Great article about your feet and choosing your shoes
Harry Leong Fat Kau, beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, and friend passed away on March 30th, 2015 at the age of 84. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 16, 1930, he served his country in the First Battalion, 298th Infantry Regiment of the Hawaii National Guard. A man of many talents, he started his own business of 35 years in home construction and remodeling. He will be loved forever by all the lives he touched. He is survived by wife Dolores Kau; children, Glen (Grace) Kau, Kathleen (Lance Hama) Kau, Cheryleen Kau, Su-lin (Dennis) Gray; grandchildren Jake Kau, Collin, Loyal, Kenzi and Cassidy Gray; siblings, Leong Jean Kau of Hawaii, Leon (Josephine) Kau of South Carolina, Alice Thursten of Hawaii; Donald (Mary) Kau of Tennessee, Joseph (Marie) of Hawaii; and many other relatives here and in Hawaii. Services were at Green Hills Mortuary, 27501 S. Western Ave, Rancho Palos Verdes on April 11th.
Webmaster Comments: Senator Cochran’s position as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee had a lot to do with this inactivation plan reversal. The late Senator Inouye was the Chair of the Senate Appropriation Committee at the time of his passing. It is the most powerful chairmanship in the Senate.
The Air Force informed Congress on Tuesday that it has abandoned plans to inactivate Air Force Reserve Command’s 815th Airlift Squadron at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, announced members of the state’s congressional delegation. As a result, the unit’s 10 C-130J transports will continue to operate from the southern Mississippi base, they said.
“Today’s announcement is a major win for the future stability of Keesler Air Force Base as well as the many communities and businesses that depend on it,” said Senator Roger Wicker (R), in the joint release with Senator Thad Cochran (R) and Representative Steven Palazzo (R). Wicker said he was grateful to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh “for recognizing the value that Keesler provides to the Air Force and the Gulf Coast.”
Cochran, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and its defense panel, said he looked forward to working with the Air Force to ensure the squadron’s manpower and mission “are fully restored.”
The Air Force in February 2012 proposed relocating Keesler’s C-130Js, a move the lawmakers opposed. In April 2014, the Air Force inactivated the 345th AS, the Active Duty associate unit that provided additional manpower for the C-130Js.
“Do more with less” has become the 21st century mantra as technology, coupled with a sluggish economy, has led to personnel cutbacks across industry.
And the military. Today, the Air Force is operating with 50,000 fewer airmen than 10 years ago.
But down on the flight line, over in the drone module and up in the transport aircraft, there is more work than ever. The relentless missions driven by wars, deployments and exercises have raised the op tempo to a fever pitch. And at the home station — after the planes are fixed and the supplies strapped down — mounds of paperwork await. And if the budget cuts mandated by sequestration kick in next year, expect worse.
Taken from the April 14, 2015 issue of the NGAUS Washington Report, a weekly e-newsletter of the National Guard Association of the United States
Congress has returned to the nation’s capital and work is expected to begin again on the defense bills. Military Times says service members should not expect to see recommendations from the panel on compensation included in the budget. Also, a pay raise of 1.3 percent is likely.
The House Armed Services Committee is expected to do its markup of the defense bill April 29.
The publication says House members are reluctant to address the recommendations from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission because they don’t know how they will be received or what the results might be. The panel wants the Pentagon to significantly revamp its retirement system, among other changes.
Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s personnel subcommittee, said in a statement he is “concerned that Congress not rush that process without fully vetting both the recommendations and their second- and third-order effects.”
NGAUS has urged lawmakers to quickly pass the recommendations of the commission because they would benefit National Guard members and provide a retirement benefit to service members who leave the military before reaching the 20-year mark.
Military Times also says the Pentagon’s recommendation of a pay raise of 1.3 percent could happen as Congress attempts to keep down spending. That would be above the 1 percent raise of the last two years, but below the hike in average wages in the private sector by about 1 percentage point.
Hisashi Kawai, 89, of Honolulu, a retired Hawaii Army National Guard personnel officer, passed away on April 11, 2015. He was born in Keahua, Maui. He is survived by wife Sueko, sons David K. and Colins A., and a grandchild. No services.
What do the Civil War and World War II have to do with your tax return? NBC News explains in this quick history of the Internal Revenue Service.
Watch the video
It’s official: Soldiers can now get their arms, legs and most of their bodies covered in tattoos.
The Army published an update to Army Regulation 670-1 on Friday, meaning the new tattoo rules are officially in effect.
Under the new policy, there are no longer limits on the size or number of tattoos soldiers can have on their arms and legs. The change strikes a short-lived policy limiting soldiers to four tattoos below the elbow or knee, none bigger than the wearer’s hand.
Troublesome memory loss doesn’t need to be an automatic consequence of old age.
Here are six ways to keep your thinking sharp and your memory strong.
Gordon Lau, retired Hawaii Air National Guard loadmaster sent in the following information.
Here’s some info I got off of Military.com: Week of April 13, 2015
A new option for bifocal and trifocal wearers is now available for active-duty personnel and Department of Defense (DoD) retirees. The addition, known as the ‘5A-M,’ was added to ensure there would be room to accommodate bifocal and trifocal prescriptions. It can be ordered through any DoD optometry or ophthalmology clinic through the Spectacle Request Transmission System. These glasses are at no cost to eligible DoD retirees. Fitting kits for the optometry and ophthalmology clinics are available through Electronic Catalog (E-CAT).
For more on military benefits, visit the Military.com Benefits Center
Related Topics: Veteran Benefits
Contributing editor, Stephen Lum sent in this old photograph for posting in Retiree News.
“I found this photograph in a stack of old prints. It is a unit photograph of the 120th Military Policy Company, Hawai‘i Army National Guard. The photograph was taken on June 25, 1965 at Schofield Barracks.”
click on photograph to enlarge
120th Military Police Co, Special Troops, HIARNG, Captain Harry K. Brown, Jr., commander; First Lieutenant R. Faufata; Second Leiutenant L. Camara; 1st Sergeant Matildo Paz.
Recognize anyone else?
Steve retired from the Hawai‘i Army National Guard and continues to work in the State Department of Defense’s public affairs office. His had worked on annual reports, the pūpūkahi and other documents over the years. His research produced in depth articles with photographs about the Hawai‘i National Guard and Guard members.
Glenda Buis, recently retired from the Hawai‘i Air National Guard, started as a State employee at the Headquarters, Hawai‘i Air National Guard. Currently, she is a temporary hire but hopefully she will eventually fill the job permanently. Glenda served as the 154th Wing commander’s secretary for several years. She previously served as the 154th Mission Support Group commander’s secretary. In that position, she was the secretary to several future generals: Skip Vincent, Stan Osserman, and Ryan Okahara. Good to see a familiar face at the Headquarters!
Governor David Y. Ige has nominated Lance Mizumoto to serve on the Board of Education. Lance is the President and Chief Banking Officer of Central Pacific Bank. He has over 25 years experience with financial institutions in Hawai‘i. Lance served as a personnel officer in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard for several years. He is another second generation Guard member. His father is Allen Mizumoto, a retired brigadier general who served as the Commander, Hawai‘i Air National Guard.
Toshio Yamashiro, 93, of Hilo, a Puna Sugar Co. inspector, a retired plumbing inspector for Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works and a Hawai‘i Army National Guard veteran, passed away on March 30, 2015. He was born in Hakalau, Hawai‘i. He is survived by daughters Velma Menezes, Jo Ann Agasa, Merle Yee and Dr. Carla Yamashiro; sister Ayako You; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Visitation: 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Hilo Higashi Hongwanji Mission. Services: 11 a.m. Casual attire.
The head of the New Jersey National Guard on Thursday confirmed there are multiple investigations into complaints by senior officers of favoritism and racial discrimination in the top ranks, but said he was confident those claims would be found to be baseless.
In his first public comments on the allegations, the adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff, sought to downplay the complaints without responding to specifics, saying they were made by a small group of people who were “unhappy with how their careers are ending.”
