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In the Military Gregg K. Kakesako |
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New Navy destroyer
to be home-ported at PearlThe Navy's newest destroyer, USS Chafee, which was commissioned yesterday in Rhode Island, will arrive here at the end of the year and will be home-ported at Pearl Harbor. On Nov. 11, 2002, the warship made history by being the first ship to be christened in the water.
The Chafee is the 40th destroyer of the Arleigh Burke class and is named in honor of former Rhode Island Sen. John Hubbard Chafee, who also was secretary of the Navy and governor of Rhode Island. He served as a Marine in World War II and was a veteran of Guadalcanal.
The skipper of the Chafee is Cmdr. John W. Ailes.
Navy Rear Adm. Robert Conway Jr., who left as the head of Navy Region Hawaii in March, has been nominated for his second star. Conway is currently serving as commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 1 in San Diego. Also recommended for his second star is Rear Adm. Anthony Winns, who until September was in charge of the Navy's reconnaissance aircraft and personnel in Japan and the anti-submarine and reconnaissance forces at Kaneohe. Winns is currently serving as deputy director of the Air Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C.
Lt. Gen. James Campbell, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, will discuss terrorism issues facing the Army in the Pacific at a luncheon Tuesday hosted by the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council and the East-West Center and Friends of the East-West Center. The program will be held at the Ilikai Hotel. Lunch will begin at noon. Cost is $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers. For more information, call 944-7780.
Mililani resident Ramona Greman was recently installed as the northwestern regional president of the Fleet Reserve Association at its 76th National Convention in San Diego. She was elected to the position by members of the association from the Northwest region. As regional president, Greman oversees the activities of branches in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii, as well as all branches overseas in the Pacific and the Philippines.
Greman retired from the Navy in 1997 after 24 years of service. She joined Fleet Reserve Association in 1991 as a member of Branch 46, serving as Pearl Harbor branch secretary (1997-2000) and vice president (2000-2001). She continues to serve as branch president and has been a member of the board of directors since 1996. She also has been appointed to the Oahu Veteran Services Advisory Board by Gov. Linda Lingle.
The three-year commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War will end on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, with a sunset ceremony of the decks of the USS Missouri at Ford Island. The ceremony will begin at 4:45 p.m. Free trolley service from the visitor center near the USS Arizona Memorial Visitors Center will begin at 3:45 p.m.
The Marine Corps has rejected acquiring 1,750 acres of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam as a training facility because the area does not meet its training requirements and would be too expensive to repair and maintain. Two years ago, the Marines started began looking at "Andersen South," a 2,400-acre annex with more than 300 vacant housing units and five barracks buildings that was supposed to be returned to Guam. The Marines were exploring the possibility of using it as an urban warfare training facility for its force stationed at Okinawa. The move was endorsed by the Guam Chamber of Commerce.Headquarters Marine Corps said it rejected the Andersen proposal because the training area cannot accommodate units larger than a Marine company. "The current condition of the property and buildings presents an unsafe and unsecured training environment for Marines, and the projected costs to upgrade and maintain the Andersen South Training Area as a safe and usable facility would far outweigh the limited training benefits," the statement said.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
"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.
