172 reserves activated In the biggest mobilization of a local reserve unit since the Vietnam War, a Hawaii Air National Guard unit has been placed on active duty as part of the nation's homeland defense strategy.
The Hawaii Air National Guard unit
will help guard the skies over the islandsIt is the biggest mobilization of an
isle reserve unit since the Vietnam WarBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comThe 172 men and women belonging to the 169th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron have been on active duty since Oct. 1, but the announcement of the change of their status was made public by the Pentagon only yesterday.
They are among the more than 32,000 reservists who have been placed on active duty following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C.
These Air Guard personnel, whose usual mission is to search the skies over Hawaii for unfriendly aircraft, will join the 18 Hawaii Army National soldiers who were activated Friday to work with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks.
Along with 58 Army Reserve soldiers, these Hawaii citizen soldiers and airmen will not leave the islands, but be incorporated into the Pentagon's homeland defense strategy being coordinated by Army Lt. Gen. E.P. Smith, U.S. Army Pacific commander; and Maj. Gen. Ed Correa Jr. for the state. The Army Reserve soldiers will report to U.S. Army Pacific headquarters at Fort Shafter.
The Wheeler Air Guard unit, commanded by Lt. Col. Dewey Arakawa, has a radar site at the top of Mount Kaala. Its command center, known as the Hawaii Region Air Operations Center, is located at Wheeler Army Air Field.
The unit moved into its Wheeler facility on June 29, 1984. It has been responsible for the surveillance of Hawaiian air space seven days a week, 24 hours a day since Oct. 7, 1956.
Maj. Chuck Anthony, Hawaii National Guard spokesman, said the Wheeler facility is the first regional air operations center in the nation controlled and operated by an Air Guard unit. The unit is one of seven regional and sector operation control centers located in the U.S. and Canada which make up the Joint Surveillance System responsible for the defense of U.S. airspace.
Anthony said the Air Guard radar technicians and air traffic controllers will continue what they have been doing for the past 46 years with a few new added responsibilities, which he said he couldn't discuss.
The unit's air traffic controllers serve as the controllers for the Air Guard's F-15 jet fighters, which operate out of Hickam Air Force Base and whose pilots now have the added mission of patrolling the skies against possible hijacked commercial jetliners since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The 169th provides aircraft control and warning data for both the Hawaii Air National Guard and the Federal Aviation Agency.
It also monitors state Civil Defense and Pacific Disaster Center computers which alerts the state of any natural disasters in the Pacific. It is part of the 154th Fighter Wing.
The largest activation of a Hawaii Guard unit occurred in May 1968 when nearly1,500 soldiers of the 29th Infantry Brigade were called to active duty. However, the unit's soldiers were used as replacements during the Vietnam War.
The total number currently called to active duty for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 12,391; Naval Reserve, 4,650; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 12,743; Marine Corps Reserve, 373; and the Coast Guard Reserve 2,529. This brings the total Reserve and National Guard called to active duty to 32,686 from 336 units, 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
