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ARMY
Support vessels moving to Hickam
Three Army Logistic Support Vessels will be moved next summer from Ford Island to Bishop's Point at Hickam Air Force Base.
The 272-foot LSVs can haul up to 2,000 tons of cargo and equipment, military representatives said. Bishop's Point will become home to the Army's 545th Transportation Detachment and Army Reserve 548th Transportation Company.
The Bishop's Point Army construction project will include an administrative building to house active-duty and Reserve Army commands.
Meanwhile, a new LSV for Hawai'i is being outfitted in Pascagoula, Miss., and should be completed in February.
Stryker gets a thumbs up
Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, test drove the Army's new Stryker vehicle recently at Fort Lewis, Wash.
The Stryker-equipped 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division is deploying to Iraq in the first combat test of the 20-ton, eight-wheeled vehicles. Hawai'i is slated to have an operational Stryker brigade in 2007.
Myers said he was impressed with how smoothly the wheeled Stryker rides in contrast to other troop carriers. Tracked vehicles make for a more teeth-chattering ride. A troop carrier version of the Stryker holds nine soldiers, a vehicle commander and a driver.
"Nine folks get out and they won't be fatigued from just getting there," Myers said. "I think it's a terrific vehicle. ... The smoothness of the ride over rough terrain and the stability and the responsiveness were quite striking to me."
The Stryker is not intended to be a tank, and doesn't have a tank's armored protection, although it can stop a heavy 14.5 mm machine-gun round. The Army hopes to use speed and advanced communications to help protect the vehicles and their occupants.
NAVY
USS Olympia back at Pearl
The attack submarine USS Olympia recently returned to Pearl Harbor from a routine deployment to the Western Pacific.
Olympia participated in exercises Tandem Thrust, designed to develop interaction with other military components, and SHAREM 146, a multinational event. The submarine had liberty stops in South Korea, Japan, Guam and Saipan.
Russian visit first here since 1995
More than 300 Russian Federation sailors arrived in Hawai'i Oct. 24 aboard the Udaloy-class destroyer RFN Marshal Shaposhnikov and Dubna-class light oiler RFN Pechenga.
Russian navy ships had last stopped at Pearl Harbor in 1995 during a combined maritime disaster relief exercise.
"I am very grateful to the people and to the government of the United States for the opportunity to make a friendship visit to the heart of the Pacific islands and the heart of the Pacific Fleet here in Pearl Harbor," Russian Vice Adm. Victor Nikolaevich said through an interpreter. "All memories of the visit in 1995 are still very fresh in our minds.
"However, our ships have also visited each other during operations at sea while we performed joint exercises and joint tasks. I think we can honorably say that since that time, we have made steps toward understanding and extending trust toward each other."
