The Headquarters, Hawaii Air National Guard held its annual Holiday Party. Hosted by the HIANG Commander, Brig Gen Ryan Okahara, invitees included current, former and retired members of the HIANG staff. Several cadets from the current Youth Challenge Academy class assisted with the setup and serving the food.
Check out the photographs – some old friends were there.
From the Dallas News website
Deciding when to turn in the car keys is a difficult choice. Seniors justifiably want to be independent, and those who love them recognize that at a certain stage, their safety is at risk.
The road to the decision to give up driving has lots of detours, and families will go through different stages as they assess their loved ones’ abilities to stay behind the wheel.
From the U.S. News & World Report website
What do snoring, daytime sleepiness and mood changes have in common? They’re all signs of obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA – a common but grossly under-recognized sleep disorder.
What Is OSA? OSA is a potentially serious sleep disorder that causes breathing to stop and start repeatedly, sometimes hundreds of times during the night. Normally, throat muscles hold the airway open, allowing you to breathe during sleep. During an apnea episode the airway collapses, causing the diaphragm and chest wall muscles to work harder to open it. Breathing usually resumes with a loud snore, gasp or body jerk, and you may wake up and feel a sensation of choking. These episodes can interfere with sound sleep and reduce the flow of oxygen to vital organs, contributing to daytime sleepiness, fatigue and depressed mood. But that’s not all.
A silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Per fess enhanced Argent and Azure in chief a representation of Diamond Head Sable issuant from base overall a Hawaiian warrior holding in dexter hand a spear palewise of the last wearing a feather cloak Or charged with crescents of the third and a feather helmet Gules a border of the like. Attached below the shield a silver scroll inscribed “HIKI NO” in Blue letters.
Scarlet is the color for Artillery organizations. Participation by the unit in the Hawaiian Rebellion of 1895 is indicated by the Diamond Head, where one important engagement occurred. The Hawaiian warrior commemorates the ancient warrior, King Kamehameha I, who founded the Hawaiian Kingdom.
The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 227th Engineer Battalion on 27 July 1962. It was re-designated for the 487th Artillery and amended to change the color of the border on 1 March 1966. The insignia was re-designated for the 487th Field Artillery Regiment on 24 July 1972.
This information was taken from the program for the Wahiawa Armory Memorialization Ceremony. The ceremony recognized COL (Ret) Francis “Miki” A. I. Bowers and the renaming the armory in his honor. The event took place on May 4, 2014.
A new Apple discount announced this week gives veterans, military members and their immediate families 10 percent off iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and accessories through a recently released online portal.
In the past, military members could receive up to a 6 percent discount on products through the company’s federal government purchase program. And some Apple products are sold through the base exchange system, where shoppers don’t have to pay sales tax.
From the Everyday Health website
The antioxidant coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is found in most living things and is used by our cells to process energy and function properly. Naturally occurring CoQ10 decreases as we age, and according to the National Institutes of Health, several diseases and genetic disorders are associated with, but not necessarily caused by, low levels of CoQ10, including heart disease and some cancers.
CoQ10 is available as a supplement, but whether or not the supplement improves heart function or other health outcomes is somewhat controversial.
Here’s what you should know about this nutrient — both in its natural and supplement form.
From the Images of Old Hawaii website
U.S. Navy photograph
The USS Arizona Memorial, located at Pearl Harbor, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors killed on the USS Arizona during the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 by Japanese imperial forces and commemorates the events of that day.
The memorial, which was dedicated in 1962 and spans the sunken hull of the battleship Arizona, without touching it. The memorial visually floats above the water like an out stretched white sail hovering above the waters of the harbor.
Related:
Check Six: The Arizona Memorial Dedication – 55 years ago
Navy Public Affairs Support Element West, Detachment Hawaii provided All Hands Magazine this unique look at areas of Pearl Harbor as they are now combined with how they looked on the morning of December 7, 1941.
This photograph was taken on January 9, 2005 at Jon Iwashita’s retirement party. The photograph show three maintenance technicians, Harold “Kahi” Hewett III, Gary Soma, and Thomas Hirao.
Kahi passed on July 27, 2008 after a long battle with medical challenges. Gary relocated to Seattle, Washington, and Tommy is still in Hawaii. Three great aircraft maintainers who keep the 154th Wing flying.
From the Everyday Health website
Life expectancy in the United States dropped slightly in 2017, while the 10 leading causes of death remained unchanged from the previous year. Health experts attributed the change, in part, to suicides and drug overdoses.
According to a November 29, 2018, report on U.S. mortality released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overall life expectancy declined from 78.7 years in 2016 to 78.6 in 2017. Life expectancy for males dropped from 76.2 to 76.1, but remained unchanged for women at 81.1 years.
From a State of Hawaii Department of Defense press release
Hawaii Air National Guard photograph | click to enlarge
The Hawaii Air National Guard (HIANG) will be hosting a Sentry Aloha, a large-scale fighter exercise beginning Wednesday, Dec. 5. Oahu residents, particularly along the island’s southern coast may see an increase in military aircraft during takeoffs and landings at Honolulu International Airport.
Sentry Aloha is an ongoing series of exercises hosted by the HIANG’s 154th Wing enabling tailored, cost effective and realistic combat training for Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force, and other Department of Defense services. It provides U.S. war fighters with the skill sets necessary to perform homeland defense and overseas combat missions.
Sentry Aloha exercises have been conducted by the HIANG for over twenty years. This iteration of the exercise will involve more than 800 personnel and 30 aircraft from nine states and twelve different military units and will run through Dec. 19.
Visiting units will include KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling support from the Iowa and Wisconsin Air National Guard, F-15 Eagles from the Oregon Air National Guard and U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets based in California. The visiting aircraft will take part in simulated combat exercises with the 199th and 19th Fighter Squadrons’ Hickam based “Hawaiian Raptors.”
The 199th Fighter Squadron is part of the 154th Wing, the largest wing in the Air National Guard. The Hawaii Air National Guard is comprised of nearly 2,500 Airmen whose federal mission is to be trained and available for active duty Air Force operational missions.
Hawaii Air National Guard photograph | click to enlarge
This photograph shows Wayne Soma, who served with 154th Wing as a radio maintenance technician during the F-102 Delta Dagger, F-4C Phantom and the F-15 Eagle eras. This photograph was taken during the F-102/F-4 conversion period because there are Deuces and Phantoms in the photograph.
Wayne was a runner before running became what it is today. He and his wife, Birgit, ran a sports equipment store in the old Moanalua Shopping Center. They gave Guardmenbers great discounts.
Wayne passed away in November 19, 2007 and is inurned at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
From The New York Times website
We’ve long heard warnings that the Social Security program that 52 million Americans rely on for their retirement benefits could one day run out of money.
Analysts say that’s not going to happen — if only because older people are such a powerful voting force — but this year the system has hit a worrisome milestone: the Social Security Administration reported that the retirement benefits paid out each month exceeded the tax revenues and interest that fund the program.
That necessitated the first dip into the Social Security Trust Fund in 35 years. By 2034, the agency estimated, it will have depleted those reserves, and its revenues will cover only about four-fifths of its promised benefits.
