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In the Military
Gregg K. Kakesako
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Mathews to assume command of the 94th
Brig. Gen. Roger F. Mathews will assume command July 18 of the 2-year-old 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Shafter. He will replace Brig. Gen. John E. Seward.
The 94th was activated in October 2005 as only the second active-duty missile defense command. Its mission is to deploy anywhere in the Pacific to conduct joint- and combined-theater air and missile defense.
The 45th Sustainment Brigade, which deployed to Iraq in July 2006 with 385 Schofield soldiers, hauled about 2 million gallons of fuel every day to the 17 forward operating bases in Multinational Division North, a region with a population of 10.2 million extending north of Baghdad to the borders of Iran, Turkey and Syria, the Hawaii Army Weekly newspaper reported.
It was augmented with soldiers from the Army Reserve, Army National Guard and other active-duty Army units.
The soldiers were stationed at Qayyarah West, or "Q-West" as it's known in Iraq.
The brigade's job was to provide combat service to the more than 25,000 coalition soldiers who are assigned to Multinational Division-North, which is an area the size of Pennsylvania.
The first group of 175 soldiers returned June 26 and another 194 soldiers returned Tuesday.
The Schofield Barracks Army newspaper said the brigade had nearly 1,000 vehicles on the road every day. It hauled more than 93,000 gallons of bottled water and more than 110 million gallons of fuel during its nearly one-year combat tour.
Its commander is Col. Michael McBride.
The unit was among the first of nearly 7,000 Schofield Barracks solders who were sent to Iraq last summer.
Soldiers belonging to the 25th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team that had their one-year tour extended to 15 months aren't expected back until October or November. McBride's unit was spared a three-month extension to its 12-month combat tour because its replacement was already in Iraq.
"If it hadn't, the brigade's time would have been extended," he said.
The unit isn't expected to deploy again for at least one year.
MOVING UP
Camp Smith
» Brig. Gen. Salvatore F. Cambria has assumed command of Special Operations Command-Pacific, relieving Maj. Gen. David P. Fridovich.
Pearl Harbor
» Capt. Lindsay Hankins has assumed command of Submariner Squadron One, relieving Capt. Stephen Marr.
"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.