In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Hickam Air Force Base will host the 30th anniversary of the return of Vietnam War prisoners of war, known as Operation Homecoming, Feb. 13-15. The Museum of History and Art will display a traveling still-photo documentary about the lives of 30 former POWs from all branches of the military. Hickam to mark
anniversary of
Vietnam POWs’ returnOn. Feb. 12, 1973, the first 40 American POWs left Vietnam and over a period of six weeks more than 600 were flown to Hickam on their way home. The original C-141 military transport used in the operation also will be brought here for the event. There also will be a reparation ceremony, panel discussions, base tours, aircraft displays and military aircraft flybys.
Reserve Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Tom has been selected as the new deputy commander for mobilization and reserve affairs for U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter. He will replace Maj. Gen. Curtis A. Loop and is eligible to be promoted.
Since July 2000, Tom, a Honolulu attorney, has served as a coordinator of civilian and civil affairs in South Korea. Before that assignment, Tom, 54, had been, since September 1999, the assistant chief of staff at Yongsan, South Korea.
As an Army reservist, Tom has served as chief of staff and deputy commander of the 9th Regional Support Command. He commanded the 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade in Hawaii from 1992 to 1995. After graduating from Punahou School in 1967, Tom went on to graduate from the University of Michigan, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant through its ROTC program. He also earned a law degree from Boston University.
He and his wife, Diane, have two teen-age daughters.
The Air Force demonstration squadron, the Thunderbirds, will put on an aerial show at Hickam Air Force Base Aug. 9-10. The Thunderbirds is an Air Combat Command unit made up of eight pilots (six are demonstration pilots), four support officers, four civilians, 115 active-duty enlisted people and two National Guardsmen performing in more than 27 different career fields.
A Thunderbirds air demonstration is a mix of six aircraft performing formation flying and solo routines. The four-aircraft diamond formation demonstrates the training and precision of Air Force pilots, while the solos highlight the maximum capabilities of the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon. The pilots perform about 30 maneuvers in a demonstration. The entire show, including ground and air, runs about an hour and 15 minutes. The demonstration season lasts from March to November, with the winter months used for training new pilots.
The USS Arizona Memorial will be closed for two weeks beginning March 3 so its floating dock can be replaced and a public entry ramp built. During the closure the memorial will be cleaned and the Navy shuttle boats, which take 1.5 million visitors annually to the memorial, will be overhauled. The visitor center, bookstore and museum will remain open during the construction.
"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other
sources by reporter Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for
the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. He can be reached can be reached by phone
at 294-4075 or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
