Briefs
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NAVY
USS Key West pays tribute
The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Key West raised an early Navy Jack flag Wednesday at Pearl Harbor to honor those who died during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Navy Jack has a rattlesnake superimposed over 13 horizontal red and white stripes with the motto, "Don't Tread On Me."
Commodore Esek Hopkins first employed the Jack in the fall of 1775 as he readied the Continental Navy in the Delaware River.
All U.S. Navy ships will raise the historic Jack and continue to do so throughout the global war on terrorism as a reminder of the nation's and Navy's origin and will to persevere and triumph.
The Pearl Harbor-based USS Key West was the first U.S. Navy ship to be on station following the attacks on the United States.
"It's significant that USS Key West represents the fleet because we were the first ship to arrive and be within Tomahawk missile strike range following the attacks against our country last year," said Key West commanding officer Cmdr. Chuck Merkel.
Key West was conducting a routine transit to the Fifth Fleet when it learned of the terrorist attacks. The submarine was directed to proceed to the North Arabian Sea.
COAST GUARD
Cutter due to return
The Coast Guard's 378-foot high endurance cutter Rush was scheduled to return to the Integrated Support Command on Sand Island on Saturday after a long fisheries patrol.
The Rush left here July 1 to patrol the Bering Sea for vessels fishing illegally in U.S. waters.
During the patrol the Rush escorted the Russian fishing vessel Viytna to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, for alleged fishing violations.
The Coast Guard said on Sept. 4, the Viytna was seized for alleged violations of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act including illegal fishing in the U.S. exclusive economic zone and failure to stop when ordered by the Coast Guard.
Approximately 100,000 pounds of fish were seized, the Coast Guard said.
The Viytna and its 84 crew members were escorted to Alaska for further investigation by the Coast Guard, the U.S. Attorney's office, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association General Counsel for Alaska.
ARMY
Initiative for housing on tap
The Army is holding a public information meeting Wednesday for implementation of its Residential Communities Initiative.
The meeting will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Moanalua High School cafeteria, 2825 Ala Ilima St.
Under the RCI program, Army family housing units would be managed by a private entity.
To accomplish this, the housing units and ancillary support facilities would be transferred, and the property within the housing areas would be leased.
The RCI program in Hawai'i would include approximately 7,704 family housing units at Fort Shafter, Schofield Barracks, Tripler Army Medical Center, Wheeler Army Airfield, Aliamanu Military Reservation and Helemano Military Reservation.
The public information meeting will discuss the project and the environmental documents being prepared in support of it — an environmental assessment and an environmental baseline survey.
For details, call Wesley Nakamoto, environmental protection specialist, at 438-6179.
FRENCH NAVY
Surveillance ship to visit
A French surveillance frigate will visit Honolulu Harbor next week, and tours will be conducted.
The Prairial, which is based in Papeete, Tahiti, is equipped with a Panther helicopter and weapons systems that allow it to launch against air and surface targets. It is also capable of evacuating refugees facing dangerous conditions.
The Prairial was part of a naval task force in East Timor.
It will arrive in the harbor about 9 a.m. Sept. 24, to berth at Aloha Tower's Pier 9, and depart Sept 27.
Tours will be conducted on Sept. 25 and 26 from 2 to 5 p.m. Each tour of the 307-foot ship will take about 45 minutes.
Purses are allowed on board but bags and backpacks are prohibited.
School visits may be scheduled from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. For details, call the French Consulate at 547-5852 or 547-5625.
