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In the Military
Gregg K. Kakesako
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Former Schofield general has high-profile Iraq post
The spokesman for the U.S. forces in Iraq who has been involved in the biggest recent stories of the war is no stranger to Hawaii's military community.
Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV became deputy chief of staff for Strategic Effects at the Multinational Force in Iraq in March and has been the military's spokesman when terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed and during the investigation of the deaths of 26 Iraqi civilians in the Haditha.
Caldwell served as 25th Infantry Division assistant commander in 2001. In 2002, he became deputy director for operations at the U.S. Pacific Command.
Two years ago, Caldwell became the commander of the 82nd Division, replacing Maj. Gen. Chuck Swannack Jr., who served as a brigade commander at Schofield Barracks. Caldwell's first Hawaii assignment was in 1993 when he commanded a 25th Infantry Division Wolfhound battalion. In 1994 he was sent to Haiti as a political military officer in the U.S. Embassy when the Tropic Lightning division was deployed to the Caribbean country.
His grandfather, Col. William Caldwell II, was an Army dentist stationed at Schofield Barracks when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
Caldwell's father, William Caldwell III, attended Leilehua High School for three years and later graduated from West Point as a member of the class of 1948.
While Hickam Air Force Base awaits the delivery of its eighth and final C-17 Globemaster cargo jet on July 18, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee last week approved $798 million to keep Boeing Co.'s Long Beach assembly plant open. The Senate needs to approve the measure.
The $798 million appropriation inserted into the defense spending bill provides enough money for the three more Globemaster more than 180 that have been delivered or on order, according to Bloomberg News.
Each Globemaster cost $200 million. Boeing's Long Beach assembly plant, which is the city's largest employer with 6,500 workers, would close in 2008 without additional orders, Bloomberg reported. The Pentagon had wanted to stop making aircraft in 2008.
The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would name a new class of nuclear aircraft carrier (CVN-78) after former President Gerald Ford, a former Navy lieutenant commander who served during World War II. Construction on the $8 billion carrier will begin in 2008 with delivery to the Navy expected to be about 2015. Ford's name would be attached to a class of carrier that, at 1,092 feet, is bit shorter than the current Nimitz class ,which is 1,102 feet. However, the newer class carrier weighs more at 100,000 tons than the Nimitz at 89,600 tons.
Moving Up
Schofield Barracks
» Lt. Col. Mark Ocboussy will assume command of Oahu Base Support Battalion, relieving Lt. Col. Stephen Moniz.
» Col. Gary Patton will become 25th Infantry Division chief of staff, relieving Col. James Boisselle.
» Lt. Col. Rodney Fogg will assume command of 17th Corps Support Battalion, relieving Patricia Matlock.
Hickam Air Force Base
» Col. Matt Dorschel has assumed command of 15th Mission Support Group, relieving Col. William Morgan.
Sand Island
» Capt. Vincent Atkins has assumed command of Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, relieving Rear Adm. Manson Brown, who will be commander of Maintenance and Logistics Command for the Pacific Area in Alameda, Calif.
» Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Matadobra has assumed command of the Coast Guard Cutter Kukui, relieving Cmdr. Ty Rinoski.
"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other sources by reporter
Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at 294-4075 or by e-mail at
gkakesako@starbulletin.com.