In the Military
For and about Hawaii's servicemen and womenBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: For Your Benefit
Army Guard and
Reserve gain 3 generalsThere will be three new generals in the Hawaii Army National Guard and Pacific Army Reserve, with the latest being Col. Brian Bowers, commander of the Army Reserve's 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade.
Bowers, who was nominated for his first star last week, will replace Brig. Gen. Stephen Tom as the civil military officer in South Korea.
Tom, nominated for his second star as a major general, will replace Maj. Gen. Curtis Loop as deputy commanding general of the Army Reserve in the Pacific. Loop, an Army reservist from Oregon, will retire in July.
At the Hawaii Army National Guard, Col. Vern Miyagi has been chosen as the new commanding general of the 2,970-member force. Miyagi's promotion to one-star general has already been approved by the U.S. Senate.
He is currently chief of staff of the Army Guard and will replace Brig. Gen. Clarence Agena.
Other leadership announcements made by Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, Hawaii National Guard commander, include the selection of Col. Joe Chaves to replace Brig. Gen. Glen Sakagawa as commanding general of the 29th Infantry Brigade, the Hawaii Army National Guard's major combat unit, and the reappointment of retired Brig. Gen. Irwin Cockett Jr. as director of the Office of Veterans Services.
Miyagi, 54, has worked for the Hawaii Army National Guard since 1981, when he became its comptroller. He graduated from McKinley High School in 1966 and received a degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii five years later. He joined the Army Reserve after receiving his commission through the UH's Army ROTC program.
In the Army Reserve, he served in various positions with the 100th Battalion before transferring to the Hawaii Army Guard, where his past jobs included commander of the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry; operations officer; and chief of staff in February 2000.
With the reduction in the number of active-duty soldiers following the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Miyagi said, "the reserves have become more critical since many of the Army's key units are now in the reserves."
He added: "They are a critical part of what we are doing in Iraq and what we may have to do in Korea."
Miyagi said the Hawaii Army Guard has received eight of the latest versions of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters; all the soldiers of the 29th Infantry Brigade are now equipped with M-4 carbines; and its artillery battalion has the latest version of the 105-mm howitzers.
During the next three years, Miyagi said, the 29th Brigade will be preparing for a major training deployment to the Army's premiere training facility -- the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk in Louisiana. The last time the 29th Brigade, which also has units in California and Oregon, trained together at Fort Polk was in 1999.
The Army Guard's combat engineers will participate in the Balikitan exercise in the Philippines in April, as well as other training deployments to Japan and Singapore, Miyagi said.
Miyagi and Chaves are expected to assume their new commands in May.
Moving up
Pacific Fleet: Naval Reserve Rear Adm. Peter Andrus has been nominated for his second star. Andrus is currently serving as chief staff officer in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C., and is deputy fleet surgeon for the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
"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.
