USS Hawaii ceremony
takes Lingle east

GOV. Linda Lingle will be the guest of honor Friday in Rhode Island at the keel-laying ceremony for the USS Hawaii (SSN-776), the third ship in the Navy's newest Virginia class of nuclear attack submarines.

Lingle, who has been chosen by the Navy to be the ship's sponsor, will inscribe her initials on the keel of the submarine. Other guests will include: Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, state adjutant general; Master Sgt. Raymond Ganotise of the Hawaii National Guard, who will perform a traditional Hawaiian blessing; Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell; and Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri.

The ceremony will be held at the General Dynamics Electric Boat facility in Quonset Point, North Kingstown, R.I. Three years from now, as the ship's sponsor, Lingle will break a champagne bottle over the ship's bow at its christening. She also will approve the design of the submarine's official seal and, at commissioning, give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life."

The Dunn County News (Menomonie, Wis.) reports that on Saturday as many as 1,000 motorcycle enthusiasts, along with 20 to 30 soldiers from the 4th Battalion, 101st Airborne, in two Black Hawk helicopters, will join together at Jake's Resort & Supper Club north of Menomonie to commemorate the life of 1st Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe, who was commissioned through the University of Hawaii Army ROTC program and was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on Nov. 15.

The event, which is an annual motorcycle ride, will be renamed to honor Wolfe and will become a scholarship fund-raiser. Wolf was a Black Hawk pilot with the 101st Airborne Division. He graduated from Colfax High School, where he excelled in academics and track and field. The school has a scholarship awarded in his honor.

Wolfe first served in the 25th Infantry Division in August 1996 as an enlisted soldier. While at Schofield he attended classes and graduated from Hawaii Pacific University and was a member of UH's Army ROTC program.

In October, Wolfe deployed to Kuwait and served as platoon leader in Tall Afar in Iraq. While transporting soldiers from Tall Afar to Mosul, he was killed in a mid-air collision of two Black Hawk helicopters. He was awarded the Bronze Star medal and the Purple Heart. Joining the ride will be Wolfe's widow, Christine Tadeo Wolfe, who also graduated from the UH Army ROTC program and who is preparing to go to Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division.

The Honolulu Council of the U.S. Navy League will hold a benefit golf tournament Friday at Leilehua Golf Course. The tournament format will be a four-person scramble, with check-in at 10 a.m. and a dinner at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $150 per player or $500 for a team of four and includes green fees, cart, prizes, lunch and buffet dinner. It is open to the public. For more information, call 422-9404 or visit www.navyleaguehawaii.org.

The cruiser USS Lake Erie will leave Pearl Harbor tomorrow for a four-month deployment, which includes observation of the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Peleleiu and the liberation of Palau during a visit to Guam.

MOVING UP

>> Rear Adm. William V. Alford, Jr. will become chief of staff of U.S. Pacific Command. Alford is battle staff director at U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.