The September 11th attack
Hawai'i reservists called to active duty
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
More than 70 of Hawai'i's Army National Guard and Army reservists were called to active duty early yesterday, part of a nationwide call-up of more than 780 people from the nation's Army Reserves.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The soldiers will remain in Hawai'i, helping the commands at U.S. Army Pacific and the 25th Infantry Division defend Hawai'i's military and infrastructure.
Staff Sgt. Juanito Manibog, a National Guardsman with a specialty in nuclear-biological and chemical defense, said he figured the call to active duty was coming.
For most, the call was not a total surprise.
"It's kind of like having a baby," said Lt.Col. Placido Dale Valenciano. "You know it is going to happen, but you can't really be sure of the date."
Valenciano, who flew to Honolulu from his home on Kaua'i after being activated, is in charge of the 25th Infantry Division Rear Operations Cell, a National Guard unit created in 1992 to support active-duty forces of the 25th Infantry Division. Seventeen members of Valenciano's unit were activated.
More than 60 Army reservists were activated. Forty from the 9th Regional Support Command are expected to be assigned to U.S. Army Pacific.
All of the Hawai'i soldiers activated yesterday expected to be on active duty for at least six months. Some guardsmen at the 25th ID Rear Operations Cell said they were anticipating up to a year of active service.
An officer from the 9th Regional Support Command said she was making plans for up to three years.
The 9th Regional Support reservists will work for Lt. Gen. E.P. Smith as he undertakes his new role as Joint Rear Area Coordinator Hawai'i, a position that places him in charge of protecting Hawai'i's military's interests.
His job, which will require close coordination with state and local authorities, is a task of historical significance.
"It's paving some new territory," said Lt. Col. Mark Samisch, U.S. Army Pacific spokesman.
Capt. Gina Salvia, an Army reservist for 14 years, was activated yesterday.
In 1999 she was sent to England to support operations in the former Yugoslavia. This time, Salvia said, she gets to drive home every evening.
"It almost feels like cheating," she said.
Staff Sgt. Juanito Manibog, a National Guardsman with a specialty in nuclear-biological and chemical defense, said he figured the call to active duty was coming, but thought it might be later. He'd overestimated the pool of soldiers available in his job specialty.
"I wasn't shocked, but I was surprised," Manibog said. "I thought there were 20 million other guys out there doing the same thing, but..."
The 25th ID Rear Operations Cell was short on nuclear-biological-chemical people and appropriated Manibog from a guard unit in Wahiawa, where he was soon to fulfill his 20 years toward retirement.
He said he doesn't mind being called up.
"To be honest," he said, "I'm really proud to be a part of this mission. If I had retired, I'd be calling up my old unit to see if they needed some help."
