Major Jeffrey Hickman forwarded this link to photographs taken the Hawai‘i Army National Guard change of command posted on Flickr.
Jeff continues as the commander of the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. Mahalo to his Soldiers who took these great photographs.
Retiree News received the sad news that Herbert Okamoto passed away yesterday.
Herbert was an avionics technician who served in the 154th Wing for many years. He was an avid fisherman.
Services are pending. Retiree News will post information about his services when known.
Condolences to his family.
SMSgt Christopher Perez serves as the Superintendent, Recruiting & Retention for the Hawai‘i Air National Guard (HIANG). He assumed the duties of the superintendent in June 2013.
As the Superintendent, SMSgt Perez serves as the principal administrator of Air National Guard recruitment and retention programs in Hawai‘i. He provides oversight, development and implementation of plans, policies and procedures. He ensures effective operations of the HIANG’s recruiting and retention programs. He is responsible for communicating recruiting and retention goals throughout the Hawaii Air National Guard.
A Los Angeles native, SMSgt Perez enlisted into the Air Force in April 1994. He was an Honor Graduate from the Vehicle Operations Apprentice Course at Lackland AFB, Texas. His first assignment was with the 95th Transportation Squadron at Edwards AFB, California. During this tour, he deployed to Southern Watch in Saudi Arabia and to the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of Joint Task Force-Olympics.
Wanting a new challenge, SMSgt Perez applied for both Recruiting and Military Training Instructor duty. Selected for both special duty programs, he chose to become a recruiter.
Sergeant Perez graduated from Recruiting School in 1999 and assigned to the 369th Recruiting Squadron in Torrance, California. In 2002, his next assignment took him to Los Angeles Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) as a Liaison NCO. He was instrumental in shipping out nearly 1500 applicants to Basic Military Training (BMT) annually. In 2005, SMSgt Perez became an Overseas Recruiter assigned to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. His responsibilities included recruiting personnel in Germany, England, and other parts of Europe. Throughout his active duty recruiting career, SMSgt Perez consistently exceeded recruiting goals.
Sergeant Perez left active duty in May 2008. He joined California ANG’s 163d Reconnaissance Wing’s Recruiting Office as a Production Recruiter. He was instrumental in creating a precision recruiting program enabling the California ANG to reach 100% end strength.
In 2010, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) selected him to serve as the Recruiting Operations Program Manager. During his four year statutory tour, he was pivotal in several measures and initiatives. SMSgt Perez:
* Rewrote the ANG’s Recruiting and Retention Instruction
* Established a singular strategic plan from the top down
* Redesigned and centralizing the Recruiting & Retention Awards Program
* Establishing a Storefront Program with the Army Corps of Engineers that resulted in the growth of 10 additional recruiting offices. This increased the ANG presence in local communities in 10 states.
As the superintendent, Chris supervises nine recruiters and the retention manager. These Hawai‘i Air National Guard recruiters work out of two storefront offices.
Kapolei Office Campbell Square 1001 Kamokila Boulevard #187 Kapolei, Hawai‘i 96707 (808) 888-6042 Windward Office Windward City Shopping Center 45-480 Kāne‘ohe Bay Drive # C09 Kāne‘ohe, Hawai‘i 9674 (808) 235-8985 Contact Information: Main Line: 808-733-4228 Blackberry: 808-216-2515 Primary Email: Christopher.perez.7@us.af.mil Secondary Email: Christopher.c.perez.mail@mail.milOff the National Public Radio (NPR) website
Many of the foods that we chow down on every day were invented not for us, but for soldiers.
Energy bars, canned goods, deli meats — all have military origins. Same goes for ready-to-eat guacamole and goldfish crackers.
According to the new book, Combat-Ready Kitchen: How The U.S. Military Shapes The Way You Eat, many of the packaged, processed foods we find in today’s supermarkets started out as science experiments in an Army laboratory. The foodstuffs themselves, or the processes that went into making them, were originally intended to serve as combat rations for soldiers out in the battlefield.
Webmaster Comments: there are many websites that feature photographs of “old Hawaii”. Kamaaina56’s flickr postings are the BEST. Special thanks to Fred Hyun for sharing this link.
Photos of Old Hawaii!…be sure to browse to left corner of each photo for caption and date…
Samson Juan Achuela, age 64, of Wai‘anae, Hawai‘i, passed away July 23, 2015 in Honolulu. Born September 4, 1950 in Waipahu, Hawai‘i. Retired Master Sergeant who served 30 years with the Hawai‘i Air National Guard as a computer maintenance technician assigned to the 169th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (ACW).
He is survived by sons, COL Moses (Joni) Kaoiwi, Aaron (Colleen) Achuela; mother, Anna Achuela; sisters, Sarah Achuela, Nina (Steve) Remington; brother, Daniel (Rose) Achuela; 6 grand- children.
Visitation 5:30 p.m. Sunday (Aug 9) at Mililani Mortuary Mauka Chapel. Wake service 6:30 p.m. Committal service 1:00 p.m. Monday (Aug 10) at Hawai‘i State Veterans Cemetery. Casual/Aloha attire. Flowers welcome.
Dennis Y. Taniguchi, 69, of Waipahu, a Hawaiian Telcom retiree and a Hawai‘i Army National Guard veteran, passed away on May 19, 2015. He was born in Hilo.
He is survived by wife Betty, sons Chad Y. and Clint, brother Michael, sister Lynn Kihara and two grandchildren.
Visitation: 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Mililani Mortuary- Waipi‘o, mauka chapel. Services: 6:30 p.m. Casual attire. No flowers.
The Department of Veterans Affairs could start processing applications for the new veteran identification card by the second half of September.
Created by an act of Congress last month, the card is intended as a way for veterans to prove they served in the military without having to carry around and present a DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.
You may be one of the unlucky older Americans paying sharply higher Medicare costs next year. Part B Medicare premiums are projected to rise by as much as 52% in 2016, but only for 30% of the program’s beneficiaries, according to the program’s annual trustees report. The remaining 70% will see no premium increase at all.
It’s possible that federal officials will find ways to reduce the price hikes. Next year’s premium rates will be made final later in October. Still, a significant increase has to be expected.
When hackers landed a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV Jeep in a ditch last week, it sent a warning to BMW AG, Audi and Mercedes-Benz as the German luxury-car trio compete increasingly on technology rather than just horsepower.
Mercedes’s E-Class will soon be able to help steer itself, Audi sent an unmanned RS7 down a track at race-car speeds and BMW’s new 7-Series responds to hand gestures. All three already offer self-braking systems and highly automated cruise control that are slowly shifting driving responsibility away from the human and toward the machine.
Maj Gen Arthur “Joe” Logan presided over a Change of Command for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard yesterday. Brig Gen Bruce Oliveira relinquished command to BG Keith Tamashiro at the 29th Brigade Combat Team’s Readiness Center in Kalaeloa.
Among the many retirees present were: former adjutants general Edward “Butch” Correa and Robert Lee; Joseph Chaves, who flew in from the Northwest for the event, Edward Cruickshank , Kurt Jackson, Raymond Jardine, Stanley Osserman, James Reis, Bruce Spear.
Congratulations to all involved with the planning and execution of the change of command – GREAT JOB
Check the photographs at the Adjutant General’s Facebook page
Special thanks to Vern Nakasone for passing this information to Retiree News. The retired Command Sergeant Major continues at Marine Corps Base Hawaii as an electrical systems inspector.
The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), in partnership with the Annual Wounded Warrior Canoe Regatta is sponsoring the 2015 Annual Hawaii Warrior Job Fair. This free event is open to veterans, Guardsmen, Reservists, service members and their spouses seeking opportunities for employment or a career change.
Free validated parking at the Fort DeRussy parking structure located across the street from the Hale Koa Hotel. Job seekers must show valid military ID or DD214.
Participating employers will have positions available to fill, accept applications and resumes, conduct on the spot interviews and offers of employment. Interviews may be given on the spot so dress for success!
The event will also include seminars on resume writing tips for Federal employment, General employment and interview tips. Veteran resources, along with and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) volunteers, will have counselors available throughout the day to assist veterans and service members.
Please pass the word along to other veterans, service members, or spouses you may know who are looking for meaningful employment. Those interested who have questions can also contact the Hawaii Hires Heroes, 808-672-1246.
You can register to receive an email every time there is a new post. In the “Follow Blog via Email” section and press “Follow”. On the next screen, enter your email address and press ENTER. Shortly, you will receive a confirmation email to your address from WordPress.com. You acknowledge the email and you are a registered reader.
After you compete this short registration process, you get a notification email every time there is a new posting. The email has a quick teaser of the posting, along with tags that indicate how the posting relates to special topics/areas. There is a direct link to the website (Read more of this post)
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Thanks to these Retiree News readers who registered to “Follow Blog via Email”: Joseph Chaves
A new government review of what the Chinese hack of sensitive security clearance files of 21 million people means for national security is in — and some of the implications are quite grave.
