Whether you are a new member of the Thule team or one of our many visitors I extend a sincere welcome.

    Thule Air Base is a vital part of the free world's aerospace defense system--it is a complex base with multi-mission responsibilities that make our mission unique in the U. S. Air Force.

    Every person assigned to Thule has an important role in carrying out these responsibilities. I invite you to share our extreme pride in our contributions to aerospace defense, and I hope you will share our enthusiasm for the vital 24-hour-a-day mission.

    I expect the high rate of personnel turnover to become a source of new ideas and methods, growing enthusiasm, and increased effectiveness.

    This guide has been prepared to acquaint you and your family with our mission, our facilities, and the services available to you. I suggest you retain it--you will find it a handy reference.

    support, as specified in the "ADC Statement of Work" for Site 1, BMEWS. Control air rescue operations in Northern Greenland. Provide air base support and operational facilities for all units assigned to or operating from Thule Air Base, Greenland.

    HISTORY.

    In the year 982 A.D., the famed Norseman, Eric the Red, left Iceland with a band of seafarers and sailed westward until he reached the southern tip of Greenland at Cape Farewell.

    Eric led his band northward along the western shore until he located likely spots to settle. Favorite areas of settlement by the Norsemen were near Julianehaab in southern Greenland, and in the vicinity of present day Godthaab, the capital pf Greenland. All major settlements were made on the western coast of Greenland, since the east coast is too rugged and icebound for habitation. Ruins of these first colonial ventures in Greenland by western man may still be found. One example is the ruins of a Scandinavian church near Narsarssuak Air Base.

    For unknown reasons, the Norse settlements died out. Possibly the Norsemen were adopted and absorbed by the more numerous Eskimos who lived in Greenland before Eric the Red landed. Or, possibly warfare between the rival groups so depleted the Norsemen that those who survived returned to Iceland or Europe. It's anyone's guess what happened.

    At any rate, the next permanent link between Eskimos and Western civilization began when the Danish missionary, Hans Egede, came to Greenland in the year 1721.

    Since Scandinavian people have remained in Greenland continuously from that date, the year 1721 is regarded as the beginning of the modern era. Yet, sovereignty over the vast island was disputed until April 3, 1933 when the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, awarded the right of sovereignty to Denmark.

    The present-day inhabitant of central and southern Greenland is a combination of Scandinavian and Eskimo ancestry called Greenlander and the Danish citizen. His culture, like his ancestry, is a fusion of these widely divergent peoples.

    Until western civilization came to Greenland, the Eskimo's entire economy was based on the fruits of his hunting. He was a fierce and valiant hunter who single-handedly attacked seals, walrus, and polar bears, not to mention whales wandered near the coast. The Eskimo ordinarily lived in a hut made of sod and animal skins. It was only on hunting trips that he built the well-known snow and ice igloo for shelter. He made his hunting equipment as well as his household implements from the skins, furs, bones, and teeth of the animals he killed, and, of course, he lived from the meat of the fish and animals. The Eskimo family was a completely self-sufficient economic unit.

    With the increasing numbers of Eskimos and Danes in the south and the gradual warming of the northward sea currents which drove the cold-weather animals north, the old-line Eskimos moved ever farther north. Those who remained in the central and southern portions of Greenland gradually mingled with the Danish settlers and developed a new civilization and economy based on fishing, sheep raising, and small industry.

    Today, Greenland has a population of more than 25,000, a large fishing and scrimping industry, a southern grazing land with more than 10,000 sheep, a fish-canning industry, and the world's only cryolite mine. Cryolite, a catalyst used in the extraction of aluminium from bauxite, is found only at Ivigtut, in Southern Greenland.

    From a governmental standpoint, Greenland is officially a Danish county, and, as such, has its own government as well as two representatives in the Danish Parliament.

    Most Greenlanders are members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark, and the Bishop of Copenhagen is also the Bishop of Greenland.

    In the larger towns of Greenland, such as Godthaab and Julianehaab, there are churches, hospitals, sanatoriums, schools, and general stores. Many of the streets are being paved in the larger towns, and industry is gradually coming of age.

    Native Greenland Eskimos are found today only in the more northern parts of the island. They still live in small groups as their grandfathers did in settlements such as Kanak, 70 miles north of Thule Air Base. Odak, a native of Kanak, was one of the Eskimos, who accompanied Admiral Peary to the North Pole in 1909.

    In addition to inhabiting northern Greenland, Eskimos are also found in Alaska, northern Canada, and Siberia. Racially, they are closely identified with the American Indian. It is interesting to note that Alaskan and Greenland Eskimos are unable to understand each other's language.

    Nowadays the vast ice-capped island is linked with Denmark by modern Danish radio stations. They are operated by Danes and Greenlanders and are powerful enough to reach the Mother Country in Europe.

    For more than 1,700 miles, the huge island of Greenland sweeps from north to south. The northern tip of the island is only 425 miles from the North Pole, and its average annual temperature is zero degrees or colder. In the far south, around Ivigtut, the averages mean temperature is 41 degrees.

    You'll get some idea of the size of Greenland if you realize that you could put within it three countries the size of Germany and still have room for the state of Texas in one corner. Yet Greenland is only a county of Denmark! Six-sevenths of Greenland is covered by a permanent ice cap. Only a small portion of the coastal area is free of the year-round burden of ice. If the "cap" were to melt, it would raise the level of all the world's oceans by an estimated thirty feet.

    The exact nature of the ice cap is widely misunderstood. Actually, for approximately sixty feet down from the top, the cap is compressed snow, with the top layers presenting a dry, powdery, crusty surface. The depth of the ice cap at its center is estimated at two miles. Many stony peaks stick up through the ice cap, especially along the coast.

    The weight of this mass of ice creates a tremendous pressure. This constantly pushes the outer edges of the ice toward the coastal area in slowly moving streams of hard snow-ice, called glaciers. Many of these streams of ice cut deep gorges en route to the sea. These gorges are the fjords that you have read or heard about. Where the distance from the ice cap to the sea is short, this ploughing ice or glacier moves Hugh chunks of ice into the sea, forming the large icebergs which menace the North Atlantic shipping lanes.

    Although most of these icebergs are relatively small, some of them have been known to reach several square miles in area. Ordinarily, they range from the size of a parcel post package to that of an ocean vessel. The most active glacier in Greenland, near Jacobshavn, pushes an estimated 20,000,000 pounds of icebergs into the sea every twenty-four hours.

    Plant life is scarce on the island. It is only in the coastal areas that even the hardiest plants can live. In the south, these plants are plentiful and varied. In the north, around Thule, lichens, mosses, some grass and tiny native flowers are found.

    Animal life is more abundant than plant life in the north. From Melville Bay, south of Thule Air Base, and northward, the Eskimo hunter finds caribou, poplar bears, seals, large arctic hares, arctic wolves and a species of arctic fox. These foxes vary in colour from black through brown and orange to white.

    Personnel at isolated stations have been able to tame the little foxes to the point that they will take bread or meat from the outstretched hand. There are few birds in northern Greenland. The ptarmigan, large ravens, the eider duck, the arctic skua, and marine birds may be seen occasionally. Ten types of butterflies have also been found around the edge of the Arctic Ocean.

    Knud Rasmussen, the late Danish explorer, began his explorations in the Thule Air Base area shortly after the beginning of the century. Rasmussen and an associate, Peter Freuchen, made the initial settlement on North Star Bay and named the village that grew at their trading post, "Ultima Thule." In literal translation, the name means "the utmost end," or in this case, the farthermost possible northern limit man could travel. The phrase was taken from the ancient Greek language.

    The site of the settlement has been well known for years because of the widely distributed photographs of the famous Thule landmark, Mount Dundas.

    Because of the Korean War and other mounting international pressures, the defence of the north eastern areas became increasingly important. As a result, the United States Air Force, working under Danish agreements for common defence, decided in 1951 to establish an air base near Thule. Although the Eskimo village of Thule, numbering 130 persons, moved 70 miles north in 1951, the air base retained the name of Thule, pronounced "Toolee".

    Under the guidance of Colonel Bernt Balchen, a well-known explorer of the arctic who commanded Sondrestrom Air Base during World War II, the United States Air Force had built an emergency air strip at Thule in 1946.

    When the United States and Danish Governments decided upon Thule as the site of the new United States Air Base, Colonel Balchen's services again were required.

    This secret project was given the code name "Blue Jay." In February, 1951, Colonel Balchen, along with the Army's District Engineer, Colonel Morton Solomon, and representatives of the North Atlantic Contractors (NAC), who were to build the base, arrived at Thule for an initial survey.

    In March, 1951, the advance party of contractors, architects, engineers, and construction workers arrived, and the enormous building project began. Heavy supplies were transported to Thule by sea and air by the United States Army Transportation Corps and Military Air Transport Service.

    The short, two-month summer period, during which North Star Bay is reasonably free of pack ice, greatly limited the time during which very heavy equipment could be shipped into the area. But by the end of the summer the United States had the construction of an air base

    Perhaps one of the most photographed subjects around Thule is Mount Dundas. This famous landmark rises starkly from the icy waters of North Star Bay, a short distance from the base,

     Thule Air Base is located far above the Arctic Circle along the shores of North Star Bay. Thule is closer to Seattle, Washington (2,180 miles) than to New York (2,185 miles). Thule Air Base is centred along the most direct aerial route from Soviet Russia to the United States, only 2,370 miles from Moscow.

    The 4683rd Air Base Group (ADC), a vital part of the 26th Air Division, operates the base and coordinates the activities of the Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and civilian contractors.

    U.S. Army units at Thule and outlying areas include the Research Support Group at Camps TUTO and Century; Army Signal Research Unit #7 and the Army Transportation Terminal Unit, which operates the Thule port during the SUNRC (Support Northeast Command) season.

    Since October 1, 1960 the U. S. Air Force has been operating the free world's first Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at Thule. These giant radars scan the horizon constantly and report any target within their 3,000-mile range. BMEWS is a formidable accomplishment; in the event of a missile attack against North America, it would afford a 15-minute warning to Civil Defence authorities in the United States.

    . It is quick and easy to get to Thule Air Base.

    . You will fly out of McGuire AFB, New Jersey. McGuire has a smooth air terminal operation that rivals many commercial airlines in speed, attention to detail, and courtesy.

     Huge C-135 "Stratolifter" jets of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), will whisk you to the "Land of the Bluenose" in less than six hours, just enough time to enjoy a hot meal aloft. .

     A representative of the base will meet you at the Thule Terminal. Transported by bus to a dining hall, you will receive your first meal above the Arctic Circle and then move on to either transient quarters or an assigned room. All processing, including the Wing Commander's briefing is done by appointment. Be sure to meet your appointments! .

     Following a short five-to-six hour C-135 "Stratolifter" flight from McGuire AFB and one hot in-flight meal to the "Top of the World," new arrivals are greeted and conducted to their quarters by a base representative. .

    For three months, beginning in November, the sun remains below the horizon. The moon moves through its usual phases during the dark season. .

    Once the sun returns to Thule, it stays in the sky longer each day, until, in early summer, it completely replaces the moon. Then, for three and a half months, the sun stays above the horizon twenty-four hours a day. The summer sun at Thule is brilliant, and sunglasses are very useful.

    When you learn you are about to be transferred to the "Top of the World," you may begin wondering about snowfall and temperature changes.

    Thule is not completely snowbound. Most of the snow comes to us second-hand, blown off the polar ice cap by phase winds. You will be thoroughly briefed on this when you get to Thule. The average actual snowfall at Thule is only 33 inches a year.

    Temperatures in the "Land of the Bluenose" have reached 63 degrees in the summer (May through September), and have dropped to a miserable 43 degrees below zero in the winter. Average temperatures at Thule range from 20 below to 45 degrees above zero.

            Thule's Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) features hourly weather forecasts during the day. By adapting your wearing apparel to the weather conditions, you can be comfortably dressed at all times.

    Winds of from 30 to 100 knots are not uncommon here in the "Land of the Bluenose" during the long dark arctic winter. Survival shelters like this one are placed at short intervals along the winding roads leading to the polar ice cap and surrounding military sites. Each shelter is heated and well stocked with emergency food, water, and a telephone for use of travellers who may be caught in a sudden "phase" condition.

    Bachelor Officers' and Bachelor Airmen's Quarters at Thule are in one- and three-story buildings. Officers are quartered individually in dormitories. NCOs, MSgt through SMSgt are quartered in three-story dormitories, one man per room. TSgt and lower grade airmen are quartered in one-story dorms, usually one to a room except during the summer re-supply shipping season

    During this season it is sometimes necessary to double-up in some Airmen's dorms due to the arrival of the Army Transportation Corps troops who operate the Thule port from May to October.

    All dorms are steam-heated. Standard 110-volt alternating current suitable for electric razors and other electrical appliances is provided. Each room is comfortably furnished with addresser, chair, table, lamps, and a bed with an innerspring mattress. Most Thuleites add a homey touch to their rooms with rugs, curtains and bedspreads purchased through normal stateside mail-order channels.

    This view of a typical NCO BAQ room shows the personal touch its occupants have put into making it as homelike as possible. Some officers and airmen have single accommodations smaller than this. Individual comfort depends on the amount of expense and work the man is willing to put forth.

    Electric washers and dryers are provided in most dorms for the convenience of those who wish to do their own laundry. A base laundry and dry-cleaning establishment is available, and service is provided at low cost to all Thuleites. The day rooms are comfortably furnished with standard living-room furniture, large-screen television, and other stateside conveniences.

    Clothing requirements at Thule are simple. Your authorized clothing issue will be supplemented with the best in arctic gear immediately upon your arrival at Thule.

    Since the temperature seldom gets above 55 degrees in the summer-time, we suggest you wear your blue overcoat when travelling from McGuire.

    Off-duty wearing of civilian clothing is encouraged. Civvies may be worn at the theatre, chapel, clubs and other recreational facilities. Suit coats or jackets with neckties are required at the Officers' and NCO open messes and at the Airmen's Club.

    If you bring civilian clothing with you, winter suits are recommended. Bring your athletic gear for use in gymnasium sports, activities. Civilian topcoats and overcoats are not needed since the parka is the mandatory outer garment year round. You will find the wearing of low-quarter foot wear uncomfortable if not dangerous.

    If you do not wish to wear regulation footwear with your civvies, we suggest you bring your own winter-type boots or shoes. But be sure the soles are made of some non-skid material. Walking about the base becomes very difficult and dangerous because of the ice and snow on the ground here most of the year.

    The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service maintains outlets which provide listening and viewing entertainment, news, and special features to the Thule area on a seven-day-a-week basis.

    Channels 8 and 13 provide daily television programs with all-night programming (THE THULE BIG-EYE) on Saturday, repeating top shows of the past week.

    There are two radio frequencies for your listening pleasure. AFRTS broadcasts on 1425 kilocycles with 1000 watts power. Its 24-hour programming brings to Thule the best in, music, news, and stateside programs direct from New York and Los Angeles. An alternate frequency, 1210, carries a full schedule of short-wave broadcasts nine hours a day from AFRS, New York. It also airs the daily ball game during the baseball season.

    Thule has a Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) station and a number of amateur radio (ham) stations maintained by local licensed operators.

    A weekly newspaper, "Thule Times," is published every Friday by the Office of Information. Newsworthy contributions are accepted.

    Stateside telephone communications are available around the clock. Military and commercial morale circuits operate direct to all points. Two military morale circuits are maintained through Stewart AFB, New York and Andrews AFB, Maryland. Morale calls may be made through these circuits when they do not conflict with official calls, and are collect from Andrews or Stewart to destination.

    Two commercial morale circuits are available through Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. These calls are also collect from there to destination. Personal calls may also be placed through local MARS and amateur radio patches whenever contact can be made. In cases of emergency, calls verified by the Red Cross will be given first priority by base operators.

    International telegraph facilities are available through a local Danish radio station.

    Severe arctic conditions, a rugged highway system which ends at the various sites surrounding Thule, and the absence of any need for private vehicles preclude their being brought to the "top of the world." Walking is the best means of getting to most places here. Air Force taxi service is available at any time for official use.

    Air Force bus and taxi service are available any time for official use. Regular bus service is available 19 hours a day. Two bus lines, red and blue, operate from 0715 to 0015 on a 30-minute schedule seven days a week during the summer re-supply shipping season.

    In the winter, only one bus line operates on base. This is the blue line. Transportation to and from the various sites is furnished by the individual organization concerned.

    This radio-equipped "track master" emergency vehicle is a welcome sight to pedestrians caught in a phase weather condition. Able to climb a 60 degree grade and go almost anywhere, this versatile vehicle transports 10 persons and carries enough fuel for 24 hours continuous travels.

    .

    Lack of transportation, rugged terrain, and arctic climate conditions restrict recreational activities to the immediate area of the base. Visits to neighbouring native villages are discouraged for health reasons. Common virus diseases which are of minor consequence to us are often fatal to Eskimos.

    Current leave policy at Thule encourages personnel to take one ordinary 20-day leave anytime from the beginning of the fifth to the end of the seventh month. Leave time is computed to include the day of departure and the day of arrival back at Thule. Emergency leaves will be granted whenever there is justification.

   The Thule Chapel is modern in decor and provides a well-rounded religious program for all faiths. In addition to regular Catholic and Protestant services conducted by Air Force and Army chaplains, many religious denominations conduct their own services here. Services are also conducted at the remote sites ringing this "Top-of-the-World" defence base.

    Thule Air Base is 690 miles north of the Arctic Circle on the northwest coast of Greenland. A truly remote and barren place, it lacks modern facilities such as schools, housing, and transportation; consequently, no dependents are authorized.

    The 4683d USAF Hospital here is staffed and equipped to accommodate up to 50 patients on a short hospitalization basis. A complete medical and dental staff is available to meet emergencies.

    Dining halls conform to the highest Air Force standards. The Officers' and Airmen's dining halls, alert and in-flight kitchens, and bakery are spacious and well-lighted. The food is good and well-prepared. The caloric content of the menus served here is higher than you will find stateside, because of extreme arctic temperatures which force the body to use more energy in performing daily tasks.

    Thule has its own mechanical cow producing fresh milk daily. This milk provides much of the protein needed to supplement the menu. Fresh fruit and vegetables are flown in regularly from the United States by MATS aircraft.

    Regular postal service is provided by the base post office. Parcel post and registered mail service is available. Air mail delivery time is from three to seven days to any place in the United States, depending on weather conditions. All mail is flown in from McGuire AFB by MATS.

    Our base exchange sells a wide variety of goods. All personal needs, as well as special gifts, can be purchased from its well-stocked shelves. Watches, jewellery, clothing, and shoes can be repaired in the exchange shops. A modern barber shop is in the base gymnasium building.

    Thule's service club and library are excellent. Here you'll find checkers, chess, pool, card games of all types, and shuffleboard. The library has a wide selection of the latest best-sellers and many old favourites. Stateside newspapers and magazines are also available. Another library feature is an excellent collection of long-play record albums of both classical and modern music.

    Thule's bowling alley, in Building 262, is equipped with the latest automatic spotters. Lanes are available for both league and open play seven days a week throughout the year.

    The Officers' and NCO open messes and Airmen's club rival the best to be found anywhere in the world. They feature game rooms, dining rooms and lounges. Stateside variety shows and musical groups come to the "top of the world" to entertain club members.

    The base gymnasium is the finest in the Air Force, and Thule's most popular facility. Handball courts, weight-lifting facilities, steam and sun rooms, volleyball, badminton and tennis courts are also available.

    The sun room is very popular with all "short timers," especially just before their rotation dates.

    Modern equipment and qualified instructors are always on hand to help the sportsman participate in his own or his unit's body-building and physical fitness programs.

    A complete laundry and dry-cleaning plant is operated by military specialists here. Laundry and dry cleaning are normally returned within three to five working days. Two central pickup stations operate on a cash-and-carry basis.

    In addition to a 500-seat theatre which shows the latest 35mm films, including Cinemascope, 16mm films are shown at the hospital, clubs, and off-base sites. Fifteen different sites present movies every evening at Thule. Channels 8 and 13 also present a feature television film six nights a week.

    A complete stock of Air Force and Army regulation uniforms and issue clothing is available, including the various insignia and accessories.

    The hobby shop is equipped with a complete set of power and manual tools for woodworking, leather work, ceramics, photography, and lapidary work.

    The base education office conducts an extensive off-duty education program. A wide selection of full-credit college courses is available through the University of Maryland for those who want college credits. Extension Course Institute classroom courses are scheduled, as well as USAFI courses in high school and vocational training.

    There are no banking facilities at Thule. We recommend you start allotments to your dependents or for deposits to bank accounts. Personal checks are cashed at the Officers' and NCO Open Messes and the Airmen's Club, and in the base- exchange. American Express traveller's checks may be bought at the Base Exchange. Base finance will exchange cash for U.S. Treasury checks in amounts of $100 or more.

    The Air Force Aid Society has an office in the base personnel office to help anyone who has need of its services. This assistance is for all Air Force personnel.

    The scenery around Thule Air Base is unlike anything else in the world. Shutterbugs are encouraged to bring their cameras. All types of cameras and photo equipment may be bought at the BX; developing and printing services, however, are not available. The hobby shop offers darkroom facilities for black and white processing. Colour film may be processed through one of the many developing services in the United States.

    Thule's Tree of Lights, erected every year for the Christmas Season, is a landmark for new arrivals. Here the Thule Chorale is shown singing carols around the 45 ft-high metal tree, lighted by 200 electric light bulbs.

    Hunting is prohibited because of the scarcity of game and the necessity for preserving the small number of arctic animals for the few Eskimos who populate the surrounding small villages.

    Fishing, too, is out of the question. While there are some species of arctic trout in the lake areas around Thule, the lack of transportation, rugged terrain and severe weather prohibit this sport.

    A Red Cross chapter is here to help you at Thule. If your family should have an emergency and need to contact you, advise them to contact the nearest Red Cross chapter, tell them the problem and identify you by name, rank, service number, and organization. The Red Cross' message will reach you at Thule in 12 hours at the most. Military personnel at Thule who refer a problem to the Red Cross will normally receive a complete report on family conditions within 48 hours. The usual Red Cross services are available to all personnel at this base--from emergency messages to loan services in needy cases.

             Thule has one of three Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) sites which provide an electronic umbrella of radar beams extending 3,000 miles into the Eurasian land mass from which missiles could be launched.

    .

   This brochure was written by the staff of the Office of Information, 4683rd Air Base Group, (ADC), Thule Air Base, Greenland.

November 1961.