Briefs

Advertiser Staff and News Services

MARINES

Marines trying out new boots

Marines from Bravo Battery, the 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, have been testing two new types of desert combat boots during training at Pohakuloa Training Area and Marine Corps Base Hawai'i at Kane'ohe Bay.

Thirty of the Marines were given the new boots Oct. 17 to test for 30 days. Unlike the boots now worn by Marines, which have a shiny black surface, these tan-colored boots have a rough leather outer layer, meant to save the time of shining and polishing. They are designed to keep feet cool and dry in various environments.

ARMY

Inouye helps open museum

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai'i, trained at Camp Shelby in Mississippi during World War II. He returned Oct. 27 to officially open a new $4.5 million Armed Forces Museum.

The museum features exhibits ranging from the War of 1812 to today's peacekeeping operations, said National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Powell.

Inouye trained at Camp Shelby with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of Japanese-American volunteers.

Inouye, the first American of Japanese ancestry elected to Congress, received the Medal of Honor for advancing on a German machine gun nest that had his platoon pinned down in Italy.

VETERANS

Veterans group holds meetings

The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 858 is looking for veterans who served between Feb. 28, 1964 and May 7, 1975.

The group meets the first Saturday of each month. For information, call (800) 882-1316.

MILITARY EDUCATION

Bridge design contest held

West Point U.S. Military Academy is sponsoring a nationwide bridge design competition for students in grades K-12.

The competition, which opens Nov. 11, features a computer-aided design package called the West Point Bridge Designer. The free software can be downloaded from the contest Web site.