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In the Military Gregg K. Kakesako |
See also: For Your Benefit
Taguba gets new job
after prison reportMaj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba -- the author of the report on alleged abuse of prisoners by members of the 800th Military Police Brigade at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad -- will be the new deputy assistant secretary of defense for readiness, training and mobilization in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in Washington, D.C.
Taguba, a 1968 Leilehua High School graduate, is currently deputy commanding general for support for the 3rd U. S. Army with concurrent duties as deputy commanding general for Coalition Forces Land Component Command at Camp Doha in Kuwait.
He is one of two Filipino-American generals in the U.S. Army. The other is three-star Lt. Gen. Edward Soriano, who took over command of Fort Lewis in August 2002.
The report was ordered by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Joint Task Force-7, the senior U.S. military official in Iraq, following persistent allegations of human rights abuse at the prison.
The Baltimore Sun this week quoted associates of Taguba who say he is deeply committed to the Army and to the idea of taking personal responsibility in matters of right and wrong. Joyce Raezer, director of government relations for the National Military Family Association, recalled meeting Taguba in 2000, after he took over as commanding general of the Army's Community and Family Support Center, which serves families on military bases.
"He cares deeply about doing the right thing, and it always showed," Raezer said. "If you wanted a job done, he was the one to do it."
His father, Tomas Taguba, was 24 when he was inducted into the U.S. Army on Feb. 10, 1942, as a member of the Philippine Scouts. During the Japanese attack on the Philippines, Taguba was a truck driver assigned to haul ammunition and food supplies to the front lines on Bataan and Corregidor.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed the second star for Maj. Gen. William H. Brandenburg, who has been. U.S. Army Pacific's deputy commanding general since Aug. 8.
At Pearl Harbor, Rear Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, Pacific Fleet deputy and chief of staff, has been promoted to vice admiral and will become the new commander of the 7th Fleet in Yokosuka in Japan.
Navy Region Hawaii has received the chief of naval operations' environmental award for cultural resource management.
The Pearl Harbor command was chosen because of its cultural resources management plan which balances the Navy's mission with the management of cultural and historical resources.
The Navy in Hawaii manages more than 1,400 historic structures and 140 native Hawaiian archeological sites. Included in this inventory are five National Historic Landmarks and three properties listed in the National Historic Register.
In a statement, the Navy here said it has sought to reuse historic structures, like Ford Island's 1941 bachelor officer's quarters, that would otherwise be demolished or left to deteriorate over time. The historic building was renovated to create the new Navy Lodge which opened in January.
Airmen who spend 45 consecutive days or 90 nonconsecutive days in a designated combat zone will qualify for a gold edging around the Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon to show the person participated in combat.
Also qualifying are airmen who are wounded while serving in a combat zone, those who participate in mobility operations into the designated area, and those who launch weapons into the area will also qualify for the device.
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"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.