In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Navy Secretary Gordon England, during his first visit to the islands since his appointment in April, praised President George Bush's appointment of Adm. Thomas Fargo as the next commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Navy leader predicts
easy approval for Fargo"Adm. Fargo is highly respected in the Congress, highly respected in the Department of Defense and the Navy," England said, "and I don't foresee any difficulties at all in his nomination being confirmed."
During his visit, England visited naval bases around the state and vacationed on Maui.
>>>><<<< Because of security concerns, the Navy now will issue vehicle decals that will be valid for only 12 months.In the past, vehicle decals that ease entry to Pearl Harbor and other military installations were valid for up to three years. The three-year policy has not changed at Army, Air Force and Marine Corps installations here. Those who already have been issued a three-year Navy decal are grandfathered into the program and can keep their current decal until it expires or becomes unserviceable.
>>>><<<< The Navy captain who led salvage and recovery efforts of the Japanese fisheries training vessel Ehime Maru was selected as the recipient of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Gold Medal Award for 2001.Capt. Bert Marsh, director of ocean engineering and supervisor of salvage and diving for Naval Sea Systems Command, has been honored for his significant contributions to naval engineering for the period from 1996 to 2001.
During that span, Marsh led several high-profile repair, salvage and recovery efforts, including the recovery of an Egypt Air commercial airliner following its crash off the coast of New England in 1999; repair efforts following the grounding of USS Lamoure County (LST 1194) in September 2000, and organizing and engineering the salvage of USS Cole (DDG 67) following the October 2000 terrorist attack in Yemen.
Last year, Marsh engineered and directed the deepest salvage effort of its kind ever: the recovery of the 850-ton Ehime Maru. Assembling a team of more than 500 military, contractor, public and diplomatic officials, he developed a recovery plan using remotely operated vehicles and oil field technologies to place the fishing vessel in a set of lift straps at 2,000 feet and then carry it suspended beneath a lift vessel to a safe depth where divers could access it.
>>>><<<< Despite reports that some Army medical facilities are affected by a nationwide shortage of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and chickenpox (varicella) vaccine, officials at Tripler Army Medical Center here say they have adequate supplies.Margaret Tippy, Tripler spokeswoman, said that at one time the hospital was out of varicella (chicken pox) vaccine, but it has since received adequate supplies. The Armed Forces News reported that an official of the sole manufacturer of the vaccines, Merck & Co. Inc., said the shortage occurred because the firm made voluntary interruptions in manufacturing to address U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection issues. The company's planned facility modifications also took longer to complete than anticipated.
Merck estimates the shortage of MMR vaccine will end in one to three months, and the shortage of chickenpox vaccine will be over by early summer.
>>>><<<< Since the military campaign started Oct. 7, the Army has awarded 160 medals to soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Of those, three are posthumous Silver Stars, 15 are Bronze Stars for Valor, 32 are Purple Hearts and six are Distinguished Flying Crosses. No other services have yet bestowed medals.
Moving up
Camp SmithRear Adm.-select Robert D. Reilly has been assigned as director of the environmental protection, safety and occupational health division in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Reilly is currently chief of the Pacific Command's Joint Staff.
Makalapa
Rear Adm.-select Kirkland H. Donald has been assigned as commander of Submarine Group Eight and commander of Allied Submarines, Mediterranean. Donald is now deputy chief of staff for resources, requirements and assessments at the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
