At Your Service
For and about Hawaii's militaryBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Sunday, September 30, 2001
[IN THE MILITARY]
Calendar & Deployments
For Your BenefitU.S. Pacific Forces commander Adm. Dennis Blair will present an American flag that was flown over the USS Arizona Memorial to retiring Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when he visits the Pentagon this week. Shelton, who has completed more than 38 years in uniform, will leave his post as the 14th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tomorrow. General to receive
flag of memorialBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comThe idea came from Jim Williams, a systems interoperability engineer at the Pacific Command, who knew a person killed during the Pentagon attack by terrorists Sept. 11. "I was just trying to capture what we were all feeling that day."
The flag was purchased by Sgt. Maj. Frank Raby, who had worked in the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, one of the offices that was hardest hit in the attack; and Yeoman Senior Chief Ernesto Colorado, flag writer to the commander in chief. Raby knew 19 people who died in the Pentagon attack.
"I see it as a gift, a personal gift, to make sure the people at the Pentagon are aware that the other commands are also affected," Colorado said. "When they hit the Pentagon, they didn't just hit a building. They hit the entire Department of Defense."
The French frigate Prairial will be offering tours on Tuesday and Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m. as part of its four-day visit to the islands from Papeete. It will be moored at Aloha Tower Marketplace, Pier 10.
The USS Connecticut has become the first Seawolf-class submarine to fire a Tomahawk land-attack missile Sept. 18 at a test range off Florida, the final step in allowing the Seawolf-class platform to be certified "strike weapons capable," the Navy said in a statement issued after the test.
The USS Connecticut and USS Seawolf will be the only two submarines of the three-boat class to be used solely in an attack submarine role. The third, the USS Jimmy Carter, which is under construction at Electric Boat, is being modified for special operations and as a test bed for new technologies.
The toll of the dead and missing from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon climbed to nearly 7,000, making it the deadliest day in U.S. military history.
Until then the Civil War battle near Antietam Creek in western Maryland held that distinction. Nearly 4,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died Sept. 17, 1862.
The death toll at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was 2,403.
Moving up
Pearl Harbor: Lt. Cmdr. John A. Carter to command USS Salvor, one of the Navy's four rescue and salvage vessels, relieving Cmdr. William J. Nault.Pearl Harbor: Rear Adm. Ann E. Rondeau to commander of the Naval Training Center in Great Lakes, Ill. Rondeau is currently serving as deputy chief of staff for shore base management for the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
"In the Military" was compiled by reporter Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. He can be reached at 294-4075.
[CALENDAR]
TODAY
56th memorial service honoring the 100th Battalion. National Cemetery of the Pacific. 9 a.m.
OCT. 2-3
Open house. French frigate Prairial. Aloha Tower Marketplace. Pier 10. 2-5 p.m.
[FOR YOUR BENEFIT]
Question: As a member of the Hawaii National Guard, I have been put on alert. I have a good job and am worried what will happen should I be shipped out. Do I have any rights and benefits? Laws protect civil and
work rights for National
Guard and ReserveAnswer: You are covered under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The act protects Guard and Reserve members who are called to active duty. The law requires that a Guard or Reserve employee be re-employed at the same position or better, with the same benefits and seniority they would have accrued had they not been on military leave. The law also entitles mobilized reservists to health insurance coverage for up to 18 months, although the reservist could be required to pay the full cost of the coverage instead of receiving a subsidy from the employer. Employees who don't keep their civilian health insurance must be reinstated in the employer health plan when they return.
Guard members and reservists who are mobilized are required to notify employers of their military status and must return to work within specified times to claim re-employment rights. Those mobilized for 31 days or less must report to work the day after their deactivation if that day is a regular workday. Those mobilized between 32 and 180 days have 14 days after release; more than 180 days, 90 days to return to work.
Guard troops and reservists are also covered under the Soldiers' & Sailors' Civil Relief Act while on active duty. The act is intended to postpone or suspend certain civil obligations to enable service members to devote full attention to duty. For certain provisions of the act to be of benefit, the ability of the service member to defend or pursue an action must be affected by military service. This can be due to the person's geographic location, or economic prejudice -- i.e., the service member cannot meet financial obligations due to military service (reduction in income as a result of entering military service results in inability to meet obligations).
For VA medical care benefits, an activated member of the National Guard or Reserve must serve the period of time called to active duty by the president. The service could be for a week, a month or more. Members completing a period of service will qualify for issuance of a DD Form 214 (military discharge). The DD 214 identifies the condition of discharge. Honorable qualifies the service member for most VA benefits. For further information, contact the VA benefits and services at 433-1000.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049 or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
