Briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
ALL SERVICES
Hale Koa to get $8 million upgrade
Congressman Neil Abercrombie announced $8 million in military contracts for upgrades to the Hale Koa Hotel.
The first of two contracts awarded to Kiewit Pacific Co. of Kapolei is for the $3.5 million renovation of the hotel's laundry.
The second contract, for $4.5 million, is for the construction of a "lu'au facility" at the hotel, Abercrombie's office said.
The Hale Koa and other military recreation facilities are operated with non-appropriated Morale, Welfare and Recreation money generated by military clubs, recreation facilities, commissaries and exchanges. They are not paid for by tax revenues.
ARMY
Paper outlines transformation
The Washington Times reports the Army is circulating a "Transformation Road-map" endorsed by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki.
"Army formations will become even more strategically responsive, full-spectrum capable, modular and scalable," the paper states.
The direction taken by the Army is intended to make it lighter and faster to respond to emerging threats, especially after the lessons learned from the Gulf War, when it took five months to assemble needed forces in the desert.
But the "roadmap" also reminds revisionists that old threats — particularly those faced by Pacific-based forces — remain.
"North Korea remains both a concern and a question mark," the Army report says. "Tensions between India and Pakistan persist even as the latter supports our war on terrorism."
Recruiting goals achieved early
The Army has announced it has met all of its recruiting and retention goals for fiscal 2002 six weeks early.
The goals were 79,500 new recruits for the active Army and 28,825 for the Reserve. The retention goal was 49,000 re-enlistments for the active Army.
It was the third year of meeting all recruiting and retention goals after missing some of those goals from 1995 to 1999.
The Army Recruiting Command also met its goal of recruiting 400 individuals for Special Forces.
Normally, "Green Beret" recruiters seek specialists and above for the elite service. The Army exceeded the Special Forces requirement with 445 recruits signed as of Aug. 8.
MARINES
Remembrance of 9/11 planned
Marine Corps Base Hawai'i will hold a remembrance ceremony at 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Pacific War Memorial.
The ceremony is intended to pay respects to Americans who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.
The base asks those who lost friends, family or loved ones that day to contact the Marine Corps public affairs office for reservations to attend the ceremony.
The keynote speaker will be Brig. Gen. Jerry C. McAbee, commanding general of Marine Corps Base Hawai'i. The Marine Forces Pacific Band also will perform. Call 257-8840.
