At Your Service
For and about Hawaii's militaryBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Old Guam housing
to be used for trainingA former military housing area in Guam will be converted into an urban warfare training site for the Marines. Last week, Congress approved the transfer of 1,541 acres at Anderson Air Force Base at a former military housing area in northern Guam. The site includes 360 vacant housing units and five old barracks.
Okinawa-based Marines have been training on Guam for many years.
Navy Region Hawaii has won the Chief of Naval Operations award for environmental quality for a nonindustrial installation.
NRH now moves on to contend for the secretary of the Navy's environmental award in the same category.
The command was recognized for consolidating Hawaii's Navy environmental staff, working closely with community organizations and local government on environmental issues, and implementing cost-savings programs.
To date, NRH has developed a regional pollution prevention plan, a spill prevention control and countermeasures plan, and is working on a regional solid-waste management plan and affirmative procurement plan that should be completed in March.
Army bases in Colorado and Washington have been added to the Army's innovative, free-to-soldiers online college education program, dubbed eArmyU.com, but Schofield Barracks officials say it will be at least a year before it will be offered in the islands.
The virtual program already has 12,000 enlisted soldiers enrolled, all earning college degrees on the Army's dime.
Army officials, who teamed with the consulting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, kicked off the Army University Access Online program Jan. 16, 2001, making it available to soldiers stationed at Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Fort Hood, Texas. Beginning next month, soldiers stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., and Fort Lewis, Wash., also will be able to enroll.
Under the program, soldiers receive full tuition assistance, books, fees and the technology required to access online courses.
The deal also includes a laptop, printer and an Internet account.
The students must successfully complete at least 12 semester hours within two years.
The Bush administration is seeking an average raise of 4.1 percent for military salaries in January 2003, compared with an average 2.6 percent general schedule raise.
Future projections indicate that civilian and military personnel will receive equal raises of 3.4 percent a year from 2004 to 2012.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
