In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Adm. Doran
visits Guam to
inspect typhoon tollAdm. Walter F. Doran, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, visited the naval facilities heavily damaged by Supertyphoon Pongsona on Guam. His itinerary on Friday included aerial surveys of damaged housing areas, Apra Harbor and Fena Reservoir and visits to Navy housing units, Naval Hospital Guam, the Department of Defense high school, and the Fena Water Treatment Facility.
In its largest relief effort in recent memory, the U.S. Pacific Fleet's airlift of supplies and services from three continents has grown to more than $5.25 million. Several planeloads of engineering specialists, electrical equipment, medical supplies, bottled water and other items have arrived in Guam.
Supertyphoon Pongsona slammed Guam with winds of up to 184 mph, causing widespread flooding on Dec. 8.
Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific forces commander, last week made his second trip to India since assuming command in May and met with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal to discuss the security in the South Asian region and the situation in the Persian Gulf.
Fargo's itinerary also includes a visit to China, including four cities in its south and west. Fargo is the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to visit China since an American spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided over the South China Sea in April 2001.
Even while the debate continues whether six Army Stryker combat brigades will be fully funded, the soldiers of the unit designated as the first Stryker brigade two years ago -- the 3rd Arrowhead Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis in Washington -- have passed their final evaluation.
In May, the entire 3,600-member 3rd Brigade will be sent to Fort Polk, La., ending a three-year, $1.2 billion attempt by the Army to create a more mobile, more lethal combat force.
The other Stryker brigade at Fort Lewis is the 1st Lancer Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division. Last week the Pentagon announced that it will decide next summer weather the 25th Division's 2nd Brigade at Schofield Barracks will be converted.
Nearly $700 million in construction projects at Schofield Barracks and the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area are planned to accommodate the nearly 500 soldiers and new armored vehicles that would be assigned to Hawaii's Stryker brigade.
When Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Tysler catapulted off the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in an F/A-18E Super Hornet recently, he became the first pilot to reach the 1,000-hour mark in the aircraft. Tysler, a pilot who was involved with the aircraft's early development phase, has now flown with the aircraft into its first operational deployment.
As tactics officer for Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115, Tysler is part of the Super Hornet squadron's first deployment to include the single-seat F/A-18 "E" model. VFA-115 is embarked aboard Abraham Lincoln, which is deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch.
"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other
sources by reporter Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for
the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. He can be reached can be reached by phone
at 294-4075 or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
