Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton

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Shelton served three
tours in Hawaii

The general will become chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Oct. 1

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Four-star Army Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton, 14th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, served three back-to-back tours in Hawaii from 1973-1977 with the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks.

After his second Vietnam front-line assignment and Army schools Shelton, 55, came to Schofield in 1973 as a captain and served as personnel and training officer in the 25th Division's 2nd Brigade.

In February 1974, he was promoted to major and year later was named the 25th Division's chief of the officer management branch and then was chosen as the division's deputy personnel officer.

In June 1976, Shelton was promoted to executive officer of the 2nd Brigade's 1st Battalion and left Hawaii a year later.

Shelton is the third consecutive Army general to hold the position of the nation's highest-ranking military officer -- a post that normally is rotated among Army, Air Force and Navy officers.

He was commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command -- a multiservice position that puts him in charge of Green Berets, Black Berets, Navy SEALS and an array of other elite forces.

He succeeds Army Gen. John Shalikashvili on Oct. 1 as the head of 1.4 million members of the four combat services and is the principal military adviser to Defense Secretary William Cohen and President Clinton.