<description>&lt;p class="p1"&gt;In this episode, Mike takes a break from Northern Michigan stories and heads far north—&lt;i&gt;way&lt;/i&gt; far north—to share memories from his year living in &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Keflavik, Iceland&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt; in the early 1990s while serving in the U.S. Air Force.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Life on the NATO Base&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Mike talks about being assigned to Naval Air Station Keflavik, a joint-base environment with Air Force, Navy, Marines, and other NATO personnel. He recounts working with the &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron – the Black Knights&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, maintaining F-15 electrical and environmental systems, and occasionally pulling duty in “FISneyland,” the alert barn for interceptor operations.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Journey to Get There&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Before Iceland came a whirlwind of military orders:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Originally headed to remote &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Galena, Alaska&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, the Air Force cancelled those orders at the last minute.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;The next day, new orders arrived sending him to Keflavik instead.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;He completed F-15 training at Tyndall AFB in Florida, drove across the country, shipped his belongings, and ultimately hopped a &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Hawaiian Airlines DC-8&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt; from Philadelphia to Iceland—a strange but memorable experience.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Daily Life Before the Internet&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Mike recalls what it was like living overseas &lt;i&gt;before&lt;/i&gt; modern connectivity:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Expensive phone calls back to the States ($1.06 per minute!)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Mail arriving once a week on the “rotator” DC-8&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Magazines being precious entertainment&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Trading software, playing early PC games, and marveling at a 286 computer with 1MB of RAM&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;A handful of TV channels including AFRTS, BBC, RTL4, and Sky News/Sports&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Food, Weather, and Icelandic Oddities&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Mike shares a mix of practical and quirky details:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;The legendary &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Icelandic hot dogs&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt; (a recurring theme!)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Navy chow halls, the USO, and Friday fish fries with cod caught the same day&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Wild weather with winds over 100 mph, handrails along sidewalks, and dumpsters blowing around&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Surprisingly mild temperatures thanks to the &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Gulf Stream&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Extreme daylight shifts—near-constant darkness in winter and 24-hour light in summer&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Exploring Iceland&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;During his tour, Mike bought a quirky little &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;Škoda 120&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt; and used it to explore beyond the base. He describes:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Driving through the first roundabouts he’d ever seen&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Visiting the Hard Rock Café in Reykjavik, where one of his Idaho ham-radio license plates hung from the ceiling&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Cheap hops on Navy P-3 “airline-style” flights to London or Shannon, Ireland&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Customs rules that prohibited gas cans, extra cigarettes, and oddly… cassette tapes&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Looking Back&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;Mike reflects on how much Iceland has changed—from relatively untouched in the early ’90s to a major European travel destination today. He also notes a past interview he did on the &lt;span class="s1"&gt;&lt;b&gt;All Things Iceland&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt; podcast in May 2020, sharing more of his experiences from that era.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://allthingsiceland.com/mike-dell-nato-base-iceland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;I appeared on an episode of All Things Iceland Episode 61 in May of 2020. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; </description>

Mike Dell's World

Mike Dell

Iceland in the 90’s

NOV 26, 202529 MIN
Mike Dell's World

Iceland in the 90’s

NOV 26, 202529 MIN

Description

<p class="p1">In this episode, Mike takes a break from Northern Michigan stories and heads far north—<i>way</i> far north—to share memories from his year living in <span class="s1"><b>Keflavik, Iceland</b></span> in the early 1990s while serving in the U.S. Air Force.</p> <h3><b>Life on the NATO Base</b></h3> <p class="p1">Mike talks about being assigned to Naval Air Station Keflavik, a joint-base environment with Air Force, Navy, Marines, and other NATO personnel. He recounts working with the <span class="s1"><b>57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron – the Black Knights</b></span>, maintaining F-15 electrical and environmental systems, and occasionally pulling duty in “FISneyland,” the alert barn for interceptor operations.</p> <h3><b>The Journey to Get There</b></h3> <p class="p1">Before Iceland came a whirlwind of military orders:</p> <ul> <li> <p class="p1">Originally headed to remote <span class="s1"><b>Galena, Alaska</b></span>, the Air Force cancelled those orders at the last minute.</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">The next day, new orders arrived sending him to Keflavik instead.</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">He completed F-15 training at Tyndall AFB in Florida, drove across the country, shipped his belongings, and ultimately hopped a <span class="s1"><b>Hawaiian Airlines DC-8</b></span> from Philadelphia to Iceland—a strange but memorable experience.</p> </li> </ul> <h3><b>Daily Life Before the Internet</b></h3> <p class="p1">Mike recalls what it was like living overseas <i>before</i> modern connectivity:</p> <ul> <li> <p class="p1">Expensive phone calls back to the States ($1.06 per minute!)</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Mail arriving once a week on the “rotator” DC-8</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Magazines being precious entertainment</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Trading software, playing early PC games, and marveling at a 286 computer with 1MB of RAM</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">A handful of TV channels including AFRTS, BBC, RTL4, and Sky News/Sports</p> </li> </ul> <h3><b>Food, Weather, and Icelandic Oddities</b></h3> <p class="p1">Mike shares a mix of practical and quirky details:</p> <ul> <li> <p class="p1">The legendary <span class="s1"><b>Icelandic hot dogs</b></span> (a recurring theme!)</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Navy chow halls, the USO, and Friday fish fries with cod caught the same day</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Wild weather with winds over 100 mph, handrails along sidewalks, and dumpsters blowing around</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Surprisingly mild temperatures thanks to the <span class="s1"><b>Gulf Stream</b><b></b></span></p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Extreme daylight shifts—near-constant darkness in winter and 24-hour light in summer</p> </li> </ul> <h3><b>Exploring Iceland</b></h3> <p class="p1">During his tour, Mike bought a quirky little <span class="s1"><b>Škoda 120</b></span> and used it to explore beyond the base. He describes:</p> <ul> <li> <p class="p1">Driving through the first roundabouts he’d ever seen</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Visiting the Hard Rock Café in Reykjavik, where one of his Idaho ham-radio license plates hung from the ceiling</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Cheap hops on Navy P-3 “airline-style” flights to London or Shannon, Ireland</p> </li> <li> <p class="p1">Customs rules that prohibited gas cans, extra cigarettes, and oddly… cassette tapes</p> </li> </ul> <h3><b>Looking Back</b></h3> <p class="p1">Mike reflects on how much Iceland has changed—from relatively untouched in the early ’90s to a major European travel destination today. He also notes a past interview he did on the <span class="s1"><b>All Things Iceland</b></span> podcast in May 2020, sharing more of his experiences from that era.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://allthingsiceland.com/mike-dell-nato-base-iceland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I appeared on an episode of All Things Iceland Episode 61 in May of 2020. </a></p>