Retiree Update: David Howard

Colonel David Howard continues to live in Florida. He holds a real estate broker’s license, and does consulting work for other brokers. He returns to Hawaii occasionally to visit his daughter in Hilo and his sister in Honolulu.

Colonel Howard began his career in the 169th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. He became the first commander of the 201st Combat Communications Squadron in Hilo in the 1970s. The newly formed 201st Combat Communications Group had started moving its gained unit to the neighbor islands.

He and a small cadre of technicians started the squadron from the ground up. There were technicians who moved from Oahu and others who transferred from the Hawaii Army National Guard. The squadron started out in the old warehouses in the Army Guard compound. It took several years before their permanent facilities were completed. The unit was later renamed the 291st Combat Communication Squadron.

Colonel Howard left Hawaii to serve a tour at the National Guard Bureau (NGB) in Washington DC.  After completing his tour, he became the commander of the 251st Combat Communications Group in Springfield, Ohio.

Wonder if Dave still has a “Pau Hana Club” T-shirt?