are stationed at Scotch Cap
with the remainder at Cape Sarichef.
Electrical power is received from the Air Force
site about 2 miles away. The two Fairbanks-Morse
77.6 KW diesel generators, originally installed as
main power plant, are used as emergency generators.
Hot water for heating, galley ann(sic) general usage
is provided from two oil-fired hot water boilers.
Water is received from from a dammed wash via pumps
at the damp and thence to a 50,000 gallon water tank
near the main building. All water piping is buried
and value pits are equipped with heat lamps and pipe
heating coils to prevent freezing.
All petroleum products are received annually at
Sarichef and Scotch via barge (Mona Lisa project).
The engineers are responsible for the maintenance
of the station vehicles which include three trucks,
three Thiokol tracked vehicles, two Weasels, a Case
Front Loader, a Catapillar Road Grader, and a D-4
Bull Dozer. Road maintenance between the station and
air strip and to Scotch Cap is a time-consuming job
also assigned to the engineers.
The Damage Control/Woodworking shop is located in
the Pole bldg. (See I-D)
CHAPTER II
PERSONNEL
A. Assignment and Rotation.
As far as assignment goes, ITS NOT OUR FAULT. So
there is nothing we can do about trying to get you
out of these orders. The tour of duty is for 365
days, one (1) very small, short, teeny weeny year.
(that’s not so bad, is it?) Your time will start
counting the day you leave Seattle (the jumping off
point).
Now lets get to the bright side of the story. On
your seventh month up here you will submit a request
for R O T A T I O N . On this rotation request you
will choose three districts to which you would like
to be sent. About two months later Headquarters will
inform us what district you have been assigned. If
you are a petty officer, you will be able to then
request a unit (sorry but non-rated mwn(sic) can’t
do this, you will be assigned a unit after arriving
at your district). The UNIT REQUEST is sent to your
new district, and they assign your specific unit.
This will be one of the most enjoyable,
exasperating, well-thought-out things that you will
do while you are here.
The supervisor of Scotch Cap, a BM1, remains for
a full year. There is also an EN2, two FN’s, and
usually a SN assigned. These personnel do not
necessarily remain the full year at Scotch Cap but
rotate with Cape Sarichef personnel.
The present personnel allowance for Cape Sarichef
and sub-unit Scotch Cap is as follows:
BM – 1 E6 (Supervisor Scotch Cap)
CS – 1 E6
DC – 1 E5
EN – 1 E6, 2 E-5’s, 1 E4
ET – 1 E7, 1 E6, 1 E5, 2 E4
HM – 1 E6
RM – 1 E5
SN – 3
FN – 4
B. Compensatory Absence
While you are stationed here you will earn 2 1/2
days of COMPENSATORY LEAVE per month in addition to
your regular 2 1/2 days per month of REGULAR OR
ANNUAL LEAVE. This leave will be given upon your
rotation.
The following is taken from the Personnel Manual
regarding compensatory leave:
“In the case of overseas isolated units it is for
the purpose of rehabilitation”
C. Emergency Leave
You will be able to take Emergency Leave from
this unit, if necessary. If emergency leave is
necessary, it is suggested that your family contact
the nearest American Red Cross Chapter or military
unit.
A. Medical
There is a Hospital Corpsman attached to this
unit. He is supplied with medical material for
routine and minor medical emergencies. If a major
emergency should occur, an air evacuation will be
made from the Coast Guard Air Station at Kodiak.
There is a large Naval hospital at Kodiak. Besides
having the medical responsibility of the Coast Guard
personnel, we also take care of the 25 men attached
to the Air Force Dew Line Radar Site.
B. Training and Education.
While you are stationed here you will find that
you have a great deal of time on your hands, so this
is one of the best places that you will ever be
stationed with regards to completing correspondence
courses. This unit is no different than a Stateside
unit. You can take out a training course from either
the Coast Guard Institute at Groton or the Navy or
an educational course from the United States Armed
Forces Institute (USAFI).
The State of Alaska has set up a small library at
this unit and there is also a library at the Air
Force site which is under the Air Force Library
System.
C. Morale.
The first thing that is going through your mind
is “How can they have good morale at Café Sarichef”.
Listed below are some things that do help to keep
the morale up:
Mail – Twice a week we have a mail plane (Reeve
Aleutian Airways) come in from Cold Bay, Alaska
which is connected with the mainland and receives
mail from Anchorage. When the plane leaves Cold Bay
it goes down the Chain and on the next day it comes
back up the chain and stops here again. So as you
can see we have four planes a week that mail goes
out on but only two planes a week that we receive
mail from. Air mail stamps are required on all
letters. Your address here will be:
JOHN P. DOE
U.S.Coast Guard Loran Station
Cape Sarichef, Alaska 99502
Movies – Twice a month we get a Coast Guard
logistics flight from Kodiak which brings in 14 full
length movies (now these may not be the newest out,
but at least they are movies). Every week the Air
Force receives 5 movies (these are much newer than
the ones we receive) and we swap movies. So all in
all we get around 24 movies every two weeks. Scotch
Cap also receives 14 movies approximately twice a
month.
Bar – This unit has a very nice, but small bar.
The bar is allowed to sell beer and soft drinks
only. The charge for beer or soft drinks is 15¢ per
can. There will be no liquor broght(sic) aboard the
station. The Air Force Site has a bar which sell
whiskey and beer. The beer sells for 25¢and the
whiskey for 30¢to 40¢depending on the drink.
Amateur Radio – There is an amateur radio station
at this unit with the call letters KL7CGA. Through
this HAM set we can contact other HAMS in the States
and with their help we are able to make phone
patches with whoever we might wish to call. See
Communications (I-F) for further information.
Exchange – The exchange at this unit can supply
you with almost anything that you might need,
whether it be toilet articles, under clothes,
cigarettes, cigars, film, flash bulbs, ammunition,
etc. If there is anything that you might need that
the exchange doesn’t carry, you can place a special
order for the item. The exchange is supplied from
the Naval Exchange at Kodiak. The Air Force site
also has an exchange which will place a special
order for you. Their exchange is supplied from the
Air Force Base in Anchorage (Elmondorf).
Mail Order Houses – We have the below listed
catalogs from which you can order:
GENERAL
Sears, Roebuck & Co., Seattle, Washington
Spiegel and Co., Chicago, Illinois
Montegomery Ward & Co., Portland, Oregon
John Plain & Co., Chicago, Illinois
Jafco & Co., Seattle, Washington
ELECTRONIC
Layfayette radio, Syosset, N.Y.
Allied Radio, Chicago, Ill.
AUTOMOTIVE & ACCESSORIES
J.C. Whitney & Co., Chicago, Ill.
Warshawsky & Co., Chicago, Ill
SPORTING
Herter’s Inc., Waseca, Minn.
D. Recreation.
The recreational facilities at this unit are few
but very good. There is plenty of good camping,
hiking and hunting (if you have a license) for
anyone who likes the outdoors. We have sleeping
bags, etc. for overnight hikes during the summer
months.
During the summer months there is a considerable
amount of inter-service competition between the Air
Force and Coast Guard with both indoor and outdoor
sports (baseball, volleyball, basketball, etc.).
Listed below are some of our recreational tools
and equipment:
Leather working tools
Ammunition reloading equipment
Woodworking shop
Dark room & equipment
Amateur radio equipment
Pool table
Bar
If there is anything that you like to do that is
not listed above (painting, stamp collecting, rocks,
etc.) don’t hesitate to bring along your gear.
CHAPTER III
ADMINISTRATION AND SUPPLY
A. General.
The Hospital Corpsman attached takes over the
responsibility of the Yeoman and Storekeeper ratings
along with his medical duties. This unit holds a
complete set of Headquarters and CCGD17 instructions
and publications along with the Service Record and
Health Record of each of the 25 men stationed at
Cape Sarichef and Scotch Cap. It is the
responsibility of the HM to handle everything in
regards to administration and supply and medical
duties of the station.
B. Logistics.
This unit is supplied from theCoast(sic) Guard
Air Station, Kodiak, Alaska every two weeks. All
items which are ordered by this unit through the
Dept. of Defense supply system is sent to the Air
Station in Kodiak for shipment here.
If you order something from a mail order house,
it is shipped to you direct from the sender via the
U.S. mails. This is brought in on Reeve Aleutian
Airways twice a week if sent air mail.
C. Pay.
This station receives its pay in the form of
Government Checks, which are sent out from Juneau
(District Office), and arrive at this unit in time
to be passed out on the 1st or 15th. If there is any
question about your pay while you are stationed
here, we can get it squared away in no time with a
phone call to the District.
The station exchange will able to cash a few of
the checks along with the Air Force exchange. If
neither can cash your check, you can send it to the
Post-master in Cold Bay.
D. Mail.
The mail is transported on REEVE ALEUTIAN
AIRWAYS. The mail that is sent from the States goes
through the Anchorage Post Office then to Cold Bay
for shipment to Café Sarichef. We get mail twice a
week when the plane goes from Cold Bay to Nikolski
down the chain. The mail is quite fast, we can
receive an Air Mail letter about two to four days
after it has been mailed in the lower 48.
Scotch Cap receives their mail twice a month when
Sarichef makes a log run.
Heavy parcels are quite expensive to ship by air
mail and there is a limit of 70 lbs. by weight and
not exceeding 100 inches of length and girth
combined. These heavier or larger packages may be
sent to our FPO address. The will then come via
Seattle by ship to Kodiak and to Sarichef by CG
Aircraft from Kodiak. This will take longer as the
ship sails for Kodiak every two weeks and the CG
logistics flight are scheduled for every other week.
Your seabag or footlocker may be sent ahead to:
USCG SUPPLY DEPOT
Pier 91
Seattle, Washington
M/F
USCG LORSTA, CAPE SARICHEF
It will probably require a month to six weeks for
your seabag to arrive here. Anything sent this
method should be packed securely in a sturdy
container due to the very rough handling enroute.
CHAPTER IV
ODDS ‘N ENDS
A. What to Bring.
1. Clothing
A full seabag is required except for whites,
which are not worn in the 17th District. Five
sets of dungarees are required in lieu of the
normal three. Civilian clothes are permitted and
worn after duty hours. Wash and wear is
suggested for ease of care. Sweatshirts, levis,
sport shirts, scuff pants and loafers are
common. Thermal underwear is also highly
recommended. Good sturdy leather boots or the
equivalent and warm outer clothing are useful
for “boon-docking” although the station has
sufficient foul weather gear.
2. Appliances.
The station has laundry facilities and irons
and ironing boards. Many men have tape recorders
and photographs. Radios are not very useful due
to distance and interference, but Alaskan Forces
Radio Network (AFRN) from Anchorage is piped to
each room. Any personnel non-transmitting
electrical or electronic equipment may be
brought along and used.
3. Firearms.
Personal firearms are permitted and are a
popular source of recreation. Personal firearms
may be used in lieu of station weapons, if of
sufficient caliber, to fullfil requirements of
being armed when departing the station (due to
wildlife such as bears and wolves). ALL PERSONAL
FIREARMS MUST BE CHECKED IN WITH THE COMMANDING
OFFICER AND WILL BE KEPT SECURE AND UNDER HIS
CONTROL. Unimak Island is a wildlife refuge and
hunting is very limited. License fees are quite
high until Alaskan residence is established
which requires living in Alaska for one year.
There are approximately 50 bear licenses per
year for Unimak.
4. Cameras & equipment.
Cameras are used extensively by all
personnel. The station has a darkroom for those
who enjoy developing and printing their own
film. Film is available through the exchange.
Most of the men send their film to the lower 48
to be processed.
B. Plan of the Day.
0630 Cooks reveille
0700 Reveille
0700-0740 Breakfast
0800 Colors, Turn to
0930-0945 Coffee Break
1100 Secure station work
1130 Lunch
1215 Quarters, Training or Drills, Turn to
1430-1445 Coffee Break
1600 Secure station work
1630 Supper
1700 Bar open
1800 Movie call
2200 Taps
Sunset – Evening colors
Note: Maps are not included due to size.
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