Briefs
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MILITARY
Major exercises will continue
Despite the events of Sept. 11 and the ongoing war on terrorism, major military exercises planned for the year won't be canceled.
The list includes "Cobra Gold" in Thailand, "Balikatan" in the Philippines, and "Cooperation Readiness Afloat and Training," Navy training that takes place at ports in places such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
Military officials at Pacific Command headquarters at Camp Smith said there are no changes planned to the schedule.
All three exercises are held in the spring and involve U.S. soldiers from all services, as well as ships and aircraft from throughout the Pacific theater.
AIR FORCE
Higher tempo to continue
The increased activity seen at Pacific Air Force bases — including Hickam Air Force Base — is expected to continue in coming months.
The latest effort PACAF is supporting is the increased U.S. military presence in the Philippines, where 660 troops are acting as advisers and training their Philippine counterparts on counterterrorism techniques.
"We were a busy command prior to 9-11, just like the rest of the Air Force," Gen. William J. Begert, PACAF's commander, told Stars and Stripes. "Since then, the ops tempo has gone up, and we've increased the effort even more with alerts in Hawai'i, Guam and Alaska."
In support of the war in Afghanistan, PACAF set up refueling tanker bridges across the Pacific that B-1B, B-52 and B-2 bombers used en route to the British-controlled base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Service studies salvaging B-1
The Air Force said a feasibility study will determine if a B-1B bomber that crashed in the Indian Ocean in December can be salvaged.
The $280 million bomber, taking part in the war in Afghanistan, reported an in-flight emergency about 100 miles north of the island base after takeoff.
All four crewmembers ejected safely. The search and rescue operation was led by the Pearl Harbor-based destroyer USS Russell, and involved a U.S. Air Force KC-10 and Navy P-3C Orion aircraft.
The Air Force wants to salvage part of the aircraft to determine the exact cause of the crash , which represented the first U.S. airplane lost in connection with the war in Afghanistan and the first B-1B to crash on a combat mission since the bomber became operational in 1986.
NAVY
Final impact study released
The Navy has made available the final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the development of Ford Island.
The development plan supports the Navy's long-range goal of centralizing operations in the Pearl Harbor area.
Under consideration are new construction and adaptive reuse of existing historic structures for up to 420 family housing units, up to 190,000 square feet of administrative space, a consolidated training complex, bachelor enlisted quarters for up to 1,000 personnel, and infrastructure improvements.
Comments received during the draft impact statement are part of the final version, which is available for review for a 30-day period ending Feb. 24.
The impact statement can be viewed at Hawai'i State Library, Salt Lake/Moanalua Public Library, Pearl City Public Library, Waipahu Public Library and 'Ewa Beach Public Library.
VETERANS
VA extends compensation
Veterans exposed to cancer-causing radiation during atomic tests decades ago will be eligible for compensation under new rules adopted on Jan. 25 by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Five types of cancer — brain, bone, colon, lung and ovarian — have been added to the 16 presumed to be connected to radiation exposure during military service, the department said.
Affected veterans will be eligible for monthly benefits of $103 to $2,163 depending on level of disability.
The VA estimates it will grant 11,000 veterans' and 5,800 dependents' claims over 10 years at a cost of about $800 million.
