Hawaii-based soldiers run for charity in Iraq

At Forward Operating Base Warrior In Iraq, 448 runners participated in Iraq's version of the Telcom Great Aloha Run that will take place tomorrow on Oahu. Joining in the annual tradition were 578 runners from the 25th Infantry Division at Forward Operating Base Q-West .

They were part of the 1,548 soldiers and U. S. contractors who participated the 8.15-mile race in Iraq Feb. 10, collecting $6,451 donations, with $2,407 being used for charity in Iraq, according to a news release from Multi-National Division North and Task Force Lightning.

"The motivational level of the runners this morning was phenomenal," Sgt. Amaka Brown, awards noncommissioned officer in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, said. "Everyone was having a great time, cheering for each person and giving support."

The first-place winners at Contingency Operations Base Speicher were 1st Lt. Desiree Strozier, finishing in 53:27. In the male division the winner was 1st Lt. Paul, Strozier, finishing in 43:11.

At Forward Operating Base Warrior the first-place winner was Kristi Anders, finishing in 54:16. For the male division it was Spc. William Smallwood, also with a time of 54:16.

At Forward Operating Base Q-West, 2nd Lt. Eli Soliz had the best time of both the male and female divisions with a time of 59:14.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, the new chairman of the House Air and Land Force Subcommittee, says that three Air Force F-35 Joint Strike fighters and a brigade of Army Stryker vehicles will likely be cut from the proposed Pentagon supplemental budget for 2007 and 2008.

The Aerospace Daily and Defense Reports said Abercrombie made the statements during Aviation Week's Defense Technology and Requirements Conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The publication quoted Abercrombie as saying the aircraft and the vehicles are not emergency procurement items and have no place in the supplemental request.

The F-35s, which cost $189 million apiece, are meant to replace F-16s costing $20 million apiece. Abercrombie said there's no way he can justify replacing F-16s with planes costing 10 times as much that will not be delivered until three years from now, the publication reported.

Gen. Michael W. Hagee, the 33rd commandant of the Marine Corps, will return to his hometown to be the keynote speaker at the reopening of the Adm. Chester Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas, on Feb. 25. The Nimitz Museum, housed in the historic Nimitz Hotel Building, has been closed since 2004 for a $3 million dollar renovation. The first floor of the museum is devoted to Nimitz's life and career. Educational exhibits and offices are on the second floor and the Nimitz Foundation Board Room is located on the third.

Historically, the old Nimitz Hotel was the social and cultural center of the Hill Country from the mid-1880s until it was closed in the early 1960s. A group of Fredericksburg residents bought the building with the idea of turning it into a museum to honor their hometown hero, Chester Nimitz.

The National Museum of the Pacific War, a Texas Historical Commission property operated by the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, is the only institution in the continental United States dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the Pacific Theater battles of World War II.

"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.