Although manned by only 2,500 citizen airmen, the Hawaii Air National Guard has consistently deployed volunteers throughout the Pacific and Southwest Asia since 2001.

Many of the volunteers have come from the 154th Wing - the largest, most complex and diverse unit in the Air National Guard - whose leader, Col. Joseph Kim, will get his first star as a brigadier general today at a ceremony in Gov. Linda Lingle's office.

“;We are full participants in the war worldwide,”; said Kim. “;The deployments are more frequent and longer, but we are holding up really well.”;

Kim, 49, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1982 and spent 11 years flying KC-135 jet tankers until 1993, when he left the Air Force to join the Hawaii Air National Guard to help establish the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron.

“;It was just too good an opportunity to pass up,”; said Kim.

By the end of the year, the jet tanker squadron will receive four more tankers, bringing its inventory to 12, along with 150 active-duty officers and airmen.

Also under Kim's “;wing”; are 15 F-15 Eagle jet fighters assigned to the 199th Fighter Squadron, eight C-17 Globemaster cargo jets belonging to the 204th Airlift Squadron, and radar and support squadrons. More than 1,900 airmen and women - the majority of them traditional part-timers - report to Kim.

Besides worldwide mobility and refueling missions, the Hawaii Air National Guard also has the round-the-clock air surveillance mission within the Hawaiian Islands. On Sept. 11, 2001,

F-15 combat jets were ordered into the air after the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City.

Eighteen F-22 Raptor stealth combat jets, each costing $230 million, will replace the aging F-15 Eagles on patrol over Hawaii skies by 2011. Of the seven F-22 Raptors in the Air Force, three will be in the Pacific.

Kim was born in Wyoming while his father was stationed there, and grew up in Texas, Japan and Washington, D.C.

While on active duty he flew KC-135 tankers during the Desert Shield and Desert Storm campaigns.

After joining the Hawaii Air National Guard in 1993, he assumed command of the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron in 2000 and moved up to command 154th Operations Group in 2004. Kim was vice commander of the 154th in May 2007 and was promoted to lead the wing in June.

Kim is a command pilot with more than 7,500 hours of flying time in the T-37 and T-38 trainers and KC-135.