Reservist to head Gov. Linda Lingle has apparently gone outside of the ranks of Hawaii's 6,000-member Hawaii National Guard to pick its new leader.
National Guard
Lingle has chosen Bob Lee
of the Pacific Army ReserveBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comHawaii National Guard staff members were told Friday that Brig. Gen. Bob Lee, commander of the 3,500-member Pacific Army Reserve since 1999, will be the new head of the state Department of Defense and adjutant general of the state of Hawaii, a Cabinet-level position now held by Maj. Gen. Butch Correa.
Lingle also will replace Brig. Gen. Clarence Agena with another Army Reservist -- retired Col. Gary Ishikawa -- as deputy adjutant general. Agena also has been commander of the Hawaii Army National Guard.
The fate of the Hawaii National Guard's three other one-star generals has not been announced, Hawaii National Guard officials say.
These include Brig. Gen. Glen Sakagawa, who was named commander of the 3,400-member 29th Infantry Brigade in 1999; Brig. Gen. Myron Dobashi, commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard; and Brig. Gen. Albert Richards, head of the Air Guard's 154th Wing.
If Lee, 53, is confirmed by the state Senate, he would be eligible for promotion for a second star as a major general.
Lee has spent almost all of his 32 years in uniform serving with the Army Reserve, after being commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1971 through the University of Hawaii's ROTC program.
He was then assigned to the Pacific Army Reserve, where he had planned only to serve his mandatory six-year tour and served in the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry. He was employed by Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard's nuclear submarine program and was superintendent of its Nuclear Regional Maintenance. He is now employed by ADI Tech as its Pacific Region manager.
Lee commanded the 100th Battalion from 1988 to 1991. In 1996, he was elevated to chief of staff for the Army Reserve's 9th Regional Support Command. Lee also has earned a master's in business administration from the UH.
Lee was supposed to leave his post in the Army Reserve in February. His departure will mean that Col. John Maa will assume his command.
The last time a governor went outside the National Guard to pick one of its leaders was when John Waihee tapped Eugene Imai to head the Hawaii Army National Guard. Imai at that time was serving as the Army Reserve's chief of staff.
State of Hawaii
