Briefs

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The Chilean navy tall ship Esmeralda ends a four-day visit to Pearl Harbor today. The 371-foot vessel built in Spain between 1952 and 1954 is one of the largest training ships in the world. It is now bound for Japan. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Chilean tall ship heads back to sea

The Chilean Navy tall ship Esmeralda and its crew of more than 300 sailors end a four-day port visit at Pearl Harbor today.

Commanded by Capt. Gonzalo Lopez Perez, Esmeralda is the second-largest sailing ship in the world. It serves as a training ship for the Chilean Navy. Its last visit to Hawai'i was in 1993.

The ship is a 371-foot, steel-hulled, four-masted barkentine with 31 sails, built between 1952 and 1954 at the shipyards of Cadiz, Spain.

ARMY

Army officers hold meeting

Army officers from more than 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions meet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today through Friday for the 25th Pacific Armies Management Seminar, held by the Malaysian Army and U.S. Army Pacific.

Peacetime support topics are under consideration, including rapid-reaction capabilities and the relationship between civilian and military sectors.

The principal speakers will be Gen. Eric Shinseki, U.S. Army chief of staff; Lt. Gen. Edwin P. Smith, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific; Gen. Tan Sri MD Hashim bin Hussein, chief of the Malaysian Army; and Lt. Gen Dato Pahlawan Khairuddin bin Mat Yusof of the Malaysian Army.

Army chief-of-staff equivalents from 17 countries are meeting through Thursday for a second Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference. The biennial, multinational, executive defense forum is held by the U.S. Army chief of staff and the chief of another Asia-Pacific army. This year's theme: "The Challenges of Interoperability in the New Millennium."

RESERVES

Army battalion gets new head

Lt. Col. John S. Bly became the 21st commander of the 411th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), Army Reserve, in ceremonies held at Fort Shafter Flats on Aug. 26.

Bly succeeds Lt. Col. Frank M. Kislan, who had commanded the 411th since September 1999.

Kislan and his family will move to Europe, where he will work with the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate in improving Armed Forces Recreation Centers in Garmisch, Germany.

Before assuming command, Lt. Col. Bly was assigned to the headquarters staff, 9th Regional Support Command, in the office of the deputy chief of staff for engineering.

In his civilian occupation, Bly is a senior project manager with the engineering firm of C.H. Guernsey and Co. in Honolulu.

COAST GUARD

Coast Guard plans cleanup

The Coast Guard Sea Partners, a volunteer organization committed to keeping Hawai'i's beaches and ocean free of litter, will hold its annual "Get the Drift and Bag It" beach cleanup at Sand Island Beach Park on Saturday.

The cleanup is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon, and refreshments will be served after the effort. Volunteers are invited to join in.

Last year, a total of 2,480 pounds of trash was collected along the 2-mile shoreline.

For more information, to to volunteer, call Jennifer Thomas at 522-8264.