The Navy broke ground last week on a 140-unit housing project on Ford Island for junior enlisted people. The project is expected to be completed in 2004.

The $35 million contract was awarded to Actus-Lend Lease LLC and includes the construction of 30 housing units at Radford Terrace, and the demolition of 110 units at Radford Terrace and 74 units at Hale Moku.

The new Ford Island homes will be three- and four-bedroom duplexes and quads.

The homes will include central air-conditioning, garages, and full-size washers and dryers.

"The new housing units have been designed to be distinct from, but compatible with, the craftsman style of the existing Luke Field housing," said Jay Yanz, historical architect for Navy Region Hawai'i. The housing project, he said, is designed "to respect the historic character of the island."

Since 1996, the Navy said it has replaced or renovated more than 2,300 housing units in Hawai'i at a cost of about $426 million.

The replacement program on O'ahu in recent years has added 752 homes in Moanalua Terrace, 318 units in Hale Moku, 214 homes in two phases of Doris Miller Park and 356 homes in Pearl City, the Navy said.

The Mall opens later this month

The Mall at Pearl Harbor, a new Navy exchange and commissary complex, will open Oct. 25.

The 340,000-square-foot mall will have the largest Navy retail store in the world and the largest military supermarket in Hawai'i.

"The Mall at Pearl Harbor is going to change the way people think of the Navy Exchange," said District Manager/General Manager Mike Cottrell. "It's more than just a big store; it's a better shopping environment for the military community with a focus on value, quality and service with aloha."

The Mall has a two-story atrium topped by artist Wyland's 89th "whaling wall," a depiction of whales and other undersea life.

Name brands such as Tommy Bahama, Ralph Lauren, Roxy, Quicksilver and Levi's will have more of a presence at the mall, officials said.

The existing Navy Exchange will continue operating until Oct. 25.

AIR GUARD

Pilots back from Norway

More than 180 Hawai'i Air National Guard people from the 154th Wing took part in NATO Air Meet 2002, Aug. 31 to Sept. 13 in Norway.

The exercise gave the Air Guard's 199th Fighter Squadron's F-15 Eagle pilots a chance to practice aerial combat with a variety of fighter aircraft from NATO countries.

All three types of Hawai'i Air Guard aircraft — F-15s, C-130 Hercules transports and KC-135 tankers — participated in the exercise.

MARINES

Mess halls privatized

The Marine Corps signed an $881 million contract with Sodexho Inc. for food needs in all of the 55 garrison mess halls in the United States, Stars and Stripes reported.

Sodexho, based in Gaithersburg, Md., will run garrison mess halls in 55 locations for the next eight years. The mess halls are in Arizona, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The Marine Corps said there are no plans to privatize overseas mess-hall duties.

"The great successes of the future are not so much doing what you do best ... but identifying what you're not particularly good at and finding someone to partner with," said Lt. Gen. Richard Kelly, deputy commandant for Marine Corps Installations and Logistics.

According to the Stars and Stripes report, 594 Marines assigned to food-service specialist billets will be moved out of those jobs and placed elsewhere in war-fighting positions — which is what the Corps is particularly good at, Kelly said.