At Your Service
For and about Hawaii's militaryBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Added forces sought
to boost Pacific securityAdm. Dennis C. Blair, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that the Navy and the Marine Corps need 5,000 more personnel to improve base security because of the terrorist threats.
The proposed 2003 defense budget authorizes 2,400 more Marines to fill out the anti-terrorist brigade.
A 14-man Marine security element from Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe is at Edwins Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga, providing airfield, maritime and personal security, base defense and quick reaction forces for U.S. forces in the Philippines.
The Army is working to reduce the weight of eight of its 10 new Stryker interim armored combat vehicles because they are too heavy to be carried on a C-130 cargo plane -- one of the key requirements for its new transformation force. The Army says that some of the vehicles exceed the 38,000-pound weight limit to fly on the C-130.
One fully loaded Stryker is supposed to go on a C-130, two on a C-17 transport and four on a C-5. The Army envisions deploying one brigade of soldiers with 366 Strykers on C-130s anywhere in the world in four days.
The Stryker can be configured to carry soldiers, reconnaissance or nuclear, biological and chemical detection equipment, or serve as an ambulance or a mobile cannon platform. The Army wants to put the Strykers in the field in 2005.
Tripler Army Medical Center has achieved accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Tripler staff, along with Schofield Barracks Health Clinic staff, scored a "92" in its hospital program and a "95" in its home-care program out of a possible 100. Tripler's score is in the upper half of all accredited hospitals in the United States, said Navy Capt. Richard Jeffries, Tripler's deputy commander for Clinical Services. The commission's on-site survey of Tripler occurred in December. The commission evaluates and accredits almost 12,000 hospitals and home-care agencies nationwide.
A Republican congressman is seeking support for legislation that would designate South Korea as a combat zone and place it on the same level as Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. That would make all pay, including re-enlistment bonuses, tax-free while troops are stationed or deployed to a combat zone. The proposal is being drafted by Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., and is similar to a Senate bill.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vernon Clark recently introduced the Navy's newest aircraft, the MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter, at North Island Naval Air Station.
The Knighthawk will assume the CH-46D Sea Knight's mission of carrier battle group logistical support, including replenishments of bombs and supplies, and personnel transport.
From a distance, the new airframe looks similar to the SH-60B and F that crews work with now. Notable differences between these versions and the MH-60 include a tail wheel that sits further aft, permitting more aggressive landings in confined zones over land, and engine exhaust venting, which reduces the aircraft's heat signature.
The cabin is redesigned to make it cargo- and passenger-compatible, and opposing main cabin sliding doors enable rapid troop entry and debarkation. Other highlights include a new glass cockpit display, which integrates advances in avionics and ergonomics.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
