ASSOCIATED PRESS Iraqi policemen inspected a vehicle yesterday that was damaged in a car bomb attack the previous day in Hillah, some 60 miles south of Baghdad. The explosion outside a gate of the police academy killed at least 20 people and wounded others.

Hawaii’s Army Guard
dwindles presence in isles

Isles have the highest ratio of
reservists and National Guard
soldiers on active duty of any state

More than 88 percent of the 3,000-member Hawaii Army National Guard Division have been called to active duty -- the highest ratio of reservists and National Guard soldiers of any state in the country.

"The only unit I have left is the band," Maj. Gen. Bob Lee, commander general of the Hawaii Guard, told members of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii yesterday.

Part-timers' active-duty limit could change WASHINGTON » Stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is considering a National Guard and Reserve policy shift that could result in part-timers being called to active duty multiple times for up to two years each time, a senior Army official said yesterday. The official, who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity, said the Army probably will ask Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the next several months to change the policy. Under current policy set by Rumsfeld, a Guard or Reserve member is not to serve on active duty for more than 24 total months. Associated Press

Annually, the chamber calls on the military heads of the services stationed in Hawaii to give business leaders their assessment on the status of the military here and the impact it has on the state's economy.

Lee told commerce members that another 67 Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers mobilized on Monday. They include 10 members of the 117th Mobile Affairs Detachment and another 57 soldiers from 298th Engineer Detachment, normally located in Pearl City. They will begin three months of pre-deployment training at Schofield Barracks before leaving for a one-year combat tour in Afghanistan.

However, Lee told the state's business leaders that there are 2,500 citizen airmen of the Hawaii Air National Guard Division who will be available to respond to emergencies, including natural disasters, a duty that usually falls to Army Guard soldiers.

He also said that a Hawaii Air National Guard team was certified by the Army in November to assist in the state's specialized unit that responds to nuclear, biological and chemical incidents.

Lee said that since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, more than 2,200 soldiers and airmen from the Hawaii National Guard have been placed on active duty.

Operating under the state Department of Defense, the Hawaii National Guard has about 5,500 members serving in the Army, Air and Civil Defense divisions. The Army has about 3,000 members, while the Air Guard has nearly 2,500. The rest serve under the Civil Defense branch. The bulk of those serving overseas are from the Army division.

Lt. Gen. John Brown, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, told chamber members he will be checking on Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers who are training in Louisiana this month before they are sent to Iraq. Training and equipment complaints by Hawaii soldiers training in Texas were taken seriously and corrected, he told chamber members.

"On the whole, the training the 29th Brigade received was right on target," he said.

There are 2,200 soldiers from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and Saipan who are members of the 29th Brigade and will be in Iraq for a year. The remaining 1,000 soldiers of the 29th Brigade are from units in California, Minnesota and Oregon.

Brown also promised that Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers will only use fully armored vehicles when they travel by convoy from Kuwait to Iraq.

Brown expects the 29th Brigade to take over operations now being conducted by the 81st Brigade Combat Team from the Washington National Guard in March. The Washington soldiers are stationed at Baghdad International Airport, Balad, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Addressing other island concerns, Brown said he expects the Army to bring a Stryker combat team to Hawaii despite an ongoing lawsuit by Earthjustice.

The group contends that the Army's environmental assessment is inadequate. The lawsuit is expected to be heard in federal court in February.

The Army plans to spend $1.5 billion to convert the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade to a highly mobile Stryker unit. A total of 28 military construction projects are planned for Oahu and the Big Island for the 300 Strykers, 100 other vehicles and trailers, and 810 more soldiers.

Turning their attention to Hawaii's waters, Rear Adm. John Donnelly, deputy commander of Pacific Fleet, said no decision has been made to station an aircraft carrier at Pearl Harbor. Such a move would mean 5,000 more sailors would call Hawaii home.