honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, May 5, 2003

Briefs

Advertiser Staff

HAWAI'I

Meeting about Korea postponed

A meeting that Korean officials said would take place in Hawai'i tomorrow and Wednesday to discuss the future of U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula has been postponed.

The Pentagon had said it had not made any announcement of the meeting, and the timing was subject to change.

U.S. officials said on April 9 at a first round of talks that the main U.S. military base in South Korea will be moved out of the nation's capital as soon as possible.

The headquarters in Seoul for 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea has become a source of friction, with some South Koreans objecting to the American presence.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in March said U.S. troops near the border with North Korea could be moved south, to other countries in the region, or be brought home.


AMERICAN LEGION

Red poppy orders being accepted

American Legion Auxiliary is accepting orders for the annual Red Poppy observance May 22-24, honoring members of the military.

The auxiliary is urging elected and appointed public officials, as well as broadcast and print journalists at local, state and national levels to wear the poppy.

For donations and orders, write to American Legion Auxiliary, 612 McCully St., Honolulu, HI 96826; call 946-6383; or e-mail aldepthi@hawaii.rr.com.


AIR FORCE

Officer dismissed for marijuana use

The 18-year career of a Hawai'i-based Air Force lieutenant colonel who received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Operation Desert Storm ended with a marijuana conviction, Hickam Air Force Base public affairs said.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Wills, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Directorate of Air and Space Operations, received a dismissal and 14 days in the Ford Island Brig for possession and use of marijuana, Hickam's base newspaper said.

Wills had flown 28 combat missions as an electronic warfare officer in the first Gulf War.

Capt. Kristin Coccaro, the military justice deputy chief with the 15th Air Base Wing legal office, told Hickam public affairs that as Wills was preparing to return from temporary duty in San Antonio, a routine security check revealed he had a small amount of marijuana.

Wills had less than a gram of marijuana in a plastic bag tucked in his pants, Coccaro said.

Wills pleaded guilty to possession and use of marijuana April 15, Hickam representatives said.

The Air Force said a dismissal for an officer is the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members.