Warships from Pearl in exercise near Iran

Three Pearl Harbor-based warships were part of the force of 17,000 sailors and Marines that participated in war games in the Persian Gulf last week as the Navy staged a show of force off Iran's coast.

The Hawaii sailors were assigned to the destroyer USS Chafee, which is part of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz strike group. The Pearl Harbor-based cruiser USS Chosin and the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon are assigned to the USS Bonhomme Richard expeditionary strike group while the destroyer USS O'Kane is a member the carrier USS Stennis strike group. The war games included an amphibious landing exercise in Kuwait involving 2,100 Marines of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Col. Bruce Olivera will assume command of the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team June 23, relieving Brig. Gen. Joseph Chaves, who has been serving as both the leader of the brigade and head of the Hawaii Army National Guard.

Two years ago, Chaves took the brigade to Iraq on the unit's first mobilization since the Vietnam War. The change of command is planned for the brigade headquarters at Kaelaloa.

Cadet 1st Class Timothy W. Dolan, a 2003 Maryknoll High School graduate, was one of 228 cadets to graduate last week from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. During the commencement ceremony, the cadets received their commissions as ensigns in the U.S. Coast Guard from President Bush. Dolan is the son of Rick and Anne Dolan of Kailua. His first tour of duty will be as deck watch officer on the Coast Guard cutter Kukui in Honolulu.

Two ROTC cadets affiliated with programs at the University of Hawaii joined 53 other cadets and midshipmen from across the country commissioned earlier this month at a White House ceremony.

Cadets David Song and James E. Abellana received their commissions as second lieutenants. Song, who is from Philadelphia, was a member of UH's Army ROTC program. Abellana, a Campbell High School graduate, belonged to UH's Air Force ROTC program.

Song is a former enlisted soldier who had completed a combat tour in Afghanistan as a member of a civil-affairs team before he became a student in Hawaii Pacific University's master's degree program in diplomacy and military studies.

Abellana was commander of the UH's cadet wing, the highest position a cadet can hold. He is going into the Air Force's acquisition career field and will be stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

Brig. Gen. Salvatore F. Cambria, director of operations at U.S. Southern Command in Miami, will be the next commander of the Special Operations Command Pacific at Camp H. M. Smith. The former commander of Navy Region Hawaii, Rear Adm. Michael C. Vitale, who is currently serving as commander of Carrier Strike Group 2 in Norfolk, Va., is being assigned as commander of Navy Region Southeast in Jacksonville, Fla. Earlier this month, Vitale was nominated for his second star.

MOVING UP

» Pearl Harbor: Cmdr. Tom Druggan has assumed command of the destroyer USS O'Kane, relieving Cmdr. James Duke.

"In the Military" was compiled from wire reports and other sources by reporter Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at 294-4075 or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.