At Your Service
For and about Hawaii's militaryBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Sunday, April 8, 2001
[TAKING NOTICE]
The man in the midst of this week's Chinese-U.S. spy plane crisis -- retired Adm. Joseph Prueher -- may be the only good news in the latest diplomatic crisis with China. Prueher well known
in ChinaBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-BulletinThe retired four-star admiral spent the last three of his 35 years in the Navy as commander of Pacific Forces working out of Camp Smith and developed long-standing relationships with high-level Chinese military officers.
Prueher, 58, went from retirement in May 1999 to a brief stint as a consulting professor and senior adviser for the Stanford-Harvard Preventive Defense Project before being named America's ambassador to China in November 1999. He was appointed by President Clinton to succeed former Sen. James Sasser, following the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia by NATO fighters.
Prueher has a bachelor's degree in naval science from the Naval Academy and a master's degree in international relations from George Washington University. A former combat pilot with 5,500 flight hours, Prueher at one time was considered a candidate for the job of chief of naval operations following the death of Adm. Mike Boorda.
As Pacific Forces commander, Prueher sent U.S. aircraft carriers to Taiwan in 1996 after China fired missiles off the island's coast. It was that incident that led Prueher to develop contacts at the senior level in the People's Liberation Army. His trips to Beijing helped make him one of the better known among U.S. officials in China.
Moving up
>> Pearl Harbor: Rear Adm. John Padgett will assume command of the Pacific Fleet's Submarine Force April 25 from Rear Adm. Al Konetzni.>> Fort Shafter: Col. Bob Lee was promoted yesterday to the rank of brigadier general and commanding general of the 9th Regimental Support Command.
>> Makalapa: Rear Adm. Justin D. McCarthy, deputy chief of staff for Logistics, Fleet Supply and Ordnance, U.S. Pacific Fleet, will become the commander of Naval Supply Systems Command in Mechanicsburg, Pa. His replacement will be Rear Adm. (Selectee) Daniel H. Stone, who currently is commander, Defense Logistics Support Command, Fort Belvoir, Va.
>> Hickam Air Force Base: Col. Andrew Dichter has been nominated to the rank of brigadier general.
[FOR YOUR BENEFIT]
VA working to vanquish Parkinson's
Question: My father, who is a World War II veteran, is suffering from Parkinson's disease. What is the VA doing about treating veterans inflicted with this terrible disease?Answer: The VA is involved not only with the treatment of veterans suffering from Parkinson's disease, but also extensive research into its prevention and possible cures.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi recently announced research effort aimed at improving treatment of Parkinson's disease.
The VA is spending more than $30 million to create six centers to research new medical treatments for patients with the disabling neurological disorder.
Hawaii will not have one of these centers; however, all veterans suffering from the illness will be entitled to free medical care at the new centers in Houston; Portland, Ore.; Philadelphia; Richmond, Va.; San Francisco and Los Angeles. The major goal will be to test a new surgery technique aimed at reducing the symptoms of the disease.
While Hawaii may not be the location for one of the centers, research is being conducted by Honolulu VA doctors and their colleagues. For example, Dr. G. Webster Ross, from the Honolulu veterans office, recently found a relationship between caffeine and Parkinson's disease.
It was believed to be the first study demonstrating that coffee consumption in midlife reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease.
If you have questions about your rights and benefits as a veteran, call Fred W. Ballard, assistant public affairs officer, at (808) 433-0049, or the Honolulu Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.
[CALENDAR]
APRIL 14
Marine Forces Pacific Band concert. Celebration for Korea's 50th anniversary. Kauai. 2 p.m.The Fourth Annual Ford Island Bridge 10K run begins at 7 a.m. April 14. Registration forms are available at all military athletics offices, the Running Room and in the current issue of Hawaii Race magazine. Applications are accepted through April 11. Entry fee is $25. For information, call 473-0784 or 473-2494.
APRIL 17
Marine Forces Pacific Band concert. Student Transition Convention. Blaisdell Center. 8:15 a.m.
APRIL 21
Register to Hang 10! Enter Marine Corps Base Hawaii's 3D Marines 10-Mile & 10K Run at 7 a.m. Participants are guaranteed a race T-shirt with their $12 admission fee. Open to the public. Contact Steve Kalnasy at 254-7590.The Army will celebrate Earth Day on April 21 at 7:30 a.m. Volunteers are needed. The program begins with a tour of Schofield Barracks' greenhouse and a talk by Laurie Lucking. Afterward, volunteers will be led to Kahanahaiki Ridge above Makua Valley to help remove Clidemia hirta, a weed that threatens indigenous plants. Bring a hat, lunch and plenty of water. Call Alvin Char, 656-7641.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu (BBBSH) is seeking volunteers from the Navy. BBBSH offers a preventive service for youth by creating a mentoring relationship between an adult and a child, usually from a single-parent household. For more information call 521-3811, visit the agency Web site at www.bigshonolulu.org, or e-mail bbbs@bigshonolulu.org.
[DEPLOYMENTS]
U.S. Navy (Pacific Fleet)
Western Pacific
USS Chicago (SSN 721)
USS Louisville (SSN 724)
USS Kamehameha (SSN 642)
USS Columbia (SSN 771)
USS Santa Fe (SSN 763)
USS Los Angeles (SSN 688)
USS Chosin (CG 65)
USS Frederick (LST 1184)Hawaiian Area
USS Tucson (SSN 770)Eastern Pacific/West Coast United States
USS Lake Erie (CG 70)
USS Salvor (ARS 52)
U.S. Army Hawaii
Sinai: 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment
Kosrae, E. Micronesia, Bangladesh, Pohnpei: 84th Engineers
East Timor: 25th Division, 9th Regional Support Command (U.S. Army Reserve)
Guam, Honduras, Japan, Mongolia, Palau, Bangladesh, Singapore: Tripler Army Medical Center
Bosnia & Kosovo: 25th Division, 9th Regional Support Command
Laos: 706th Explosives Ordnance Detachment
Hawaii National Guard
Persian Gulf, Italy and Turkey: 292nd Combat Communications Squadron. Air National Guard
Germany and Italy: 291st Combat Communications Squadron. Air National Guard
Honduras: Company C, 29th Support Battalion and Company D, 1-207th Aviation. Army National Guard
Coast Guard
Central America west coast: Cutter CGC Rush
Marine Corps
Okinawa: 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment; C Battery, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment
Gregg K. Kakesako covers Hawaii's military
for the Star-Bulletin. Email him at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
