In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Schofield, Fort Shafter
tighten security
in annual exerciseVehicle inspections and identification checks will be enforced for several days at Oahu's two Army posts this week during an annual force protection exercise.
At Schofield Barracks from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday evening, traffic entering the Wahiawa installation will be allowed only through McNair Gate. Exiting traffic on those days will be via Macomb Gate. At Fort Shafter, increased security checks will be in effect from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon.
The nuclear attack submarines USS San Francisco and USS City of Corpus Christi will call Guam home this month. They are part of a buildup for the re-established Submarine Squadron 15, which, when fully operational, is expected to increase the Western Pacific's Navy submarine presence by 60 percent. They will be joined by a third submarine in 2004, which will mean an estimated 1,400 additional sailors and family members.
Gen. William Begert, commander of Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base, believes Guam is still one of the Air Force's best assets.
Meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C., last week, Begert said that at the beginning of the war on terrorism, Guam was designated as a rest and refuel stop for jet tankers.
"Andersen (Air Force base) went from zero airplanes on the ground to 75, as people were passing through," he said. "They never missed a beat."
Citing Guam's strategic location, Begert added: "If we could ever grow the Air Force a little bit, I would put forces there in a heartbeat."
The Navy's newest Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS McCampbell (DDG 85), joined the Pacific Fleet on Aug. 17 during a commissioning ceremony in San Francisco. The ship is home-ported at Naval Station San Diego and is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 1. The commanding officer is Cmdr. Mark Montgomery. The crew numbers about 340 and is led by Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Skip Shaw and Command Master Chief Mick Fulton.
The destroyer honors the late Capt. David McCampbell, the Navy's "ace of aces." McCampbell was a recipient of the Medal of Honor and remains an aviation legend. He had 34 confirmed aerial victories, including a record nine in one mission, while serving as the commander of Air Group 15 in the Pacific theater during World War II.
The Senate Armed Services Committee told the Navy that it will need extra time to review a recommendation that Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, skipper of the destroyer Cole when terrorists blew a hole in the side of the ship in October 2000, be promoted to captain. Lippold is now assigned to the Pentagon's Joint Staff. The review will not only delay Lippold's nomination, but the promotion to captain of nearly 250 other commanders.
Moving Up
>> Pearl Harbor: Paul C. Ciccarelli has taken over as the local special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Field Office Hawaii, relieving Special Agent Preston Thomas, who will become director of the Defense Computer Investigations Training Program in Washington, D.C.
Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
