Lowry Airman March 16, 1967 National Bureau of Standards, Lowry Mark Year of Cooperation in Training BOULDER, Colo.. -- Forty-five Air Force and Navy electronic measurement technicians and instructors visiting the National Bureau of Standards' Boulder laboratories this week marked a year of special cooperation between the NBS's radio standards laboratory and the 3415th Technical School at Lowry AFB. The students and instructors (including four Navy civilian technicians) were part of more than 2500 student and faculty members who have toured the NBS facilities since 1959. A year ago, the tours, previously informal and voluntary, became a regular part of the Precision Measuring Equipment Specialist course (ALR 32430 and AZR 32470) offered by the Department of Avionics Training. The specialist school is headed by Lt. Col. Tommy Benwell: the department of Avionics Training by Col. Clifton L. Boyd: and the 3415th Technical School by Col. James F. Reed. SMSgt Eugene A. Papineau is superintendent of the Precision Measurement school. The course trains enlisted and civilian personnel for the Air Force's worldwide measurement laboratory system; selected Navy personnel from the calibration laboratories on Navy fleet tenders and some shore installations; and allied officers and enlisted men under the Military Assistance Program. The 35-week Air Force course (the Navy course is 19 weeks) covers a review of mathematics and electronic theory, direct current and low frequency alternating current measurements, waveform analysis, frequency measurements, microwave measurements, nuclear radiation measurements, and the measurement of physical and dimensional quantities such as angular measurement, length, rotary motion, weight, temperature, vibration, high and low pressures, vacuum, force, and torque. Emphasis during the tour and briefings is on the work of the radio standards laboratory and electronic calibration center. The electronic calibration center, organized in 1958, periodically calibrates the best electronic standards of industry and government. It thus serves as the fountainhead of a measurement system which extends unbroken to the assembly line, the launch pad, and the research laboratory, and to U. S. bases and tracking stations overseas. The briefings and tours are supervised by MSgt Robert E. Anders and MSgt. Charles W. Vann. Both are instructors in the course. Howard W. Reynolds, a civilian instructor in the course, and SSgt. Joseph L. Roberge, also an instructor, assist with the briefings in the laboratories in Boulder.
Lowry Airman January 8, 1965 Page 8 (picture - do not have) Precision Measurement Holds Seminar-Workshop A joint seminar-workshop conference got underway at Lowry early this week. The two day meeting, sponsored by the base's Precision Measurement Equipment Branch and the Central Colorado Section of the Precision Measurement Association, was opened by Capt. Howard R. Shaffer, chief of the PME Training Branch. Later the conference of over 50 people from the base's PME Lab, the National Bureau of Standards at Boulder and other Denver area industries was addressed by Lt. Col. Philip F. Fisher, chief of the Department of Avionics Training. Main speaker for the confab was Mr. Loebe Julie, president of the Julie Research Lab, who presented to the group a new technique in the precision measurement of electrical quantities. A workshop, attended by 30 of the conferees, followed the seminar. After the conclusion of the conference, SMSgt. John C. Williams, president of the Central Colorado Section of the Precision Measurement Association, said that he hopes this will be the first of a series of meetings concerning precision measurement.
Lowry Airman May 5, 1966 Pages 1 & 3 (picture - do not have) Lowry Students Gain Knowledge From Briefings Cooperation between the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Radio Standards Laboratory (RSL) and the United States Air Force's Lowry AFB Technical Training School has entered a new phase as instructors and students from Lowry attend specially scheduled briefings by RSL scientists and tour the NBS Electronic Calibration Center (ECC) as a part of their instruction. It all began back in 1959 when a Specialist Course was organized at Lowry to meet a critical shortage in the Air Force of trained precision measurement specialists for duty in Air Force standards laboratories and calibration centers. At that time informal arrangements were made with NBS for those Air Force students and instructors who asked for a briefing and tour of the ECC facilities where the national standards for electronic quantities originate. There was no regular schedule, and attendance was not required as part of the course. During the seven year period from 1959 to 1966, more than 2,000 students and faculty members toured the Boulder NBS facilities, usually concentration on the ECC. The briefings and tours, under the supervision of SMSgt. John C. Williams, are now a part of the curriculum for the Precision Measuring Equipment Specialist Course (ALR32430), Department of Avionics Training, 3415th Technical School. The specialist course is headed by 1st Lt. Richard C. Taubinger; the Department of Avionics Training by Lt. Col. Philip F. Fisher; and the 3415th Technical School is commanded by Col. Richard L. Randolph. Six non-commissioned officer instructors and 50 students attended the first briefings under the new program and made a tour of the Electronic Calibration Center. Included among the students were three master sergeants of the Vietnamese Air Force, three non-commissioned officers of the Royal Canadian Air Force, ten enlisted men from the U.S. Navy, three civilian technicians from the Air Force Logistical Command, and 31 enlisted men from the various technical commands of the Air Force. The course trains enlisted and civilian personnel for the Air Force's worldwide measurement laboratory system; selected Navy personnel from the calibration laboratories on Navy fleet tenders and some shore installations; and allied officers and enlisted men under the Military Assistance Program. The 35-week Air Force course (the Navy course is 19 weeks) covers a review of mathematics and electronic theory, direct current measurements, waveform analysis, frequency measurements, microwave measurements, nuclear radiation measurements, and the measurement of physical and dimensional quantities such as angular measurement, length, rotary motion, weight temperature, vibration, high and low pressures, vacuum, force, and torque. The Electronic Calibration Center, organized in 1958, periodically calibrated the best electronic standards of industry and government. It thus serves as the fountainhead of a measurement system which extends unbroken to the assembly line, the launch pad, and the research laboratory, and to U.S. bases and tracking station overseas. Since its establishment, the ECC has served a total of 500 "customers" -- many of them on a continuing basis -- with a total of about 26,600 individual calibrations, nearly 50 per cent of these from the three armed services. Of the total of 500 customers served since 1958, 43 have been installations of the Department of Defense; 424 are "public" -- representing private industry, and private research of standards laboratories; 18 have been university or college laboratories and 15 are other governmental agencies
Lowry Airman April 2, 1965 Two Lowry Sergeants Start Precision Measurement Assn. Senior Master Sergeants, Eugene A. Papineau and John C. Williams, of the Precision Measurement School at Lowry, have the unique distinction of being the founders of the Central Colorado Section, Precision Measurements Association. The two sergeants started the Colorado organization in June 1964. The newly-organized group now has over 80 members. The members come from all phases of industry in Colorado where there is a need for very precise accuracy in calibration and certification. Aim of the organization is to promote unity of effort among scientists, engineers, and technicians engaged in the sciences and arts of precise measurements; providing for meeting; reading and publication of papers; organizing special interest groups within the scope of the Association, and encouraging standard and common terminology and practices. The field of precision measurement is so new and vast, that no "Universal Standards" have yet been set. The National Precision Measurements Association, along with several other associations, felt that this highly specialized field also needed a "Code of Ethics," and a "Universal Standard". The various associations decided to hold a "National" meeting in New York to achieve this aim. Sergeants Papineau and Williams, who have been raised by the national organization to "Senior" and "Honorary" grades within the organization, were invited to help establish the goal. They are the only two military men out of a total of twenty men throughout the country that hold this grade. To become a member of the association, a man must have an Electrical Engineers degree or at least five years experience in the field. Any persons who meet the above qualifications and are interested, are invited to attend the meetings which take place the last Wednesday of each month, at the Engineer's Club, 1380 S. Santa Fe Drive, Denver.
If an item is determined to be in need of repair, of badly out of "kilter", it is sent to the proper repair bench, depending on what type of equipment it is. Here it is repaired and calibrated, Upon completion of such repairs, it is sent to the certification section and given a thorough testing before it is returned to the using organization. A New Home Upon initial activation of the Precision Measurement Laboratory, space was provided where space could be found. The facilities were inadequate but under the direction of Maj. Ewell H. Boone and SMSgt. Barton Johnson, the job was done. Now, the lab has an entirely new home, one of the first facilities specifically modeled to the needs of such an activity in the Air Force. Each of the nine huge work benches in the new building provide as much electric current as could be attained in the entirety of the old building. Adequate work and storage areas are now available where previous operations were extremely cramped. Perhaps the most unique feature of the lab is the air-conditioning. As was mentioned before,