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Volunteers help at health fair

Several Hickam volunteers participated recently in a health fair at Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary School as part of Drug-Free Hawai'i Awareness month.

The Physically Healthy Kids Fair took place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and included students from all grades as well as faculty and volunteer groups.

Hickam participants helped run activity stations designed to give hands hands-on lessons about fitness while allowing children to have fun at the same time.

"We want to teach children about healthy living," said Ed Fujimoto, physical education instructor at the school. "Some of the grades even made different displays about health and fitness."

At the fair, children participated in activities such as the long jump, crab soccer, scooter mania, basketball shootouts and eclipse ball — which is a cross between tennis, volleyball and badminton. They also took part in some coordination exercises such as a "Kup Stax" game and a bubble-popping contest.

"This was fun," said Jane Daly, to an event organizer while watching her son, John, 8, play one of the games. "Thanks for doing this."

Fujimoto said he was appreciative of the military's volunteer turnout.

"You can always count on the military," he said. "They're always generous when it comes to time for the kids."

The event was sponsored by the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawai'i. The coalition's focus is prevention education and action.

The coalition also sponsored a free concert yesterday at Kapi'olani Park from noon to 7. The event featured music, food, and children's activities.

For more information check out the Web page.

Patrols over cities may end

Air Force Secretary James Roche wants to end the post-Sept. 11 practice of continuous fighter jet patrols over U.S. cities and instead leave fighters on "strip alert" at airfields, ready to launch in case of emergency.

Roche said Friday at Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma that the Air Force is consulting with the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and with the White House's Office of Homeland Security to determine what level of air defense is required in the long run.

The air patrols are tying up about 265 airplanes — mostly fighters, refuelers and radar planes — and about 12,000 airmen, Roche said.

That compares with 14,000 Air Force personnel committed to the war in Afghanistan, he said, making the Air Force the only service with a large-scale commitment to both fronts in the war on terrorism.

Roche said he would prefer an adjustment that would place Air Force fighter jets on "strip alert" at certain bases around the country — ready to respond to indications of threatening aircraft. That would replace the present practice of flying continuous patrols over Washington and New York and patrolling daily over a rotating group of cities elsewhere.

In addition to the combat air patrols, fighters now are on alert at more than two dozen bases.