Briefs

Advertiser Staff and News Services

ARMY

Local engineers to get new chief

Two of the Army's top engineers will step closer to trading places tomorrow at Fort Shafter when Brig. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson assumes command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Pacific Ocean Division.

Brig. Gen. Randal R. Castro, who has commanded the Pacific Ocean Division since Aug. 31, 1999, will soon assume Johnson's former position as assistant commandant of the Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Johnson becomes the 23rd commander of the largest division in the Army Corps of Engineers, with engineering and construction missions in Japan, South Korea, Alaska, Hawai'i and Kwajalein Atoll.

The change of command ceremony, at 2 p.m. on the parade field, is open to the public.

NAVY

Intranet to link sailors, Marines

The Department of the Navy's plan to develop a Navy Marine Corps Intranet, a managed service for voice, video and data information exchange across the world, is nearing completion of its first major phase.

The Navy Marine Corps Intranet will make network-based information services available to sailors and Marines in daily duties and in war. Once installed, the Navy and Marine Corps will be able to link to more than 360,000 desktops across the United States and sites in Cuba, Iceland and Puerto Rico.

VETERANS

'Secret weapon' of WWII shared

Hawai'i veterans who served in the Military Intelligence Service in World War II will share their wartime experiences tomorrow at the Japanese Cultural Center.

Six thousand soldiers served as translators, interpreters and interrogators in Asia and the Pacific during the war. They monitored enemy radio broadcasts, intercepted communications and even infiltrated enemy lines, serving as America's "secret weapon."

Intelligence service veterans Takejiro Higa, Hideto Kono and Ted Tsukiyama will talk about their experiences. A partial preview of "Uncommon Courage: Patriotism and Civil Liberties," a documentary featuring intelligence service soldiers, will also be shown.

The free program, in the Cultural Center's Manoa Grand Ballroom at 7 p.m., will be moderated by former TV journalist and anchor Barbara Tanabe, whose father served in the Military Intelligence Service. For more information, call 945-7633.

Retired sailor recognized

The Hawai'i Chapter of TROA, an organization of retired and active military officers, presented retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Stanley Nicholls with the Doleman Award for volunteer contributions to the community.

Nicholls serves the homeless on O'ahu as a full-time volunteer with the Institute for Human Services.