VOL. 39 NO. 4 | JANUARY 29, 2010

National PrayerBreakfast set

The Religious SupportOffice will sponsor a

National PrayerBreakfast, Feb. 3. Call

now for tickets.

See News Briefs, A-6

Here’s yourchance to speak Have an idea on how toimprove Oahu South?

Circle your calendar forFeb. 3 and attend theOahu South Town Hall

meeting .

See CommunityCalendar, B-2

Rockin’ withLt. Dan

Get ready to rock whenthe Lt. Dan Band

honors the military withfree concerts at

Kaneohe Bay andHickam.

B-1

A ‘clean sweep’ “Task Force Wings”

identifies and returnsmore than $40 millionof excess equipment in

Iraq as part of anArmywide initiative.

A-4

INSIDE

This issueFootsteps in Faith A-2

Deployed Forces A-4

News Briefs A-6

FMWR B-2

Sports & Fitness B-5

‘Lightning Support’ returns home45th Sust. Bde. redeploysfrom Afghanistan mission

Story and Photos by

SGT. RICARDO BRANCH8th Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Soldiersand family members gathered on Hamil-ton Field to formally welcome home thetroops of the 45th Sustainment Brigadeduring a redeployment ceremony, here, Jan. 21.

The 45th Sust. Bde. deployed for ayear-long mission in Afghanistan to

provide logistical support for a myriad ofunits stretching across an entire country.

Maj. Gen. Michael J. Terry, command-ing general, 8th Theater SustainmentCommand, summed up the gathered Sol-diers as heroes on the battlefield.

“The 45th Sustainment Brigade oper-ated in a highly dangerous environmentfor a full year,” Terry said. “They servedwith bravery and courage, accomplish-ing their mission without fame or fan-fare, day in and day out to take care ofthe troops on the ground.”

Col. Clay Hatcher (left), commander, 45th Sustainment Brigade, and Command Sgt.Maj. Benjamin Ramos unfurl the unit’s colors during the 45th Sust. Bde. redeploymentceremony, Jan. 21, at Schofield Barracks.

Water safety stressed to new arrivalsStory and Photos By

SGT. RICARDO BRANCH8th Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — In the ear-ly morning hours, a command was giv-en to the Soldiers ready for action.

“Toe the line!” bellowed the instruc-tor to the gathered Soldiers.

The Soldiers moved to a red shadedarea a short distance from the poolside.

“Enter the water!”The Soldiers jumped into the water

and started swimming — some like theirlives depended on it, some at a leisure-ly pace, but all to complete the Army’srequirement for new Soldiers arriving toHawaii.

More than 60 Soldiers braved theearly morning hours to conduct drown-proofing training at the Richardson poolJan. 21, here.

The training, conducted weekly bythe U.S. Army Hawaii Replacement De-

tachment, 8th Theater SustainmentCommand, is just one of many steps toensure Soldiers adhere to water safety,for themselves, their unit and the Army.

“We do a 50-meter swim, utilize theACU (Army Combat Uniform) as a flota-

tion device, and have them tread waterfor two minutes,” said Staff Sgt.Jonathan Shuskey, water survival in-structor, Replacement Detachment.”

Soldiers practice using the ACU as a flotation device during drownproofing training Jan. 21 at Richardson pool on Schofield Barracks.

Advanced course to focusupon cornering, throttlecontrol with military riders

DIRECTORATE OF INSTALLATION SAFETYNews Release

WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD — U.S.Army Garrison-Hawaii, in collaborationwith the California Superbike School, willhost a third round of the popular ad-vanced motorcycle course “Train as YouRide.”

This half-day training will be held Feb.10 and 11, here, at the south aircraft park-ing ramp, accessible from Latchum Road.

“The U.S. Army Safety Center hasnamed this a ‘best practice,’” said Sam-my Houseberg, director, InstallationSafety. “Other motorcycle courses teachmany of the fundamentals, but byusing an aircraft parking ramp,we can simulate road conditionsand operate using realistic roadspeeds, 35 to 60 miles per hour ona 0.7 mile course.”

“The focus of the course will be corner-ing technique andthrottle control in

turns,” said

Pay, medical,family issueshighlightbudget request

DONNA MILESAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON — Recognizing the na-tion’s responsibility to support its menand women in uniform and their families,President Barack Obama will request in-creased funding for military pay, housingallowances, family support programs andcare for wounded warriors, White Houseofficials said Tuesday.

The budget request, expected to be re-leased Feb. 1, will include a 1.4 percent ba-sic pay raise officials say is designed tokeep militarypay increasesin line withthose in theprivate sector.The requestalso will in-clude an aver-age housingallowance in-crease of 4.2percent, aswell as a vari-ety of enlistment and re-enlistment bonus-es and monthly payments for specialtyskills.

Family support programs will growthree percent if Congress approves the re-quest — to $8.8 billion — to support thefamily members who officials credit withproviding the strength and stability onwhich the uniformed force relies.

The request will include $1.3 billion tomake affordable, high-quality child careservices more available at 800 militarychild development centers stateside andoverseas, which represents an $87 mil-lion increase over fiscal 2010 funding lev-els, officials noted.

Expanded counseling and assistanceservices to be funded in the new budgetwill help families meet the challenges of re-peated deployments and family separa-tions, officials noted.

The president will request $1.9 billion forthese services, which range from financialcounseling to transition and relocationassistance, up $37 million from fiscal 2010funding.

In addition, the request will include $84million for enhanced career and education-al opportunities for military spousesthrough tuition assistance and federal in-ternship programs, which represents a $12million increase over current funding.

Another provision in the request willprovide $439 million to build 10 new De-partment of Defense Education Activityschools — the first step in a Defense Depart-ment plan to replace or renovate 103 of theschools by 2015, providing military chil-dren what officials called “the world-classeducation they deserve,” offered in “world-class facilities.”

Providing high-quality medical care for

SEE 45TH SUST., A-6

SEE DROWNPROOFING, A-5

SEE BUDGET, A-7

Cobra Gold to build upon 29 years of trainingU.S. ARMY-PACIFIC PUBLIC AFFAIRS

News ReleaseFORT SHAFTER — Cobra Gold, the

largest multinational exercise in theworld, begins its 29th year of joint train-ing and cooperation among six countriesin the Asia-Pacific theater in Thailand, Feb. 1.

Participating countries include Thai-land, the United States, Singapore, In-donesia, Japan and the Republic of Ko-rea.

“Thailand is one of our closest friendsand partners in Asia, as well as ... ouroldest ally in Asia,” said Lt. Gen. Ben-jamin R. Mixon, commander, U.S. Army-Pacific. “The Cobra Gold exercise is the

largest multilateral joint military exer-cise in the world.”

Sponsored by U.S. Pacific Commandand the Royal Thai Supreme Command,the three-week exercise includes a com-mand post exercise; a series of medicaland engineering civic action projects; and joint and combined field training. Theexercise helps build coalition interoper-ability with Asia-Pacific regional partners.

The CPX focuses on training a Thai,U.S., Singaporean, Indonesian andKorean coalition task force, and duringthe exercise, Japan participates with a U.N. force staff. Also, a team com-prised of representatives from Brunei,Chile, China, Germany, Laos, Mongolia,

New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lankaand Vietnam will observe the CPX atthe invitation of Thailand.

Among Cobra Gold 10’s objectives istraining USPACOM’s rapid deployment ofa joint task force and subsequent coor-dination with U.N. forces, with the aimof improving PACOM’s ability to conductmultinational operations and increasinginteroperability with partner nations.

The military-to-military relationshipsdeveloped during Cobra Gold exercisesunderscore a combined capability toface myriad issues in the Asia-Pacifictheater, including terrorism, transna-tional threats, and humanitarian assis-tance and disaster relief efforts.

Soldiers swim the 25-meter lanes twice during the 50-meter swim test Jan. 21 atRichardson pool at Schofield Barracks.

Obama

California’s motorcycle course returns to Wheeler

SEE SUPERBIKE, A-5

To read the full article and other Army news releases, visitwww.army.mil/news.

“Start yourday right."

Julie Demesa Family Member

“Everybodyshouldbelieve insomething; Ibelieve I'llgo fishing."

Randy HarrisRetired MasterSgt.

“It is what itis."

QuameekaLang Family Member

“Dream as ifyou'll liveforever; liveas if you'lldie today."

Lauren Perez Family Member

“Ready andable."

Spc. FrankSeko4-11th ForwardSupport Company

What motto do you live by?

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A-2 | JANUARY 29, 2010 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY NEWS & COMMENTARY

Recollections can turn that frown aroundCHAPLAIN (CAPT.) JONATHON KNOEDLER

Deputy South Community Chaplain

Many people can experience a case of the“blues” at this point in the year — yes even in“paradise.”

Though the holidays have passed, many stresses from trying to keep things from spinningout of control continue to build: squeaky voic-es of little ones who won’t quit, reintegration andall that it brings, the pending deployment, andother things.

The fog of life can creep in like the smoke froma Hawaiian New Year celebration.

God knows what you are going through. Noth-ing catches him off-guard or by surprise.

Sometimes we simply need to laugh, to gainsome perspective in the grand scheme of lifeand realize that life is not all about me.

I hope the next few lines will bring a smile toyour face and fresh perspective to your view:

•Laugh lots, and when you’re old, all yourwrinkles will be in the right place.

•Remember this com-ment from businesswoman Anita Roddick: “If youever think you are toosmall to be effective,you’ve never been in bedwith a mosquito.”

•Those who say noth-ing is impossible have yetto walk through a revolv-ing door with toddlers.

•Never be afraid to try something new. Re-member, amateurs built the ark; professionalsbuilt the Titanic, as stated by author Vance Neu-dorf.

•Recall this comment from a child to a moth-er after school: “Our new teacher taught us aboutfossils. Before she came to class, I didn’t knowwhat a fossil looked like.”

•Finally, as the Bible states, “There is a time foreverything, and a season for every activity un-der heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,3a).

Office will overseeswitch to old systems

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSENews Release

WASHINGTON — The Depart-ment of Defense announced Jan.20 the establishment of the Na-tional Security Personnel SystemTransition Office and the selec-tion of John James Jr. as the di-rector.

James will report to the deputyunder secretary of defense forcivilian personnel policy and leadthe NSPSTO in managing the de-velopment of the plan to transi-tion employees from NSPS topre-NSPS personnel systems.

The fiscal 2010 National De-fense Authorization Act, Public

Law 111-84, repealed authoritiesfor and mandated the transitionof NSPS employees to appropri-ate non-NSPS civilian person-nel systems.

James will oversee the designand implementation of an en-terprise-wide performance man-agement system, hiring flexibil-ities and a DoD Workforce Incen-tive Fund, authorities granted tothe secretary of defense underNDAA 2010.

Department personnel arecommitted to proceedingdeliberately and cautiously, with-out unnecessary delay, and withthe least disruption to organiza-tions, mission and workforce.

Employees will not experiencedecrease in pay during thetransition.

Knoedler

New NSPS transitionoffice, director announced

‘Broncos’ honor traditions throughout weekStory and Photos by

SPC. JAZZ BURNEY3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Just threemonths after returning from a yearlongdeployment to Northern Iraq, the 3rd In-fantry Brigade Combat Team “Broncos,”25th Infantry Division, received newcommanders for its six battalions duringa week of ceremonies at Sills Field, here,this week.

The ceremonies honored outgoingcommanders and welcomed new com-manders, many of whom have long-standing ties to the brigade and Hawaii.

Lt. Col. David Hodne passed the colorsof the 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. CavalryRegiment, to Lt. Col. Jerry Turner duringthe first ceremony of the week, Tuesday.

Hodne thanked his troopers for theteamwork that made the squadron sosuccessful and praised their honorableservice.

“This formation represents a mere frac-tion of America, unknown to most,” saidHodne. “In an age when so many peopleand institutions act irresponsibly, thesetroopers do the opposite. They volun-teered to bear the heaviest burden; theyunderstand that character counts.”

Col. Walter E. Piatt, the brigade com-mander, praised the “Raider” troopersfor their service in Iraq and, in particu-lar, for their economic revitalization ef-forts.

Troopers from the unit worked on 77infrastructure reconstruction projects andassisted local businessmen with morethan 600 micro-grants that helped create4,000 jobs in the ethnically diverse areaaround Balad.

Also Tuesday, the 3rd Brigade SpecialTroops Battalion bid farewell to Lt. Col.

Christopher Stenman and welcomed Lt.Col. Douglas Jones.

The STB operated throughout Salahad Din and Kirkuk provinces, and itsSoldiers partnered with Iraqi leaders.Computer technicians worked side byside with military police and lawyers toimprove jails and courthouses. Soldiersfrom the battalion trained policemen inTuz and met with college students inTikrit to help them practice their Englishlanguage skills.

Wednesday, Lt. Col. Mark Shade passedthe reins of the 325th Brigade SupportBattalion “Mustangs” to Lt. Col. JosephMorrow Jon.

The BSB transported everything from30-ton generators and hundreds of thou-sands of gallons of fuel to enough con-crete barriers to create secure pollingsites and shore up eroding bridge foun-dations during its deployment.

Mustang Soldiers also partnered withIraqi soldiers and trained them on equip-

ment maintenance, convoy operationsand weapons marksmanship.

Also Wednesday, leadership of the 3rdBattalion, 7th Field Artillery, passed fromLt. Col. Glenn Waters to Lt. Col. RichardKelling.

The “Steel” battalion operated in Tikrit,Saddam Hussein’s hometown. Its effortshelped turn a generally anti-Americansentiment into a close working partner-ship by the end of the battalion’s tour.

The battalion’s focus on education re-sulted in dozens of school constructionprojects and set the groundwork for amore prosperous future.

Thursday, the “Wolfhounds” of 2ndBattalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, saw Lt.Col. Raul Gonzalez turn over the unit toLt. Col. Daniel Wilson. The Wolfhoundshave longstanding ties to Hawaii, dat-ing back to 1921.

To add to their considerable historicalaccomplishments, the Wolfhounds helpedrebuild critical economic infrastructurein Bayji, including an oil refinery that isa key national asset, a power plant thatsupplies power to most of Northern Iraq,a railroad depot, a vegetable oil plantand a fertilizer factory.

In the last ceremony of the week, Lt.Col. Samuel Whitehurst transferred com-mand to Lt. Col. Colin Tuley, Thursday.Along with the Wolfhounds, the Cactihave deep roots in Hawaii.

The battalion most recently operated inSamarra and issued more than 1,000 mi-cro-grants worth $2.1 million to helpmerchants there benefit from the mil-lions of visitors to the Golden DomeMosque, a sacred Shia shrine.

The new commanders will guide theirbattalions through a reset period andtrain Soldiers for future missions.

Lt. Col. Douglas Jones accepts the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion colors fromCol. Walter Piatt, commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, during achange of command ceremony at Sills Field, Tuesday. The brigade’s six battalionsreceived new commanders during ceremonies held this week.

From left, Lt. Col Jerry Turner, incoming commander, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division; Maj. Jeff Powell, squadronexecutive officer; and Lt. Col. David Hodne, outgoing commander, salute the American flag during a change of command ceremony at Sills Field, Tuesday.

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY JANUARY 29, 2010 | A-3NEWS & COMMENTARY

In this second installment of a two-part “Ask the Commander” column, Iam continuing to address issues thatwere raised during the televised townhall in December 2009.

Specifically, I am focusing on con-cerns about community safety andsecurity and questions about schooltransportation.

Safety and SecurityOne of the most basic needs of

every individual is to feel safe andsecure. For many of our communitymembers, we expect that living inmilitary housing should offer a greatersense of safety: we know our neigh-bors, we share common bonds, com-mon experiences.

I would say that, for the most part,this is true. The communal feelingthat comes from living among otherSoldiers and military families is veryreal. However, like any other com-munity, crime does occur.

Since some of our housing areas arenot “closed” (that is, no gate guards),we sometimes attribute crime to “out-siders,” people who have no legiti-mate purpose to be in our housing ar-eas or who have no affiliation withour military community.

If you’ve attended any town hallmeetings or kept up with the Direc-torate of Emergency Services’, or DES,“Straight Talk” column that appears inthe Hawaii Army Weekly, you’reaware that our crime statistics indicatethat much of the crime that occurs onpost is committed by our own com-munity members, often our youngerfamily members.

Regardless of who is responsiblefor crime, the DES is fully dedicated toresponding to our community’s safe-ty concerns. While we often are told

that the military police aren’t respond-ing appropriately, more often the caseis that law enforcement officers are re-sponding, but not necessarily in themanner in which a community mem-ber might assume they should.

For instance, not all calls warrantan immediate response; other callsfor assistance may take priority, de-pending on the circumstances. How-ever, when a response is made to acall, DES officers will treat every mem-ber of our community with profession-alism and respect in their attempts toresolve issues.

Understand, too, that informationabout criminal activity that is sharedwith the community has to be tem-pered with what is lawful and allowedby regulations. Specific Army guide-lines mandate what can be released tothe public, including information re-garding individuals living on postwho have prior qualifying convic-tions.

However, we understand the needto keep our communities informed ofany safety or security issues and arecommitted to doing so. Toward that

end, it is extremely important to reportany criminal or suspicious activity tothe police. While immediate actionmay not involve an arrest, it is impor-tant for the DES to track trends inactivity so as to station patrols appro-priately.

We all must be responsible commu-nity members. Being responsible in-cludes being aware of our surround-ings, knowing the whereabouts of ourchildren and their activities, andavoiding making assumptions aboutothers and spreading rumors.

Since we do live in closed com-munities, information spreads quick-ly; misinformation spreads even faster.Consider information about criminalactivity before you share it. Ask your-self if it’s well-founded and for thesafety of the community, or just gos-sip.

Additionally, be an informed com-munity member by attending DES-sponsored Community Relations Meet-ings or town hall meetings, and lookto the Hawaii Army Weekly and thegarrison Web site for current safety in-formation.

School TransportationWith the onset of Furlough Fri-

days last year, our military commu-nity’s recent response to the Hawaiischool system has been less thanpositive. While our military leader-ship continues to work with theHawaii Department of Education andour sister services to mitigate theimpact of Furlough Fridays, we arefaced with another challenge: schooltransportation.

Recently, we have learned thatthe DoE is facing a $12 millionshortfall. If the DoE cannot reconcileits budget to accommodate bustransportation, DoE bus services willend statewide effective April 1. How-ever, curb-to-curb services for stu-dents with special needs will contin-ue regardless of whether transporta-tion for the rest of the state ends.

Our Schools Support Services of-fice will continue to monitor schooltransportation and will share anyupdates it receives with our com-munity. In the meantime, if you haveany additional inquiries about bustransportation, you can contact the

DoE directly at 536-3334. We recognize that school trans-

portation is yet another challengefor our families, especially since weare limited in our ability to impactthe outcome of the DoE’s decision.

Finally, let me address any ru-mors regarding Department of De-fense Education Activity, or DoDEA,schools returning to Hawaii. Cur-rently, a 16-week study is being con-ducted by DoDEA in Hawaii, and ahandful of other school districtsacross the nation, to determine ifthe Hawaii public school system isproviding adequate education formilitary students in our state.

This study does not, in any way,guarantee or indicate the opening ofDoDEA schools in Hawaii. It is thefirst step of a very long process todetermine if DoDEA schools inHawaii will be available in the dis-tant future.

I hope my “Ask the Commander”column provides factual, relevantinformation so that you, our com-munity members, can be well in-formed. If I did not address your is-sue directly in this or my previouscolumn, be assured that you will becontacted.

I encourage you to continue toask questions, via this forum or atour town halls. It is part of the gar-rison mission to reach out to ourcommunity and respond to your is-sues and concerns.

Points of Contact•Call the MP Desk at 655-7114 (North) or 438-7114 (South)for safety and security concerns•Call the Department of Education at 536-3334 for schooltransportation issues

To submit an “Ask the Commander” question, send an e-mail to AskTheCommander.usaghi@us.army.mil. For more information, call Ophelia Isreal (655-9033) at Customer ManagementServices, or call Aiko Brum (656-3155) or Jack Wiers (656-3489) at U.S. Army Garrison-HawaiiPublic Affairs.

Margotta

Ask the Commander!In the last of a two-part series, the colonel addresses communityconcerns brought up during the live town hall, Dec. 17, 2009

File Photo

While gate guards are stationed at many Army-Hawaii communities, such as Wheeler Army Airfield, many residentswould like to see gate guards at all communities.

STAFF SGT. MIKE ALBERTS 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASESPEICHER, Iraq — As U.S. forces inIraq begin preparing for a drawdown offorces, tons of equipment must beidentified, masses of supplies trackedand accounted for, and thousands ofitems earmarked for turn-in or redistri-bution across the fighting force.

“Task Force Wings” recently identi-fied and returned more than $40 mil-lion of excess equipment as part ofthe Armywide initiative termed“Operation Clean Sweep.”

Each of the task force’s units partic-ipated from its respective locationsacross United States Division-North.

As United States Forces-Iraq pre-pares for and executes the responsibledrawdown and relocation of equip-ment and personnel, Operation CleanSweep assists units currently in Iraqthat are turning in all excess equip-ment for repair and redistributionthrough the military supply system.

“The Army has been in Iraq since2003, and units continue to obtainitems and pass them on to the next fol-low-on unit,” said Maj. Scott Wyatt,supply officer in charge, 25th CombatAviation Brigade, Task Force Wings.“They, in turn, buy more and pass onmore to each successive unit.

“Each follow-on unit inherits allthat ‘stuff,’ for lack of a better term,that falls within their footprint,” Wyattsaid. “The Army’s directive is simple: Get all that excess equipment out ofhere.”

Wyatt scheduled and coordinatedthe operation for TF Wings, a uniquechallenge as the task force’s personneland equipment are positioned in 16locations throughout northern Iraq.

“The normal procedure for returningexcess equipment is somewhat labori-ous. The Army recognized that anddeveloped the Clean Sweep approach,establishing specialized teams calledMobile Redistribution Teams to facil-itate the drawdown,” said Wyatt.

A unit first looks through contain-ers, buildings and bunkers to determinewhat equipment qualifies as excess.

The MRT then isolates that excessequipment for further evaluation.

According to Wyatt, the MRT deter-mines which excess items are service-able or unserviceable, and which itemshave been purchased through the Armysupply system or through other means.

The MRT then coordinates pick-upand distribution to all ap-propriate agencies andorganizations for repair,redistribution and re-use.

Sgt. Candice Powell, a

team leader with the MRT from the631st Maintenance Company, FloridaArmy National Guard, is in charge ofone of three teams of about eight Sol-diers. Her team assisted TF Wings atCOB Speicher as they validated theirexcess and coordinated the redistribu-tion of the various classes of supplies

and equipment. “Our mission is extremely valuable,”

said Powell. “It’s a voluntary program,at this point, and is saving the Army atremendous amount of money as wemove toward a responsible drawdown.

“The process can be frustrating, andit requires adaptability on the part ofthe units we assist,” Powell added. “TFWings did a good job working with usto get the mission (accomplished), here,at COB Speicher.”

1st Lieutenant Curtis Gibbs, execu-tive officer, Company E, 209th AviationSupport Battalion, TF Wings, workedclosely with Powell’s team.

“We did our best to turn in every-thing we had that was not on an orga-nizational property book or a theater-provided equipment hand receipt,” saidGibbs. “This was an entirely new con-cept, and it was definitely a success.

“We turned in fifteen 40-foot andtwenty-nine 20-foot containers filledwith various classes of supply, to in-clude hazardous material, scrap woodand metal, vehicle and helicopter parts,medical supplies, furniture and roof

shingles, among other things.” Everything was fair game, and they

took full advantage of the opportuni-ty, Gibbs added.

According to Chief Warrant OfficerEdwin Lopez, property book officerfor TF Wings, it was no surprise thatunits like Gibbs’ jumped at the chanceto return their excess.

Lopez ensured that each unit prop-erly identified and turned in the major-ity of their excess. He believes CleanSweep makes turn-in a lot easier onsupply sergeants and commanders.

“The operation allowed units toclean up their areas without havingto worry about all the red tape re-quired under normal circumstances,”he said.

“Not only is this saving the Armytremendous amounts of money, but itsaves commanders time bypassing thebureaucratic process of adding excessto their property books and waitingfor disposition,” Lopez said. “It’s agreat program that will continue tosave the Army millions of dollars ifunits take advantage of it.”

A-4 | JANUARY 29, 2010 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY SOLDIERS

‘Operation Clean Sweep’ nets more than $40 million

Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr. | 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 25th General Aviation Support Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Wings, empty shipping containers at Contingency Operating BaseSpeicher, near Tikrit, Iraq.

Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr. | 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

Soldiers of 3rd Battalion, 25th General Aviation Support Battalion, 25th CAB, TaskForce Wings, move non-serviceable equipment at COB Speicher during “OperationClean Sweep.”

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY JANUARY 29, 2010 | A-5SOLDIERS

Warfighters maintain traditions during MP NCO inductionStory and Photo by

SGT. JESSIKA GREENDEER8th Military Police Brigade Public Affairs

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS – The new-ly promoted noncommissioned officersof the 728th Military Police “Warfight-er” Battalion, 8th MP Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, wereformally welcomed into the NCO Corpsduring a NCO induction ceremony, Jan.

22, at the Sgt. Smith Theater, here.Although there is no official format

for the ceremony, the senior NCOs of thebattalion worked together to respect thetime-honored traditions of the NCOsbefore them.

The battalion’s Soldiers read the“Boots of the NCO” and “A Soldier’s Re-quest.” Command Sgt. Maj. GeraldStegemeier, the battalion’s senior en-listed advisor and guest speaker, ad-ministered the charge of the NCO to the12 inductees.

“Today, we commemorate this riteof passage as a celebration of the new-ly promoted joining the ranks of a pro-fessional Noncommissioned OfficerCorps, and emphasize and build on thepride we all share as members of suchan elite Corps,” said Sgt. 1st Class YusufMuhammad, 728th MP Bn. operations

NCO and narrator of the ceremony.“We also serve to honor the memory ofthose men and women of the NCOCorps who have served with pride anddistinction and have made the ultimatesacrifice.”

Sgt. Raven Cunningham with the552nd Military Police Company, 728thMP Bn., 8th MP Bde., and a native ofMilton, Fla., joined the Army to im-prove herself personally and profes-sionally.

As she continues to learn and grow,she prepares her Soldiers daily to deploylater this year.

“I never forgot what my first teamleader told me,” she said. “My dailymotivation is my husband. He makesme want to be a better NCO; he helpsme focus on what is important.”

Left — Sgt. Raven Cunningham, aMilitary Police Soldier assigned to the552nd MP Company, 728th MP Bn.,8th MP Bde. and a native of Milton,Fla., signs the book of noncommis-sioned officers at the 728th MilitaryPolice Battalion NoncommissionedOfficer Induction Ceremony at the Sgt.Smith Theater, Jan. 22.

Shuskey mentioned, ”a lot of the wateraround the island can be extremely danger-ous.” He said everyone “can see swells ofapproximately 30 feet during this time ofyear, so we really want to stress safety tonew Soldiers.”

The training does more than just stresssafety; it serves a dual purpose, helpingcommanders determine their new Soldiers’ability around water.

“We’re assessing a Soldier’s swim levelhere, so commands are aware of the typeof Soldier they are receiving,” said Shuskey.

The drownproofing training has gonethrough a bit of a transformation withinthe last year. New to the program is watertreading and use of the ACU as a flota-tion device.

“We’re on an island, and do a lot oftraining on the Big Island of Hawaii. Plus, anytime Soldiers leave the islands, they areflying or traveling by boat somewhere,”Shuskey said. “Soldiers that find themselvesin the middle of an ocean then will knowhow to keep themselves above water for anextended amount of time with the recentadditions to today’s training.”

Despite the cold water and early morn-ing, most Soldiers agreed that the trainingis necessary for anyone new to Hawaii.

“This is some good training,” said 28-year-old, Coolidge, Ariz., native Sgt.John Cable. “You have to be in pretty de-cent shape to do a lot of this without

needing any assistance.”Cable admitted that the 50-meter ACU

swim was a bit difficult for him, but en-joyed his time in the pool.

“This really lets you know where you areat,” he said. “You learn if you’re a strong,moderate, or even nonswimmer, becauseyou are tested pretty well.”

Cable added, “You learn a lot from thiskind of thing. You learn how to survivearound water for the Army, which is im-portant because you can’t take care ofyour family if you can’t take care of your-self first.”

According to the U.S. Army Safety Cen-ter, two Soldiers have died from drowning-related incidents since Oct. 1; however,with programs such as drownproofing,Soldiers new to Hawaii will have moretools for their toolbox when they leave theReplacement Detachment due to the train-ing they received in one of the most impor-tant aspects of water safety — survival.

CONTINUED FROM A-1

Drownproofing: Survival is mostimportant aspect water safety training

Superbike: Trainingemphasizes safe speeds

Left — Spc. Susana Rodriguez, replace-ment detachment, demonstrates how touse the ACU trousers as a flotation deviceduring drownproofing training, Jan. 21, atRichardson Pool on Schofield Barracks.

Dylan Code, California SuperbikeSchool instructor and team leader.

“Every lap around the circuitwill give the rider an opportunityto perfect their technique, and myteam will be observing and coach-ing them to provide a safe learn-ing environment,” Code said.

Since 1980, the California Su-perbike School has trained morethan 100,000 street riders and 15Superbike Champions at trainingsessions around the world.

“The ‘Train as you Ride’ pro-gram is the best hands-on trainingI have experienced in 27 years ofriding. The course takes the con-cepts learned in the Army’s Basic,Experienced, and Sportsbikecourses to a much higher level,”added Col. Douglas Jackson, G1, Hawaii Army National Guard, anda “Train as you Ride” participant.

“As a rider coach and motorcy-clist, I recommend it to every rid-er — for all types of motorcycles,”Jackson said.

“We’ve had more than 300 rid-

ers come through the course, andevery rider seems to finish theclass riding better and knowingmore about how to control theirbike” said Bill Maxwell, programmanager, Installation Safety.

“It’s great watching each of theriders improve and gain confi-dence in just a couple of hours oftraining.”

Classes are four hours and willbe limited to military personnelonly. Students must resgister byusing an online tool (go to:https://air.lmi.org, select “Pacif-ic,” “Hawaii” and “Advanced Mo-torcycle Course.”)

Each session is limited to 30riders on a first-come, first-servedbasis. More courses are plannedfor May and August.

Riders will need to show theirMotorcycle Safety Foundation Ba-sic or Experienced Rider CourseCards and proof of insurancewhen they sign-in on class day.

There will also be a thoroughtechnical inspection of the mo-torcycle by California SuperbikeSchool staff prior to class.

CONTINUED FROM A-1

The brigade achieved several sig-nificant accomplishments during itsdeployment, which include more than500 missions and 855,000 miles onthe dangerous roads of Afghanistan.

Some statistics included distributing150 million gallons of fuel and con-structing and certifying 10 forwardsupply points, along with supportingthe surge from 56,000 to 80,000 mil-itary, civilian and coalition personnelin 200 separate forward operatingbases and combat outposts.

“It’s great to have you all home,”Terry said to the troops. “Be safe ineverything you do, and take care ofeach other as you as you reconnectwith your family and friends here inHawaii.”

Col. Clay Hatcher, commander, 45thSust. Bde., called the deployment a lo-gistical milestone for any sustainmentunit arriving in Afghanistan.

“Soldiers, you built the foundationfor future success in what many peo-ple call one of the most logisticallychallenged environments,” he said.“You rose to that challenge and met allour expectations and then some. Atthe end of the day, supporting Sol-

diers across the country was the con-stant success of Task Force LightningSupport.”

Spc. Andrew Orr, a signal supportspecialist with Company, B, 45thSust. Bde., said the workload wasa challenge, but looking back on thedeployment, he credits the work-load for having helped groom himinto a better, more well-rounded Sol-dier.

“One of the biggest things I wantedto learn from this experience washow I’d react to situations,” he said. “I wanted to learn my job downrange,so all the training I received boileddown to that moment I got on theplane for my first deployment.

“I soldiered up, and did things I did-n’t think I was capable of in a toughenvironment,” Orr continued, “whichwill help me in any future tour.”

He added, “When you think aboutjobs in the Army, you never really un-derstand how important some tasksare for success, but that all changedone day when I saw and heardfirsthand what our efforts providedfor the warfighters.

“You get a lot of renewed respect forwhat you do in the Army because youcan see the bigger scheme of whatyour job does for everyone — like inour case, for a whole country,” headded.

A-6 | JANUARY 29, 2010 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY NEWS

News BriefsSend news announcements for

Soldiers and civilian employees to community@hawaiiarmyweekly.com.

29 / TodayChange of Command — Navy

Rear Adm. Donna Crisp, commander,Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command,will relinquish command to Brig. Gen.Stephen Tom, today, 10 a.m., at Build-ing 45, Hickam Air Force Base.

February2 / Tuesday

McNair Gate to Remain Open — The previously announced closure ofMcNair Gate, Feb. 2-6, has been can-celled. Call 656-1305.

3 / WednesdayNational Prayer Breakfast —

The Religious Support Office will holda National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 3, 7-8:30 a.m., at Schofield’s Nehelani.

Tickets are required and a donationof any amount is requested in order toobtain a ticket. The suggested amountof the donation is $8 (for E6 & above,and civilians) or $5 (for E5 & below).Call 655-9307.

8 / MondayGSA Facility Closure — The

Schofield General Services Administra-tion store will be closed for invento-ry, Feb. 8-12. Customers can shop atthe GSA Hickam Store during thistime. Call 655-0280.

9 / TuesdayAnnual Training — The Army Sub-

stance Abuse Program and Risk Reduc-tion Program will host “Feelin’ Lucky,”an uncensored look at alcohol, drugsand sexual assault prevention training,Feb. 9, 2-3:30 p.m., at Sgt. Smith Theater,Schofield Barracks. Call 655-8322 (ser-vice members) or 655-6047 (civilians).

10 / WednesdayChange of Command — Lt. Col.

Nicholas Katers, commander, 84th En-gineer Battalion, will relinquish com-mand to Lt. Col. Jerry Farnsworth, Feb.10, 10 a.m., at Sills Field, SchofieldBarracks.

Train as You Ride — The Directorateof Installation Safety will offer “Train asYou Ride,” an advanced motorcyclesafety class, Feb. 10 and 11, at WheelerArmy Airfield. The half-day classes arelimited to military personnel.

Register at https://airs.lmi.org, se-lect “Pacific,” “Hawaii,” and “AdvancedMotorcycle Course.” Call 655-6455.

JAG deploys to PTA for annual joint services training Legal teams face challenges ofthe elements in deployment

MIKE EGAMIU.S. Army Garrison Hawaii Public Affairs

POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii — Morethan two dozen military lawyers and paralegalstrained, here, last week, to sharpen their skills inpreparation for upcoming deployments.

The Pacific Air Forces’ Pacific Joint Operations Le-gal Exerciser, or PACJOLE, is an annual localizedtraining event comparable to the Judge AdvocateGeneral flag, the Air Force JAG school’s exercise heldat Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Similar to real deployments, the legal teamsfaced harsh conditions at this 130,000-acre trainingarea. With its loose volcanic rock, the training areais a perfect place to simulate deployments.

During the five-day exercise, each team oftwo lawyers, or one lawyer and one paralegal, at-tended 15 hours of classroom lessons and discus-

sion sessions, and participated in 30 role-playingscenarios. Officials from the Headquarters PACAFLegal Office observed and critiqued the students’responses to the scenarios.

The goal of the exercise was to prepare studentsfor upcoming deployments.

“This year’s PACJOLE was unique in that wehad participants from all the services: Army,Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and a studentfrom our coalition partner, Australia” said Lt.Col. Jerry Villarreal, PACAF’s chief of Internation-al Law. “Learning to handle situations in thisfairly austere training environment will givethem the confidence they’ll need when they ac-tually deploy.”

Scenarios were loosely based on things thathave actually happened in the Pacific theaterand other areas of operation. Right — Capt. David Amamoo, 25th InfantryDivision, Staff Judge Advocate office, receivesinformation regarding a land claim issue during ascenario at PACJOLE at PTA. Senior Master Sgt. Jose S. Bautista | Pacific Air Force

CONTINUED FROM A-1

45th Sust.: Achieved 500 missions

Col. Clay Hatcher, commander, 45thSustainment Brigade, addresses histroops during the unit's redeploymentceremony, Jan. 21, at SchofieldBarracks.

Story and Photos by

DARRELL D. AMESJoint Task Force-Homeland Defense Public Affairs

Phrases like “SWAT team take down,”“terrorist intelligence center,” “mass casu-alties in a crowded area” and “the trans-port of questionable cargo to a covertlocation” might lead some to believe aspeaker or a writer is describing a newJohn Grisham novel or the latest JamesBond film.

In this case, the phrases are simply theterminology from a combined law en-forcement and emergency response exer-cise called Mane’Lu, recently held inGuam and spearheaded by Joint TaskForce–Homeland Defense, Hawaii.

“The exercise provided an opportuni-ty for participating agencies to work to-gether toward the mutually beneficialgoal of timely and effective information-sharing in a dynamic operational environ-ment in order to continually improve thecommunication process,” said exercisedirector Ray Toves of U.S. Army-Pacif-ic’s196th Infantry Brigade.

The three-day exercise was designed toreinforce interoperability among localand federal stakeholders. It stressed inter-agency collaboration, tested a multi-Civil Support Team response, and challengedall to maintain operational proceduresduring an incident of national signifi-cance.

The exercise itself started with a jointFBI and Guam Police Department SWATteam “taking down” the designated terror-ist intelligent center. The “take down”was followed by simulated arrests of threesuspected terrorists by the FBI as terroristsattempted to transfer their questionablecargo to a small boat waiting off-shore.

Next on the agenda was the simulatedcrash of a private airplane at the Guamairport. The plane’s three occupants, alsosuspected terrorists, suffered simulatedcritical injuries while some containersthey were carrying onboard the planewere damaged.

The simulated leak of chemical gas inthe containers drifted to a nearby theaterwhere dozens of matinee moviegoerswere contaminated and became ill.Moviegoers were rushing out of the the-ater as emergency responders rushed to

the scene. Firefighters and paramedics assessed

the status of the simulated sick and dead.“Every evolution in the exercise was

aimed at testing the preparedness of lo-cal and federal agencies in the face of adisaster involving weapons of mass de-struction,” said Seattle-based EmergencyResponse Training Institute instructor EdPeterson. “The authenticity of the sce-narios and associated response opera-tions provided the command and controlstructure of participating agencies with arare opportunity to exercise and validateboth internal and external communicationand information sharing.”

Local residentswere advised to beaware of simulated

explosions and the sudden increase ofresponse vehicles and personnel.

“This exercise represented a kind ofworst-case scenario for Guam, which hasa strategic importance as both home to alarge population of military personneland as the first line of defense for our areaof responsibility for the United States,”said Mike Machado, JTF-HD logisticsplanner.

“This was a perfect opportunity for usto realize our challenges and our weak-nesses and correct them before some-thing should ever happen in the realworld,” said Lesley Leon Guerrero, spokeswoman for Guam Homeland Secu-

rity Office.Guam Homeland Security activated an

emergency operations center and jointinformation center to channel all commu-nication throughout the disaster scenario.

“It was an educational process foreveryone,” said Alan Perez, exercise co-ordinator from the Army’s 196th. “Whenpeople are caught in this situation in realtime they will know how to deal with itand who to look to for help.”

Providing Homeland Defense against awide range of asymmetric threats — toinclude terrorists, cyber attacks andtransnational criminal organizations — requires a coordinated federal and Depart-ment of Defense effort.

Throughout the Pacific, from Hawaiito Guam and the Commonwealth of theNorthern Marianas, JTF-HD plays a num-ber of homeland security roles.

The commander of U.S. Pacific Com-mand, at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, des-ignated JTF-HD as the Homeland De-fense coordinating agency between DoDand civilian authorities in Hawaii, Guamand other local governments.

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY JANUARY 29, 2010 | A-7NEWS

JTF-HD hosts key training at Guam’s Mane’ Lu

CONTINUED FROM A-1

more than 9.5 million servicemembers and their families andmilitary retirees — but especiallywounded, ill and injured troops —remains a top administration pri-ority, officials said. Toward thatend, the fiscal 2011 budget re-quest includes support for wound-ed warrior transition units andcenters of excellence in vision,hearing, traumatic brain injuryand other areas.

Specifically, the budget includes$30.9 billion overall for medicalcare, up 5.8 percent from currentlevels; $669 million to provideTBI and psychological health care;and $250 million for continuedmental health and TVI research.

The budget request will fundmore employment and job train-ing for military spouses and vet-erans, officials noted. It provides$262 million for the Labor De-partment’s Veterans Employmentand Training Service, up $6 mil-lion from fiscal 2010 levels, which includes $5 million for a new ini-tiative to help homeless womenveterans and homeless families.

Another effort, to provide moreemployment workshops for spous-es of separating service members,will receive $1 million.

The budget request also seeks toexpand veterans’ access to medicalcare, officials noted. Obama willrequest $50.6 billion in advanceappropriations for the VA medicalcare program to ensure veterans’care isn’t interrupted by delays.

The goal, officials explained, isto ensure VA has timely, pre-dictable funding from year to year,so veterans can rely on the qual-ity and accessibility of the carethey receive through VA.

For the first time, highly dis-abled veterans who are medicallyretired from the military will be el-igible to receive both VA disabil-ity benefits and military retire-ment benefits. By 2015, all med-ically retired service members willbe eligible to receive concurrentbenefits, officials said.

The fiscal 2011 budget requestalso provides funds to continueenrolling more than 500,000 vet-erans with moderate income intothe VA health care system by 2011.

Another measure in the requestfunds technology to improve thehigh-quality delivery of healthcare and benefits, officials said.

The Defense Department andVA are implementing the JointVirtual Lifetime Electronic Record— essentially an electronic medicalrecord that will follow a servicemember from initial enlistmentthrough retirement or separationand transition to the VA system.

The request also includes morethan $200 million in automatedprocessing to directly improveboth the accuracy and timelinessof the delivery of veterans bene-fits — particularly disability com-pensation and the new Post-9/11GI Bill benefit, officials said.

Budget:Counselingservicesincluded

Guam emergency response personnel deal with casualties at the island’s Gate Theatre during exercise Mane' Lu held earlier this month.

Guam emergency responders prepare to transfer a suspected terrorist, wounded in asimulated plane crash, during exercise Mane' Lu held in Guam, Jan 13-16.

Participating local and federal agencies•196th Infantry Brigade, FortShafer•Guam Homeland Security andthe Office of Civil Defense•Guam National Guard’s 94thCivil Support Team•Alaska National Guard’s 103rdCivil Support Team

All participated in the interagencyChemical, Biological, Radiologi-cal, Nuclear, Explosive FieldTraining Exercise. The entireevent, which included the plan-ning conference, exercise, andafter-action meetings, ran fromJan. 13-16.

When work is finished. FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2010

AFAP delegateschoose top fiveissues of ArmySoldiers, families

ROB MCILVAINEFamily and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. – On the final day of the2010 HQ Army Family Action Plan conference,the delegates broke from their individual work-ing groups and voted on the top five issuesArmy senior leaders would discuss at the Gener-al Officer Steering Committee meeting in June.This feedback can lead to policy changes that willencourage families to consider the Army theirhome.

The AFAP Conference, held Jan. 11 through 15,brought 82 issues originating from installationAFAP conferences over the past year.

With these issues came nearly 100 delegates towhittle 82 issues down to 16 considered to be ofthe highest priority. The issues help to elevate thestandard of living for Soldiers – Active, ReserveComponent and retirees, family members, sur-vivors and Army civilians.

This on-going process is considered extreme-ly important by Army leaders, especially theSecretary of the Army, the Honorable JohnMcHugh.

“Our challenge is to provide for Soldiers andfamilies as best we can,” he told the assembleddelegates, leaders, family members and friends.

Families, though, are made up of childrenwho also want a say in many other issues andthey want it seen from their point of view. Ac-companying the adult delegates were the 13Army Teen Panel members who represented theyounger Army family.

The group, led by Anthony Merriweather, pre-sented their two posters designed for teens thatneed a boost in their self-esteem and encourage-ment. The posters are a method to get teens in-volved in the many activities developed at eachgarrison.

Before the top issues could be voted upon, Gen.George Casey Jr., Army Chief of Staff, brought theconference members up to date on Army plansfor the coming year.

“The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh,

and I have six major objectives for 2011. We willcontinue our efforts to restore balance to theArmy by 2011; execute Afghanistan plus-up andresponsible drawdown in Iraq; sustain Soldiers,families and civilians; establish an integratedArmy management system; implement an Armyleader development strategy; and establish theArmy of the 21st century.

“But the most important thing we will do is toincrease the time Soldiers stay home,” Caseysaid, to an enthusiastic applause.

Other programs, Casey said, have been intro-duced and running for more than a year butneed to be revisited to ensure they continue togrow and gain acceptance.

“The Army Family Covenant is one of theprograms that we will continue to put the rightamount of funding into so that family programsprovide for all Soldiers and their families. Lt.Gen. Rick Lynch, IMCOM commanding general,is just the man to get this job done right,” Caseysaid.

With $225 billion budgeted for the Army thisyear, Casey said the funds are enough to ensurethe six objectives he and Secretary McHugh de-veloped will be met, while ensuring the Soldiersare well-trained and supported.

Finally the time came for the five top issues toget voted into the group of 16 that will all be for-warded to the Army senior leader meeting inJune.

The top five issues are:Provide a monthly stipend to ill/injured Sol-

diers for non-medical caregivers; fund servicedogs for wounded warriors; provide for behav-ioral health services shortages by increasing thenumber of readily available behavioral healthproviders and services and the use of alternativemethods of delivery such as tele-medicine; au-thorize family readiness groups to fundraise inpublic places external to National Guard Ar-mories, Reserve Centers, and military installations;and authorize Reserve Component Soldiers enroll-ment in the Exceptional Family Member Program.

Summing up the meaning of the conferencefor the delegates, Army senior leaders, Soldiersand their families, Army Secretary John McHughused a quote from the founder of the AFAP,some 25 years ago.

“As Gen. (Ret.) John Wickam Jr. (former ArmyChief of Staff) said, ‘The stronger the Army, thestronger the family.’”

8th TSC family epitomizes service, traditionSGT. MAJ. TERRY ANDERSON

8th Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs

FORT SHAFTER – It was the middle of thenight, March 11, 1991, when then-Staff Sgt. TonyCespedes was wounded during Operation DesertStorm.”

“I was terrified,” said Cespedes, now the G-1sergeant major for the 8th Theater SustainmentCommand. “My unit, 3rd Battalion, 41st Infantry,was on a convoy when we hit a land mine, and Igot a piece of shrapnel in my abdomen.”

Cespedes said he lost a lot of blood and almostdidn’t make it that night, so when his son, DanielCespedes-Sosa, approached him about following inhis footsteps and joining the Army, Cespedes saidhe took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed.

“Daniel is a good kid with a good head on hisshoulders, and I knew it was something he reallywanted to do,” Cespedes said.

Sgt. 1st Class Joann Cespedes, Tony’s wife andthe noncommissioned officer in charge of the 8thTSC’ Office of the Secretary of the General Staff,”was also concerned about her son, Daniel, until shereceived a phone call from her brother, GeraldSosa, who lives in San Antonio.

“Gerald told me he was going to join the Armywith Daniel,” she said. “He’d been talking about itfor the past couple of years, and after working withthe recruiters to get through the medical process,he got in.”

Gerald and Daniel went to Basic Training andAdvanced Individual Training together in 2008,and then were assigned to their first duty stationtogether: Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 1stBattalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood,Texas, as cavalry scouts.

“It was great to have family with me throughbasic and AIT,” said the 36-year-old Gerald.

When they arrived at Fort Hood, the unit had noidea that the two were related. Coincidentally,both Soldiers were assigned together on the bat-talion command team’s Personal Security Detach-ment for their deployment to Iraq.

Daniel was assigned to the battalion comman-der’s PSD team and Gerald was assigned as thegunner for the command sergeant major’s vehicle.

“I remember telling them, ‘keep your head downand don’t be a hero,’” Tony said. “Their battalioncommand sergeant major was my classmate at theSergeants Major Academy, so I felt good that I had

a good friend looking out for them.”Gerald and Daniel left Fort Hood in December

2008 for a 12-month deployment to Forward Op-erating Base Q-West in Iraq. Tony was there to sayfarewell to his son and brother–in-law.

“It meant a lot to me for my dad to come andsay goodbye before we left for Iraq,” Daniel said.“It was a long, stressful year.”

Tony and Joann knew their duties on the PSDwould keep them outside the wire on the danger-ous roads of Iraq, so every time they heard aboutan improvised explosive device attack, they weresick with worry.

Gerald was concerned about his nephew fromtime to time during the deployment.

“I worried a lot,” said Gerald. “Daniel was ona lot of night missions with the battalion com-mander, and we wouldn’t see each other for days.”

“It was very difficult to see them both off to Iraq,but the best thing was that they were assigned to-gether,” Tony said. “I knew they would take careof each other.”

“My son was always calling me to tell me hewas OK, even before we saw the news on CNN,”Joann said.

So when the two returned home in December of2009, Tony was there to meet them on the tarmacat Fort Hood.

“I knew he would be there,” said Daniel. “It wasgreat to see him standing there as we got off theplane.”

Both Daniel and Gerald say that they joined theArmy to carry on the example set by Tony andJoann.

“Seeing how well my mom and dad have done for themselves made me want to join and accomplish those things for myself,” Danielsaid.

“I was used to doing construction work beforeI joined the Army,” Gerald said. “The Army wassomething different, and I’m thinking about mak-ing a career out of it.”

Joann, a former drill sergeant, said that she’sseen a change in her brother and in her 20-year-old son since their return from Iraq.

“Daniel has matured, and he’s become a manin the last year,” she said. “We are so proud ofthem both and the decisions that they’ve made.

“We love them and are very proud of them,”Joann continued.

Tony added that his youngest son, 7-year-oldMichael, has said he wants to join the Army to bejust like his mom and dad.

“Michael still has 10 years to think about it. Forright now, he’s on the ‘delayed-delayed entryprogram’,” Tony said, with a laugh.

Courtesy Photo

Sgt. Maj. Tony Cespedes, center, welcomes home his brother in law, Cpl. Gerald Sosa, left, and his son,Pfc. Daniel Cespedes-Sosa, following their 12-month deployment to Iraq.

MARINE CORPSCOMMUNITY SERVICES

News Release

MARINE CORPS BASEHAWAII, KANEOHE BAY — Forthe third time since 2007, “CSI:NY” actor Gary Sinise and theLt. Dan Band will return, here, toentertain troops and their fami-lies as part of a United ServiceOrganization entertainment tour.

The Lt. Dan Band will performat Pop Warner Field tonight at 7p.m.

A longtime supporter of theU.S. military, Sinise was recentlyawarded the Presidential Citizens

Medal — the second highestcivilian honor bestowed to citi-zens who have performed exem-plary deeds in service of our na-tion.

The second actor in U.S. his-tory to receive this decoration(the first was Elizabeth Taylor),Sinise was recognized for hisongoing support of active dutytroops and wounded veterans.

Having founded OperationIraqi Children, a nonprofit groupdedicated to helping the U.S.military distribute school sup-plies to Iraqi children, he is alsovery active with the USO, havingvisited and entertained thou-sands of service members world-wide since 2003.

“I spend time with troops andparticipate in USO tours everyyear because I love it, and it’svery important to me,” said

Sinise. “We all want to feel ap-preciated and valued, and ourtroops are no different. Theynever ask for praise or recogni-tion, but that doesn’t mean theydon’t deserve it.

“They actually deserve evenmore,” he added, “and ourtroops in Hawaii are in for atreat.”

Formed in 2003, the Lt. DanBand was created by Sinise andChicago composer/Vietnam vet-eran Kimo Williams. Hailed byits fans as the band for musiclovers, the group’s sound is re-flective of each member’s expe-riences and love of music.

Covering everything fromBruce Springsteen and LinkinPark to Aretha Franklin andJimmy Hendrix, the bandseamlessly fuses instrumentslike the violin, trumpet, saxo-

phone and drums.Best known for his Oscar-

nominated portrayal of “Lt. DanTaylor” in “Forrest Gump,”Sinise is an accomplished the-ater, film and television actor.

Having worked in the indus-try for more than two decades,he has starred in more than 20blockbuster films and earned thereputation of being one ofAmerica’s most versatile actors.

•For a list of recent andupcoming USO tours, visitwww.uso.org and click on“Entertainment,” under“What We Do,” at the bot-tom.

Catch a second perform-ance Jan. 30, 7 p.m. atthe Freedom Tower Mall,Hickam Air Force Base.

Gary Sinise plays to the large crowd gathered at Marine CorpsBase Hawaii-Kaneohe Bay in 2009 during his Lt. Dan Band tour.

The yearly concert features several vocalists playing pop music,and last year several lucky fans appeared on stage with the band.

Kristen Wong | Hawaii Marine

“Our challenge is to providefor Soldiers and families asbest we can”

— Honorable John McHughSecretary of the Army

Send announcements tocommunity@hawaiiarmyweekly.com.

29 / TodayCasino Night — The Hui O Na

Wahine will hold a Casino Night, today,6:30-10:30 p.m., at the Nehelani,Schofield Barracks. This event is open tothe public and will feature Vegas-stylegames, live and silent auctions, heavypupus and a cash bar.

A variety of items will be auctionedoff with all proceeds going to the Hui’sScholarship & Welfare Grants. This eventis ticket-only, and tickets are still avail-able at $20. Call Criztina Jean at 888-0907, or e-mail armyjeans@msn.com toreserve your spot at the event.

A variety of “themed" baskets anditems will be auctioned off. Check outthe Hui online at www.schofieldspousesclub.com for more information.

30 / SaturdayWaimea Valley Tour — Waimea

Valley will present “Whispering Walls ofWaimea,” a Saturday night walkingtour, Jan. 30, 6:30 p.m. The 1½-2 hourtour includes stories and legends of the high priest who once lived in the valley,the healing power of plant life and therumored children who played there.

Limit is 50 participants per tour andreservations are required. Children un-der 12 are not allowed onthe tour.

Prices start at $35 forchildren and $50 foradults. Military and ka-maaina discounts areavailable.

Other tour dates include March20, May 22, July 24, Sept. 25 andNov. 6. Visit www.waimeavalley.net orcall 638-7766.

February1 / Monday

Untold Stories — The military com-munity is encouraged to watch the two-part series the Army coordinated withPBS to commemorate Black HistoryMonth. The series, which airs begin-ning Feb. 1, tells the untold story ofAfrican Americans' service in the U.S.military.

The film is hosted by Halle Berry andintroduced by retired Gen. Colin Powell.To check air dates in Hawaii, visitwww.forloveofliberty.com.

3 / WednesdayOahu South Town Hall — Residents

of Fort Shafter, Aliamanu MilitaryReservation and Fort DeRussy areas areencouraged to attend the next townhall meeting for the Oahu South com-munity at AMR Chapel, Feb. 3, at 6:30p.m.

Call 438-6147 for more information.

13 / SaturdayChinese New Year Celebration —

Help welcome in the Year of the Tigerwith an ancient Chinese lion dance as itspreads good wishes to the family ofPearlridge Center customers, merchantsand employees, Feb. 13.

Considered the third in the cycle ofthe 12 Chinese animal signs, the Year ofthe Tiger heralds a year of new begin-nings and significant change.

Shows run “Uptown” from noon-1p.m., then “Downtown” from 2-3 p.m.

Keiki Talk Story — “Aloha to You”will be the topic of this month’s KeikiTalk Story program at Mission HousesMuseum. Valentine’s Day is a perfecttime to explore the meaning of “Aloha,”one of the most used words in theHawaiian language.

Perfect for ages 3 and up, this pro-gram engages children and provides afun hands-on activity, Feb. 13, 10-11a.m., Chamberlain House Kitchen, 553 S.King St., Honolulu.

This event is free. Call 447-3910.

17 / WednesdaySave the Date — The next Army

Hawaii Family Housing resident forumis scheduled for Feb. 17, 4 p.m., at thePorter Community Center.

OngoingWelfare Grants & Scholarships

Available — The Hui O' Na Wahine,Schofield Barracks Spouses’ Club is now

accepting applications for welfare grants and scholarships.

The Hui provides grants toorganizations that support military families and the surrounding community.

Grant awards are dependent upon sub-

stantial need and the amount ofmoney available for distribution. Scholarships are available for gradu-

ating seniors and for continuing educa-tion. Submission deadline is March 31.

For information or applications, vis-it www.schofieldspousesclub.com.

Family Advocacy Program Survey — Could you use an extra $100to spend at AAFES? Be the voice foryour community and you could win a$100 AAFES gift card.

Gift cards drawings are held everytwo weeks. For more information onyour chance to win, call Regina Peirceat 655-0596.

Civil Air Patrol — Civil Air Patrol’sWheeler Composite Squadron will meetevery Tuesday, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Wheel-er Army Air Field.

The squadron regularly accepts newmembers, ages 12-18, who are interest-ed in aerospace education, leadershiptraining, physical fitness and characterdevelopment.

Youth can participate in a number ofactivities.

For more information, call 386-1374or e-mail tony4atmos@aol.com.

29 / TodayHawaiian Luau at PARC — Experi-

ence old Hawaii at a Pililaau Army Recre-ation Center (PARC) luau, Jan. 29, on theSunset Café lanai. Dinner begins at 6p.m. and entertainment begins at 6:30p.m.

The luau is held the last Friday of eachmonth. Parties of four or more shouldcall to reserve seating at 696-4778.

Family Camping — Through a grantfrom the Sierra Club, the Armed Services YMCA is proud to announce the oppor-tunity for military families to participatein a weekend family camping experienceat Camp Erdman.

The ASYMCA will be hosting a session March 12-14; the focus will be on conser-vation and environmental elements aswell as quality family time. Interested families are invited to e-mail asymcawhlr@aol.com for further information.

Waikiki Party Bus - Your party bus toWaikiki runs again on Jan. 29, 9 p.m.-4a.m. Let Family and Morale, Welfare andRecreation be your own personal chauf-feur with this bus that travels to Waikikion payday Fridays.

Cost is just $10, and tickets are re-quired to reserve your seat. Pick-ups areavailable at both Schofield Barracks andFort Shafter. Call 655-9971 or 438-1985.

February2 / Tuesday

Chinese New Year Craft — Wel-come the Year of the Tiger by making acraft at the Sgt. Yano Library, Feb. 2, 3-5 p.m. All supplies are provided and allages are welcome. Call 655-8002.

Valentine’s Day Scrapbooking —Enjoy this holiday-themed layout chal-lenge, Feb. 2, 6-8 p.m., at the SchofieldBarracks Arts and Crafts Center.

Cost is $5 per person. Patrons mustbring their own supplies, but they can usethe center’s Cricut die-cutter. Project ideaswill be supplied or patrons can work ontheir own. Call 655-4202.

Autism Support Groups — The ArmyCommunity Service’s Exceptional Fami-ly Member Program continues its partner-ship with community chaplains and the Community Children’s Council to offer autism support groups.

The groups provide families with anopportunity to share experiences, gathernew information and become knowl-edgeable about community resources.

On-site child care will be available.Children must be registered and sign upis required. The group will meet Feb. 2,

5:30-8 p.m., at the Aliamanu MilitaryReservation Chapel, and Feb. 10, from5:30-8 p.m., at the Schofield BarracksMain Chapel. Call ACS EFMP at 655-4227 for more information or child carereservations.

3 / WednesdayDown Syndrome Support Group —

Army Community Service’s ExceptionalFamily Member Program is excited toannounce the start of a Down SyndromeSupport Group, which will provide an opportunity for families of children withDown Syndrome to network and learnfrom one another.

Come and be a part of this great event.On-site child care will be available; how-ever, children must be registered and signup is required.

The meeting is Feb. 3, 5:30-8 p.m., atthe Schofield Barracks Main Chapel. CallACS EFMP at 655-4227 for more infor-mation or child care reservations.

4 / ThursdayTexas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament

— Do you have the best poker face onpost? This weekly poker tournament keepsgoing Feb. 4, 6 p.m., at the Tropics Recre-ation Center, Schofield Barracks.

Play weekly for your chance to win$500 in cash and advance to the finals toplay against the best players the Army hasto offer. Call 655-5698.

5 / FridayFurlough Friday — Looking for Fur-

lough Fridays activities? The next Fur-lough Friday is scheduled Feb. 5.

Family and Morale, Welfare and Recre-ation has families covered with a varietyof options for students and teens in allgrades. Programs offered at Child, Youthand School Services and Army Commu-nity Service can keep keiki busy.

An FMWR Furlough Friday activityprogram guide can be downloaded at www.mwrarmyhawaii.com. Click on “CYSS.”

Upcoming Furlough Friday days arescheduled for Feb. 12; March 5 and 12;April 23 and 30; and May 7 and 14.

Family Fun Friday — Family Fun Fri-day is back at the Tropics Recreation Cen-ter, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. Enjoy free PapaJohn's pizza, fun and games, HDTVs, Nin-tendo Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games forcheckout, family table games, pool, darts,air hockey, table tennis, beach volleyballand much more. Call 655-5698.

Valentine's Day Ceramics — Come tothe Schofield Barracks Arts and CraftsCenter, Feb. 5, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., to paintyour very own ceramic heart box for yourspecial someone. Make this year's Valen-tine's gift extra special by using your cre-ativity. Cost is just $15 per person and in-cludes all supplies. Call 655-4202.

6 / SaturdayOutdoor Adventures — Enjoy fun-in-

the-sun adventures throughout February.Learn how to stand-up paddle or canoe inan authentic outrigger canoe, Feb. 6 or en-joy a movie set tour at Kualoa Ranch,Feb. 12. Call 655-0143.

Additional religious services,children’s programs, education-al services and contact infor-mation can be found at www.garrison.hawaii.army.mil. (Click on “Religious SupportOffice” under the “Directoratesand Support Staff” menu).

AMR: Aliamanu ChapelFD: Fort DeRussy ChapelFS: Fort Shafter ChapelHMR: Helemano ChapelMPC: Main Post Chapel,

Schofield BarracksPH: Aloha Jewish Chapel,

Pearl Harbor TAMC: Tripler Army

Medical Center ChapelWAAF: Wheeler Army Airfield

Chapel

Buddhist Services•First Sunday, 1 p.m. at FD•Fourth Sunday, 1 p.m. at MPCAnnex

Catholic Mass•Friday, 9 a.m. at AMR •Saturday, 5 p.m. at FD, TAMCand WAAF chapels•Saturday, 6 p.m. a Hawaiian-style Mass (May-Aug. only)near the Army Museum (FD)•Sunday services:

-7:30 a.m. at WAAF-8 a.m. at AMR-10:30 a.m. at MPC Annex -11 a.m. at TAMC

•Monday-Friday, noon at MPCand TAMC

Gospel Worship•Sunday, noon at MPC•Sunday, 12:30 p.m. at AMR

Islamic Prayers and Study•Friday, 1 p.m. at MPC Annex•Saturday and Sunday, 5:30a.m., 6, 7 and 8 p.m. at MPCAnnex

Jewish Shabbat (Sabbath)•Monday, 6 p.m. at PH (BibleStudy)•Friday, 7:30 p.m. andSaturday, 8:15 a.m. at PH

Orthodox Divine Liturgy•Sunday, 9 a.m. at TAMC

Pagan (Wicca)•Friday, 7 p.m. at MPC Annex

Protestant Worship•Sunday Services

-9 a.m. at FD, FS, MPC, TAMC and WAAF chapels-10 a.m. at AMR and HMR

Invictus(PG-13)

Fri., Jan. 29, 7 p.m.Wed., Feb. 3, 7 p.m.

The Princess and the Frog(G)

Sat., Jan. 30, 4 p.m.Sun., Jan. 31, 2 p.m.

It’s Complicated(R)

Sat., Jan. 30, 7 p.m.Thurs., Feb. 4, 7 p.m.

No shows on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Call 624-2585 for movie listings or go to aafes.com

under reeltime movie listing.

B-2 | JANUARY 29, 2010 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY COMMUNITY

BATTLESHIP MISSOURI MEMORIALNews Release

PEARL HARBOR - The Battleship Missouri Memori-al will offer free admission and guided tours to ka-ma’aina (Hawaii residents) and U.S. military personnelon Saturday, Jan. 30, to mark the Mighty Mo’s officialreopening as a historic attraction following her returnfrom drydocking.

Hawaii residents and all active-duty, reserve, auxiliaryand retired military personnel from any U.S. servicebranch (including Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, CoastGuard and National Guard) and their dependants will beoffered a complimentary “Mighty Mo Pass,” which thememorial has introduced as its new all-in-one ticket toexperience the famous battleship. The pass includes a singleadmission, plus a choice from one of the following tours:

* Mighty Mo Tour (35-minute guided tour); * Guide2Go iPod Tour (audio-visual tour using the Ap-

ple “iPod touch” corresponding to shipboard signage); * Acoustiguide Tour (audio-only tour also correspon-

ding to signage); or * the option to tour the battleship at one’s own pace

along a variety of self-guided tour routes.“We are inviting kama’aina and military personnel to

experience what they themselves have helped to pre-serve,” said Michael A. Carr, president and chief operat-ing officer of the memorial. “The local and militarycommunities represent the tens of thousands of volun-teers and individual contributions that our memorial hasreceived over the past eleven years. They are the foun-dation on which we launched and successfully complet-ed a major engineering challenge as great as the drydock-ing of an 887-foot, 65-year-old battleship last year.

“We can all be proud to say that Hawaii has provenitself up to the challenge of caring for America’s ‘might-iest’ treasure.”

In addition to tours running all day and enhanced foodservice on the pier, the memorial’s annual Member andVolunteer Appreciation Ceremony will be held from 11to 11:30 a.m. to acknowledge outstanding Friends of the

Mighty Mo members, volunteers and other supporters.Ship-shape following 12 weeks and $18 million worth

of maintenance and preservation work in Pearl HarborNaval Shipyard’s largest drydock facility,the BattleshipMissouri returned on Jan. 7 to her home pier near theUSS Arizona Memorial. The return once again brings fullcircle the story that begins with the day of infamy thatsaw the sinking of USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor and endswith Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender aboardUSS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

For an additional $25, guests may upgrade to the Bat-tle Stations Tour, a new 90-minute guided tour that fo-cuses on this most important aspect of life at sea forevery officer and battleship sailor aboard - battle readi-ness. This premium tour will provide visitors the mostcomprehensive tour and features, including many areasof the ship not accessible without a tour guide. Only Bat-tle Stations Tour participants see the inside of Turret No.1, an engine room, a plotting room and the always-im-

pressive “Broadway” (an internal corridor that extendstwo-thirds of the length of the ship). Children must beage 10 or older for this tour.

The Battleship Missouri Memorial’s standard operat-ing hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For those whodo not have access to Naval Station Pearl Harbor, shut-tle buses run continuously during operating hours fromthe USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park (locatednear the USS Arizona Memorial Visitors Center).

Following an astounding career that spans five decadesand three wars, from World War II to the Korean con-flict to the Liberation of Kuwait, the “Mighty Mo” wasdecommissioned and donated to the USS Missouri Me-morial Association, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organi-zation, which operates the ship as the “Battleship Mis-souri Memorial,” a historic attraction and memorial.The association oversees her care and preservation withthe support of visitors, memberships, grants and thegenerosity of donors.

For visitor information or to reserve a tour,call toll-free at 1-877-MIGHTYMO (1-877-644-4896) or visit ussmissouri.org.

Courtesy Photo

Following the completion of a historic, multi-million dollar drydocking project, the Battleship Missouri, site of Japan’sWWII surrender, returned to her home pier along Battleship Row on Ford Island. The Memorial, located near the USSArizona Memorial, offers a historical visitor experience that begins with the Day of Infamy that saw the sinking of USSArizona in Pearl Harbor and ends with Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

‘Mighty Mo’ reopens, offers free tours Jan. 30

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY JANUARY 29, 2010 | B-3COMMUNITY

MIKE EGAMIU.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii Public Affairs

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Carving time out of avery hectic four-day visit, the commanding generalof the U.S. Army Installation Management Com-mand dined with the spouses of Hawaii’s seniorArmy leaders, Jan. 21, here.

At the luncheon, held at the Nehelani ConferenceCenter, Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch was quick to praise eachand every one of the spouses for the uncondition-al support from families in a time of war, wherestress upon families is almost unbearable.

“Even with a budget shortfall of $1.5 billion

from (2009), we will fullyfund and support the ArmyFamily Covenant and thecommitment Army leader-ship has made to provide abetter quality of life for Sol-diers and families,” Lynchsaid. “We will take a sys-tematic approach and take acloser look at all programs.”

Lynch praised the effortsof the garrison for its energy conservation pro-grams and individual efforts to conserve electrici-ty in offices by turning off lights and computers

when not in use. “We must all continue to do our part to save mil-

lions of dollars to the bottom line on electricity billsannually,” Lynch said.

When he asked how IMCOM is doing takingcare of Army Soldiers and families, senior spousesresponded with positive support for Family andMorale, Welfare and Recreation’s Blue Star Card pro-gram, which provides everyday benefits to deployedSoldiers’ spouses and families at FMWR facilities.The senior spouses said the program is a moralebooster for those who participate.

Senior spouses also discussed the merits of thechaplain-led Strong Bonds program. When talking

about various programs, Lynch noted that some el-ements may overlap with other Army CommunityService programs. He emphasized the need to thor-oughly review all programs to avoid duplication, andthereby prevent waste.

Lynch went on to talk about the need for pro-grams that study how long-term deployments im-pact childhood education and adolescent behavior.

“We need to find ways to improve the schools inHawaii and get money to help the Hawaii schoolsystem,” Lynch said.

Lynch ended the lunch by encouraging the spous-es to contact him with their concerns or suggestionson providing better support to Army families.

Lynch

IMCOM commander hears concerns from senior spouses

Story and Photo by

BILL MOSSMANStaff Writer

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Securityissues continue to be at the forefront ofresidents’ minds, many of whom voicedtheir concerns to Army senior leadersand garrison representatives at the lat-est North Town Hall meeting, Tuesday,at the Main Post Conference Room,here.

During U.S. Army Garrison-Oahu’smonthly sponsored gathering, residentsagain asked the garrison to providemore Military Police to patrol neighbor-hoods. They also inquired about thestatus of the long-promised guards whowere supposed to man unoccupied frontgates in outlying housing communities,such as Helemano.

Given the financial shortfall facingArmy garrisons everywhere, and thefact that the local garrison could not as-sign more MPs to perform patrol duty,Lt. Col. Richard Gledhill, commander,USAG-Oahu, suggested residents lookinto forming a neighborhood watchprogram as a way of boosting securitycoverage in their communities.

“I know nobody really wants to hearthis, but we only have a finite amountof resources available,” said Gledhill,who conducted the meeting with sup-port from Command Sgt. Maj. DarrylJannone, also of USAG-Oahu.

Col. Matthew Margotta, command-er, USAG-Hawaii, also informed resi-dents that, although the Departmentof the Army had approved funding foradditional guards at all fenced-in in-stallations in early 2009, those fundshave recently been swallowed up by a substantial budget cut.

Still, Margotta is holding out hopethat DA might send supplementaryfunding to the garrison following itsmid-year review, slated for late March.

“Hopefully within that time frame,they’ll authorize us additional money to

hire some guards,” Margotta said. However, even if DA approves the

funding, the commander warned resi-dents not to get their hopes up.

“Implementing this will still be achallenge because we have so many ac-cess points and so many separate sub-installations within the Garrison,” Mar-gotta stated.

Army Hawaii Family HousingMore than 200 single-family homesare currently under construction in theNorth region, with most of those unitsscheduled for completion some timethis summer.

According to Tony Hintz, director,AHFH North Region Operations, Wheel-er and Santa Fe communities will bethe proud recipients of 241 new units —204 of which will be available to jun-ior noncommissioned officers.

“We just opened our first 14 homesat Wheeler, in the Wili Wili area,” Hintzsaid. “We’re also doing, in a small sec-tion of Santa Fe, 74 (junior NCO)homes. We estimate that we’ll get thosehomes on line between May and Au-gust.”

In addition to the new homes,Wheeler residents can look forward tothe completion of the Wheeler Commu-nity Center, tentatively scheduled toopen this fall. The center will feature aswimming pool, water spray park, totlot and theater, as well as activity andfitness rooms.

“We’ll keep the community advisedif there are any changes to (the open-ing date) and invite everyone to thegrand opening,” Hintz said.

Finally, Hintz showed attendees aphoto of a Schofield home in which arecent fire caused extensive damageto the stove, mounted microwave andkitchen cabinetry. He said the incidentwas due to the home’s occupants leav-ing a cooking pot unattended.

As a result, the fire caused thou-

sands of dollars in damage, leavingthe family temporarily displaced.

“The number one cause of homefires is unattended cooking — barnone,” Hintz said. “I implore you toremember the basic safety rules, likenever leave a pot cooking on the stoveunattended. Turn (the stove) off or take

(the pot) off, so that you don’t have atragedy like this happen.”

Youth Education Support Services

The Department of Education re-cently announced new boundary re-districting for school year 2010-2011,and the changes will undoubtedly im-

pact many North community families.YESS director Tamsin Keone said

that Helemano Military Reservationchildren will no longer be assigned toWahiawa Elementary School. Instead,they will attend Helemano Elementaryonce the new school year kicks in. Allother HMR students will attend Wahi-awa Middle and Leilehua High schools,she added.

As for pre-high school students liv-ing at Schofield Barracks, they will beenrolled at Hale Kula, Solomon, Wahi-awa or Wheeler elementary schools;and Wahiawa or Wheeler middleschools. All other students will attendLeilehua High.

Keone also noted the recent pricehikes for meals and bus rides — both ofwhich went into effect Jan. 1 as ameans of off-setting the Hawaii educa-tion department’s sizeable budgetdeficit.

In particular, she encouraged resi-dents to apply for the reduced breakfastand lunch rates. Currently, studentswho meet eligibility requirements pay30 cents for reduced breakfast and 40cents for reduced lunch. All otherstudents pay 95 cents for regular break-fast (previously 35 cents) and $2.20for regular lunch (previously $1.25).

“You never know,” Keone said. “Youmay qualify (for the reduced rates).”

The North Town Hall meeting wasthe first of three town halls scheduledin 2010 for North Oahu communityresidents.

Each year, town halls are held inthe North and South, where residentsare provided a forum to voice theirconcerns and learn about the latesthappenings in their neighborhoods.

The next North Town Hall meeting isscheduled May 25, 6:30 p.m., at theMain Post Conference Room, SchofieldBarracks.

Gate guards, housing, school zoning changes are top issues at Town Hall

Lt. Col. Richard Gledhill, commander, U.S. Army Garrison-Oahu, addresses a resi-dent's question during the North Town Hall meeting, Tuesday, at the Main PostConference Room, Schofield Barracks. The meeting was the first of threescheduled town halls in 2010 for North Oahu community residents.

B-4 | JANUARY 29, 2010 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY HEALTH

Stay Army Strong with proper physical fitness regimenMAJ. VANCIL MCNULT

U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Physicalfitness is a very important part of your health. Notonly does your level of physical fitness have a di-rect impact on your combat readiness, physically fitSoldiers are much less likely to get physical injuriesand more likely to have enjoyable, productive lives.

At a minimum, Soldiers must meet Army Phys-ical Fitness Test standards by the end of AdvancedIndividual Training, which is a reasonable goal.Your unit training program is designed to help youreach that goal. After AIT, you should continue aprogram of regular vigorous exercise that balancesstrength, mobility and endurance and allows forproper rest and recovery.

Your exercise program should:•Be progressive. Your exercise session must be

gradually increased to safely and effectively improveyour physical performance. There are many timesthroughout life that you may have to modify yourtraining and begin slowly again, like after an illnessor when recovering from an injury, returning fromdeployment or the field, or moving to a new unit.

•Be regular. Regular exercise sessions (three tofive times per week) improve performance and re-duce your chances of the “weekend warrior syn-drome,” or getting a sports injury on the weekendsbecause of little activity during the week.

•Provide overload. In order to improve, youmust gradually push yourself beyond the normal de-mands placed upon your body.

•Provide variety. Spread the stress of exercise overthe entire body by varying the types of exercises youdo throughout the week. This also keeps you fromgetting bored and keeps your motivation up.

•Allow recovery. Your body is actually strength-ened during periods of rest. Regular periods of rest

between activities, sleep and proper nutrition helpthe body rebuild itself. For example, a hard day ofrunning should be followed by a day of resistancetraining to give the muscles you used during run-ning some time to recover.

•Be balanced. Your exercise program should in-clude low-intensity endurance activities (such asrunning, biking, swimming or stair climbing), high-intensity endurance activities (such as sprints or in-tervals while running, cycling, swimming, or climb-ing), muscular strength and endurance (resistanceexercises such as lifting weights or your own bodyweight), and mobility training (activities that devel-op agility, balance, coordination, flexibility, posture,stability, speed and power, such as agility drills, in-

dividual movement techniques, and stretching af-ter activity).

•Be specific. The activities you perform duringyour exercise sessions should be specific to yourgoals.

•Be precise. Perform all muscle strength andmobility exercises slowly and with correct posture.The quality of your training may be more importantthan the quantity. For example, performing any ac-tivity sloppily is less effective and may cause injury.

Warming up, or preparing for activity:Before exercising or playing a sport, do a three

to five minute warm-up that has the same move-ments as the exercise or sport. Start slowly then increase the pace.

For example, if you are going for a run, youmight start out by walking, increase the pace toa fast walk, break into a slow jog and then slow-ly increase up to training speed. To get ready toplay basketball, you can practice shooting, drib-bling and running sideways slowly at first, thenmore actively. Specific stretching is not requiredduring warm-up if adequate active preparation isdone.

Performing activity:To improve your low-intensity endurance, you

should exercise for 20 to 30 minutes at a moder-ate pace without stopping, two or three times perweek. You should be working hard enough thatyou can talk but you can’t sing.

To improve your high-intensity endurance, dorunning, cycling, swimming or climbing sprints(intervals) for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds(gradually increase repetitions from five to 10,then decrease your rest time to 60 seconds) onceor twice a week. Improve your muscular strengthand endurance by performing two or three sets ofthree to 12 repetitions (less repetitions for strength,more repetitions for endurance) to temporary mus-cle failure, two or three times a week. Improve yourmobility by performing agility drills once or twicea week.

Cooling down, or recovering from activity:Always cool down after every exercise session.

A cool-down is basically the reverse of a warm-upand gives your heart rate a chance to come downto a normal level. Cooling down also helps reducemuscle stiffness. Stretches to improve flexibilityduring cool-down should be held for at least 30seconds.

(Editor’s Note: Maj. Vancil McNult is a StaffPhysical Therapy Officer with the U.S. Army Cen-ter for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine.)

Tricare dives into social media to engage beneficiaries, create relationshipsTRICARE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY

NEWS RELEASE

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Tricare is tak-ing the plunge into social media to un-cover what issues matter most to itsbeneficiaries around the world.

Social media channels and networkslike Twitter, Facebook, YouTube andFlickr continue to transform how health-care information—and information ingeneral—is consumed by the public.

“Social media is changing the waywe communicate. These powerful toolsgive us an opportunity to join the con-versation surrounding Tricare and mili-tary health,” said Rear Adm. Christine

Hunter, deputy director of Tricare Man-agement Activity.

The ability to share healthcare infor-mation and receive feedback helps Tri-care identify and address beneficiaryconcerns. Instead of deciding what infor-mation to share with beneficiaries, Tricare

can ask for their input, identify whatthey want to know more about and re-spond accordingly.

Recommendations from service mem-bers and their families have the potentialto influence policy decisions and im-prove overall satisfaction with militaryhealthcare.

“We understand the value social me-dia can bring to the organization, and weinvite beneficiaries to talk to us abouthow we can improve their health careexperience,” Hunter said.

Tricare is active on Twitter, Face-book, YouTube and Flickr, and is gettingready to launch a new media center Web

site in March. The media center will in-clude Tricare news and links to Tricare’ssocial media channels. It will also allow

beneficiaries to “share” benefit informa-tion with their friends and families on-line.

For more about the MilitaryHealth System, visitwww.health.mil.

Get Your Voice HeardBefore launching the new media center Web site, Tricare wants to hearfrom the military men and women who use its benefits everyday. In the coming weeks Tricare will ask beneficiaries for feedback on theissues they want to know more about through Tricare’s Facebook,www.facebook.com/Tricare, and Twitter account at www.twitter.com/Tricare.

Beneficiaries are also encouraged to visit www.tricare.mil/subscriptionsto sign up for e-alerts about Tricare benefits and news.

Brenda Naki | U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii Public Affairs

When Michelle Mansker, natural resources manager, Directorate of Public Works, isn't concentrating onnatural resources or environmental issues, she concentrates on proper work out form.

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY JANUARY 29, 2010 | B-5SPORTS & FITNESS

30 / SaturdayTropics Sand Volleyball Series —

Bump, set and spike your way to suc-cess in a beach volleyball tournament,Jan. 30, at the Tropics Recreation Cen-ter, Schofield Barracks. Enjoy food anddrink specials, giveaways and awardsfor the top players. This all-day tour-nament will continue until a winner iscrowned. Participants must be 18 yearsor older to play; cost is $10 per team toenter, but active duty military can playfor free. Call 438-1152 for more in-formation.

NOAA Whale Count — Enjoy oneof the most unique benefits of living inHawaii — the annual whale migrationin the Pacific Ocean. Help the Nation-al Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration count whales, and enjoy a love-ly day in the sun, Jan. 30, 9 a.m.–12p.m. Cost is $10 and round-trip trans-

portation from Schofield Barracks isincluded. Call 655-0143 for more infor-mation.

31 / SundayBig Surf Watch Bike Trip - Enjoy

a nice relaxing bike ride along Northshore beaches with Outdoor Recreationon Jan. 31, 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Check outthe world-famous North Shore surf-ing scene and all the big waves with-out all the traffic hassles. Cost is just$30 if using your own bike with an ex-tra $5 if you need to use one of ours.Round-trip transportation fromSchofield Barracks is available. Call655-0143.

February1 / Monday

NFL Military Challenge Hawaii -Don't miss your only chance to partic-ipate in this year's interservice NFLskills challenge! Stop by StonemanStadium at Schofield Barracks or Taka-ta Field at Fort Shafter to test yoursprinting, punt, pass and kick skillsand earn your spot on the team. Try-outs will take place Feb. 1-3, 5-7:30

p.m. each day at both locations. The fi-nals against other branches of servicewill take place at Kapiolani Park onFeb. 13 at 1 p.m. Call 655-9914.

All-Army Boxing - The deadline toenter the 2010 Men's and Women'sAll-Army Boxing program is Feb. 1.Trial camps will take place Mar. 16-Apr.17 at Fort Huachuca, AZ, with thechampionships taking place Apr. 18-24.Contact the USAG-HI Sports, Fitnessand Aquatics Office, Stop 112, Building556, Kaala Community Activity Center,Schofield Barracks for more informa-tion. Call 655-0856 or 438-9572.

6 / SaturdayOutdoor Adventures - Join us for

a ton of fun-in-the-sun adventuresthroughout Feb. Learn how to stand-up paddle or canoe in an authenticoutrigger canoe on 6 Feb. or enjoy amovie set tour at Kualoa Ranch on 12Feb. Check out the whales with an ad-venture hike on 13 Feb. or try yourhand at surfing on 20 Feb. Enjoy asnorkeling adventure on 21 Feb. oranother whale watching trip on 27Feb. Whatever your outdoor interest,we’ve got you covered all month long!Call 655-0143.

‘Family Ties’ raise money for veterans’ group in local 5k25th CAB family member tiedlove of running and her family

Story and Photo By

STAFF SGT. BRYANNA POULIN25th Infantry Division Public Affairs

MILILANI — What began as a typical seniorclass project turned into one local teenager go-ing the distance in raising more than $1,700 forthe Disabled American Veterans, and allowedtime to pursue a passion most people might runaway from, during a 5k race, held Sunday, atMililani Senior High School.

Kristen Ali Keith, a senior at Mililani SeniorHigh School, and daughter of Chief Warrant Of-ficer 4 William Keith, safety officer, 25th CombatAviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, devel-oped the race idea after realizing running hasbeen a lifelong bond she shares with her family.

“The theory that running maintains familybonds, is from her own experience she shares withher dad, who also is a runner, while he is de-ployed,” said Kristen’s mom, who was helpingregister runners early Sunday morning.

Even though the cross country teen could pickany subject, her decision to have a family runcalled “Family Ties” in the local community wasbased on her family’s tradition of running andracing in local events together.

“As I got older and slower, Kristen got strongerand faster. I would pick on her that I could always

beat her, until the eigth grade, where she and I rana local 5K and she ended up right on my heelscrossing the finish line,” joked her dad. “I stoppedracing her, but continue to tell her that I amstill undefeated, with my full understanding of re-ality … although I will never admit it.”

For the teenager, whose running began at anearly age and took off fast once she entered highschool, Kristen placed in the top five every yearduring both cross country and track meets.

“When she was young, I would race her to theswing set behind our house at Fort Bragg.” Kei-th said. “From there, she always thrived off ofputting in the hard work to win and her compet-itive spirit always forced her to drive that extraeffort to win.”

Kristen’s extra effort and vivacious determina-tion was evident Sunday when more than 80students, service members and families ran therace, some unaware it was organized by her.

Staff Sgt. Brook Bailey, infantryman with CCompany, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regi-ment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th IDwas one of the many Soldiers unaware Kristenwas the daughter of a Tropic Lightning Soldier orthat she single handedly put together the event.

“We (C Company) heard about the race a fewdays ago but didn’t know all the details of theevent,” Bailey said, after the race. “It’s even moreamazing that all the proceeds go to the DAV.”

“Her decision to choose the Disabled AmericanVeterans started last October during a visit with

her grandfather during my block leave,” Keithsaid. “Retired from the United States MarineCorps, he spoke of how much the DAV helped him

get the much needed benefits due to his serviceconnected disability.”

Putting together the race was no small feat forthe already busy teen, noted her dad. She hasdone everything herself organizing this race, in-cluding developing an entry form, finding and de-signing a race T-shirt, getting sponsorship forawards and finding volunteers to assist with theadministrative functions such as check-in, tim-ing, sign up, and giving out awards.

While Kristen shines outside the classroom,she continues to soar inside as well, earning oneof Mililani’s Valedictorian Honors. She main-tains the ongoing balance of homework andstudy while running daily to stay completive.

“I am going to Lipscomb University, located inNashville, where I will run Division I cross coun-try,” Kristen said before the race began. “After col-lege I hope to become a veterinarian.”

Finally, at the end of the 5k, Kristen ended upwith 24 additional people signing up, with near-ly 80 people racing.

“Everyone seemed very pleased with theamount of awards, and their race packets whichincluded towels, water bottles and caps,” Kristensaid. “It’s been a lot of hard work and stress butI’m glad I did it.”

“She never ceases to amaze me, from the timeshe took her first steps to the accomplishments thisweekend. I am a very proud father,” Keith conclud-ed in an e-mail from Contingency Operating BaseSpeicher, where he is currently deployed.

Kristen Keith, daughter of Chief Warrant Officer 4William Keith, safety officer, 25th Combat AviationBrigade, 25th Infantry Division, gives last-minuterace procedures to runners, Sunday, at MililaniSenior High School.

Send sports announcements to community@hawaiiarmyweekly.com.

February1 / Monday

Aloha Readiness Series — TheValentine’s Day Biathlon will take placeon Feb. 14. Registration forms are due byFeb. 1. For more information or todownload registration forms, visitwww.waikiki swimclub.org.

20/ SaturdaySwamp Romp — Break out your util-

ity boots, but don’t scrape the mud offjust yet - the CLB-3 Swamp Romp isright around the corner. Referred to asHawaii’s dirtiest footrace, the SwampRomp returns to Kaneohe Bay, Feb. 20, sostart cross-training now. The race be-gins at the Boondocker building, neigh-boring the Marine Corps Exchange An-

nex parking lot. Six-person teams willnegotiate an obstacle-laden course thatincludes mud, crawling, jumping, swing-ing, sounds of combat, and more mud.

Entry fees are $130 for each six-per-son team. Race logo T-shirt includedwith entry fee for each team member, ifsubmitted by registration deadline, 4p.m., Feb. 12. Registration after deadlineincreases to $150.

Participants must wear utility/longtrousers or sweat pants, and some sort ofhigh-top shoe. No tennis running shoes.Visit www.mccshawaii.com/cgfit.htm formore information.

OngoingGolfers Wanted — Are you looking

for a golf group? Military or civiliangolfers interested in playing golf onSunday mornings at Leilehua GolfCourse can call 347-8038 or 375-3322.Tee time is usually before 8 a.m.

Shafter Bowling — Unit PT (physicaltraining) bowling is held Monday-Friday,6-8 a.m. Cost is $1 per Soldier and in-cludes all games and free shoe rental.

Call 438-6733 for more information.