In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Campbell to take
command of Army PacificLt. Gen. E.P. Smith is expected to retire next month as commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific and will be replaced by Maj. Gen. James Campbell, whose promotion to a three-star rank and new assignment was announced by the Pentagon last summer.
In an e-mail sent to colleagues last week, Smith said: "Teammates, wanted you to hear from me that I'll be retiring as soon as I can get all arranged, probably mid-September. It's been a wonderful life in our Army. Thanks for your support."
Campbell, who has had numerous tours in Hawaii and the 25th Infantry Division, has been in Hawaii since last December waiting to assume his new job. He came to the islands after commanding the 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum, N.Y.
Campbell's first Hawaii assignment came in June 1984, when he was named executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry at Schofield Barracks. A year later, he became assistant chief of staff for the 25th Infantry Division, and in July 1987 was promoted to command the division's 4th Battalion, 27th Infantry.
Campbell left in June 1989 to attend the Naval War College. After command positions in Somalia in April 1993 and Haiti in September 1994, Campbell returned to Hawaii in July 1996 to head Joint Task Force-Full Accounting at Camp Smith. In September 1997, Campbell was assigned as assistant division commander for the 25th until he was promoted to command the 10th Division in March 1999.
Gov. Ben Cayetano will speak at a religious memorial service 5 p.m. at the National Cemetery of the Pacific honoring those killed Sept. 11 by terrorists. Other speakers include Mayor Jeremy Harris and Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific forces commander.
A similar service will be held 6 p.m. at the Pacific War Memorial at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Brig. Gen. Jerry McAbee, the base's commanding general, will be the guest speaker.
The Pentagon last week said there are 1,562 fewer reservists on active duty, with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps each announcing decreases of reservists on active duty in support of the war against terrorism. The total number currently on active duty in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 36,895; Naval Reserve, 6,525; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 28,214; Marine Corps Reserve, 3,788; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 1,096. This brings the total Reserve and National Guard on active duty to 76,518.
Army News Service reports that the Army has suspended its re-enlistment bonus programs for active-duty soldiers until Oct. 1.
The suspension became necessary with a retention success that exhausted the fiscal year 2002 re-enlistment budget, said Ron Canada, chief of the U.S. Army Personnel Command retention office.
He said the Army has already re-enlisted more than 51,600 soldiers against its goal of 49,019, or 105 percent. Soldiers who are scheduled to separate from the Army between Aug. 19 and Sept. 30 will be allowed to voluntarily extend until after Oct. 1 so they can re-enlist for a bonus to be paid in the new fiscal year, Canada said.
The programs frozen include the selective re-enlistment bonus, the targeted selective re-enlistment bonus and the broken service selective re-enlistment bonus. The freeze does not affect Army Reserve or Army National Guard re-enlistment bonuses, officials said. It also will not stop payment of re-enlistment bonuses that have already been granted, Canada said.
Moving Up
>> Pearl Harbor: Rear Adm. Richard Cellon has assumed command of Pacific Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, relieving Rear Adm. Charles Kubic, who assume command of the 1st Naval Construction Division in Norfolk, Va.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
