In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Brig. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, deputy director for operations at the U. S. Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, will become senior military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense. His promotion for a second star is awaiting Senate confirmation. Brig. Gen. Caldwell awaits
second star Senate approvalAlso at Camp Smith, Brig. Gen. Janet E.A. Hicks, director of Pacific Command's control, communications and computer systems, has been selected as the new commanding general of the Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Ga. She commanded the 25th Infantry Division's 125th Signal Battalion from June 1992 to June 1994. Hicks returned to Hawaii in 1997 to command the 516th Signal Brigade at Fort Shafter while also serving as deputy chief of staff for information management.
>>>><<<< Eight C-17 Globemaster aircraft could be added to Hickam Air Force Base's flight line and become part of the Hawaii Air National Guard's arsenal. They could be used to transport the Army's new Interim Brigade Combat Teams planned for the 25th Division at Schofield. The C-17 deployments are part of the Air Force's proposed mobility road map program. The eight C-17s also would be stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska."Pacific-based C-17s would be able to support strategic airlift requirements anywhere in the Pacific within 24 hours," said Brig. Gen. Paul Fletcher, Pacific Air Forces director of plans and programs. "We expect to be able to quickly respond to contingency or humanitarian relief operations anywhere in our area of responsibility much faster than can be done with continental U.S.-based assets or our current tactical airlift capacity."
The road map proposes retiring 56 of the oldest C-130 Hercules aircraft in the Air Force inventory.
>>>><<<< Army News Service reports that the Army will promote officers earlier to the grade of captain, beginning in October. The accelerated pin-on of bars should help alleviate a shortage of 1,900 captains, according to Army personnel officials. They said many lieutenants are now filling captain jobs. The Army also has 2,200 more lieutenants than it is authorized and the early promotions will help level that out, officials said.
>>>><<<< The Pentagon is expected to cut the number of reservists and National Guard troops on active duty. Fewer are needed to protect key sites from terrorist attacks, meaning that about 14,500 part-time warriors will be demobilized by June 30. That will drop the number on active duty to 68,000, from a post-Sept. 11 high of nearly 83,000. In Hawaii 552 Hawaii Air and Army National Guard soldiers and airmen and 78 Army Reserve soldiers have been activated since Sept. 11.
>>>><<<< Filipino-American activists are pressuring the Bush administration to help an estimated 60,000 aging Filipino soldiers, who fought for the United States in World War II, before they die. The Philippine Star reports that the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans -- a 4,000-member organization -- is spearheading the fight to extend GI benefits to Filipinos now when it matters most, not after they die.These veterans -- 13,849 in the United States and 46,050 in the Philippines, according to latest figures of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs -- are seeking the full benefits received by their American counterparts. The ACFV estimates the number of eligible veterans at slightly less than 50,000 -- 12,000 in the United States and 35,000 in the Philippines.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
