In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
4.1% pay raise due for
military next fiscal yearDefense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld must submit to Congress by Sept. 1 a report detailing the budget, headquarters location, staffing levels, relationship with other federal agencies and other details of the proposed Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, which will oversee defense of the mainland United States. The requirement for the report was inserted as an amendment to the 2003 defense authorization bill by Democratic Hawaii Rep. Neil Abercrombie.
The bill also includes the Bush administration's request for an across-the-board pay raise of 4.1 percent for service members in fiscal 2003, and targeted pay raises of up to 6.5 percent for "critical" midgrade and noncommissioned officers and midgrade officers.
Two brothers stationed with the 25th Division were on a team that captured second place last week in the David E. Grange best ranger competition held at Fort Benning, Ga. Capt. Jeffrey VanAntwerp and his brother, 1st Lt. Lucas VanAntwerp, were one of four teams representing the 25th Division. This was the second time Lucas VanAntwerp entered the competition. Last year, he placed third. Only 12 teams of the 47 that entered the competition finished.
Soldiers stationed here will receive new Army-issued black berets by the middle of this month, said Joe Bonfiglio, U.S. Army Hawaii spokesman. However, none of these black berets will be available for sale at Schofield Barracks' clothing store until sometime late next year.
Although the Army chief of staff set a June 14, 2001, deadline for all soldiers to don the Army's new headgear, most soldiers here received the first of their required two berets earlier this year because of various problems. Last May, when berets were scheduled to reach the troops in time for the Army's 226th birthday, delivery was delayed when three contracts were canceled with U.S. companies that had beret factories in Romania, South Africa and India due to quality issues and an inability to meet delivery schedules.
In addition to the contract cancellations, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki announced that U.S. troops would not wear berets made in China or berets made with Chinese content. An order for about 618,000 black berets had been contracted to Kangol Ltd., a British firm that subcontracted to produce the berets at a Chinese factory in China.
Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Culbreth, a member of 15th Civil Engineer Squadron Electrical Systems section at Hickam Air Force Base, has been named the Pacific Air Forces' outstanding noncommissioned officer of the year.
During the year, he was honored by the 15th Air Base Wing for his leadership during an emergency power outage by helping restore power to more than 250 facilities. Culbreth is a member of the Hickam Honor Guard.
Congress is working on a change in the law that would allow disabled veterans to draw full retirement pensions in addition to their disability pay.
The proposal would change a century-old law that required disabled veterans to give up part of their retirement pay to receive disability compensation. The Pentagon has resisted the effort, saying it amounts to "double dipping." The cost is estimated at about $4 billion a year. But veterans groups say they are being treated unfairly because federal civilian retirees can receive a full pension and disability pay.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
