Off the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Facebook page
Congressman Ed Case, visited the Hawaii National Guard’s Joint Task Force, stood up to respond to COVID-19.
During the visit, Case was briefed on the Hawaii National Guard taskings/missions throughout the state. He also sat in on the commander’s update brief where each task force and staff section reported on their efforts.
The FBI on Wednesday warned that malicious cyber actors were targeting mobile banking apps in an attempt to steal money as more Americans have moved to online banking during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a public service announcement, the FBI noted it expects to see hackers “exploit” mobile banking platforms, which have seen a 50 percent surge in use since the beginning of the pandemic.
The first celebration of the U.S. Flag’s birthday was held in 1877 on the 100th anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. However, it is believed that the first annual recognition of the flag’s birthday dates back to 1885 when school teacher, BJ Cigrand, first organized a group of Wisconsin school children to observe June 14 – the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as the Flag’s Birthday. Cigrand, now known as the ‘Father of Flag Day,’ continued to publically advocate the observance of June 14 as the flag’s ‘birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’ for years.
Just a few years later the efforts of another school teacher, George Balch, led to the formal observance of ‘Flag Day’ on June 14 by the New York State Board of Education. Over the following years as many as 36 state and local governments began adopted the annual observance. For over 30 years Flag Day remained a state and local celebration.
In 1916, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 became a nationally observed event by a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson. However, it was not designated as National Flag Day until August 3rd, 1949, when an Act of Congress designated June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
The link below takes you to the June 2000 issue of the 154th Support Group Training Bulletin. The bulletin was an electronic newsletter emailed to the members of the Group and other Hawaii Air National Guard members. Over the eight years of publication, distribution increased to members of other Guard members across the nation.
June 2000 issue of the 154th Support Group Training Bulletin
Absent any changes, Social Security will be able to pay scheduled retirement and survivors benefits on a timely basis until 2034. And then, its reserves will become depleted and continuing tax income will be sufficient to pay only 76% of scheduled benefits.
So, what would that look like?
Well, a current retiree who now receives $1,503 per month from Social Security (the average benefit in January) would receive $1,142, a cut of $361 per month. And a married couple receiving $2,531 per month would receive $1,923, a cut of $608.
Micheline Burger, a 72-year-old retired attorney who lives in Longmont, Colo., has put off many medical appointments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as her annual physical and dental exam and an important follow-up for an eye exam.
“I’ve had a cornea transplant, so I have to have the corneas checked regularly, but I delayed that from February to June,” says Burger. “I just haven’t felt comfortable going to doctors’ offices.”
Burger isn’t alone.
Craig Harimoto emailed this photograph to Retiree News. It was taken in early 2019, when he was in Hawaii visiting from his Las Vegas home.
In the photograph are clockwise starting in the upper left: David “Snake” Snakenberg, Craig Harimoto, James Akau, and Kenneth Morimoto. All four served for many years in the maintenance complex. Jimmy was a Traditional Guardmember who served and retired from the Honolulu Fire Department.
Snake retired as a colonel and served as the 154th Wing Vice Commander before moving to the Human Resources Office at the State Headquarters. Both Craig and Ken retired as Chiefs after long careers.
Great professionals who had an impact on the maintenance complex.
Corey Shelton, an eighth grade science teacher in Jackson, Michigan, has earned a pension after more than 20 years on the job, but now he’s concerned that the economic devastation from the coronavirus pandemic will threaten the monthly checks he’s been counting on to fund his retirement.
“We’re riding the first wave of a financial tsunami,” says Shelton, 43, who expects to retire in four years. “We don’t know the financial devastation that’s going to come out of this.”
Before this crisis even began, state pension plans across the country were already more than $1 trillion short of the funding needed to pay their future obligations to retirees, according to retirement experts at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
From the National Guard Association of the United States website
The Army believes it will have female soldiers in all of its infantry and armor brigade combat teams by the end of 2020.
The Army believes it will have female soldiers in all of its infantry and armor brigade combat teams by the end of 2020.
“We’ve had women in the infantry and armor occupations now for three years,” said Maj. Melissa Comiskey, the chief of command policy for Army G-1.
Integrating women into those units has “changed the culture,” she added.
“It’s not as different as it was three years ago when the Army first implemented the integration plan,” Comiskey said.
Under new guidelines, Guard armor and infantry battalions can forego the leaders first policy as long as they have “successfully integrated junior enlisted women into at least one of their companies for 12-15 months.”
Currently, about 2% of all armor and infantry soldiers are female, with 568 in armor units and another 601 in infantry units.
Officials said one reason for a slower pace of integration has been the relatively low number of female soldiers and leaders choosing infantry and armor career fields. But that is expected to change as more female soldiers move up the ranks and assume company commander positions.
“It takes a little bit longer to grow the leaders,” Comiskey said.
Army officials said the number of women in armor and infantry units has increased every year since integration began.
Off the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Facebook page
Michael Victorino, Maui County Mayor met with members of the Hawaii National Guard (HING) during the Task Force Maui COVID-19 operations, Kihei, Hawaii, May 26, 2020. Victorino expressed their thanks to the Airmen and Soldiers for assisting the Maui County community in helping to contain the Coronavirus spread during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although these volunteers finished their state operations, many are still actively serving their community within the Hawaiian Islands.
More photographs by SFC Theresa Gualdarama
From the Images of Old Hawaii website
The coat of arms of the Nation of Hawai‘i was drawn up during the time of Kamehameha III; a May 31, 1845 story in the Polynesian newspaper reported that the National Coat of Arms was adopted by the Legislative Assembly.
In 1842, Timothy Ha‘alilio, Private Secretary to the King, and Royal Advisor the Rev. William Richards commissioned the College of Arms in London to prepare a design.
Some argue that the selective service is a relic from the age of trench warfare, saying the sophisticated and highly technological nature of future fights means the nation will never again have to flood the military ranks with ground-pounders who deploy en masse.
Others say the nation is now closer than ever to the sort of existential security threat that could make mass mobilization our best hope of national survival. What most experts agree on, however, is this: If the draft ever does make a comeback, it should not and will not look the same as it did five decades ago.
Here are five ways the draft could change to meet the challenges of modern warfare.
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Off the Hawaii Air National Guard Facebook page
Congratulations to the 154th Wing’s budget team who are recipients of the 2019 National Guard Bureau Award for Financial Management, Financial Analysis Office award.
As budget analysts, Tech. Sgt. Troy Gunter, Staff Sgt. Reid Suzuki and Tech. Sgt. Hoang Pham account for paychecks, jet fuel, aircraft parts and everything else that keeps the wing running.
For their outstanding performance, these Airman were visited by the command team during this month’s weekend drill and presented with challenge coins by Brig. Gen. Dann S. Carlson.
Mahalo for your unparalleled professionalism and taking care of our ‘ohana!
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