Three local Army reservists are the latest to join the 150,252 citizen soldiers nationally called to active duty as part of the massive military buildup for a possible war in Iraq. 3 local Army Reserve
historians join Persian
Gulf-bound forcesBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comThis is second group of island reservists to be activated -- the first being 40 Marines who are already in the Persian Gulf region.
The three Army reservists make up the 30th Military History Detachment and will collect maps, photographs, video and audio recordings, artifacts, electronic media, and conduct interviews to document Army operations in the Persian Gulf.
Maj. Annette Hoffman, the 30th Military History Detachment's commander since September, will leave her job as a business development counselor with the Honolulu Community Action Program.
Hoffman said her family has been supportive as she prepares for her first active duty mission.
"My dad has been helping me figure out my finances and my mom gives me a lot of love and support.
"I'm excited, and I am a little nervous," said Hoffman, 33, who has been in the Army Reserve since 1987.
The other two members of her unit will leave their jobs as security officers.
Hoffman, who graduated from Sacred Hearts Academy in 1987 and from the University of Hawaii four years later, said she was not sure when she would be leaving.
The only other island reservists who have had to trade in civilian clothes for fatigues were 40 Marines of the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company, who left for the Central Command area of operation on Sunday.
The Marines would say only that the reservists were deployed to a region that sprawls from Kazakhstan to Kenya and includes 9,000 personnel involved in operations in Afghanistan.
The Kaneohe Marine reservists will be working for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, gathering intelligence.
There are 35,000 Marines in the Central Command area now. The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has 15,000 Marines in Kuwait. About 7,200 Marines are aboard Amphibious Task Force East, and 5,000 others are aboard the Amphibious Task Force West.
As of today, the total number of reserve personnel on active duty includes 113, 751 in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve; 6,276 in the Naval Reserve; 15,704 in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve; 12,539 in the Marine Corps Reserve; and 1,982 in the Coast Guard Reserve.
During the 1991 Gulf War, the only major island-connected reserve element activated were Pacific Army Reserve soldiers belonging to a military police unit on Guam.