Air Force
36th Wing to hold change of command ceremony
On Oct. 25 the 36th wing will hold a change of command ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base. At the ceremony Col. Michael R. Boera will relinquish command to Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Owens (See "Andersen to get brigadier general as commander" and "36th Wing commander reassigned in the “Military” section of the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal.).
He was selected for reassignment as commander of Pacific Air Forces Air Operations Center at Hickam Air Force Base Hawaii.
Owens is the assistant director of air space Information Operations Plans and Requirements Headquarters of Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base Hawaii where he was responsible for overseeing the planning and directing of congency aerospace operations and support activities; programming flying training for all PACAF combat forces; directing airlift and air refueling support; advocating theater requirements for new weapons systems; and managing support for theater weather and air traffic services.
Commanding officer of the U.S. Transportation Command visits Guam
Gen. Norton Schwartz commander of the U.S. Transportation Command toured the 734 Air Mobility Squadron on Sept. 3 and 4 during a visit to Andersen Air Force Base. During the tour Col. Michael R. Boera commander of the 36th Wing; briefed the general on Andersen’s current and future missions. After the briefing the squadron hosted a fiesta dinner in honor of the visiting general.
Schwartz also toured the 734th AMS Air Freight terminal and Passenger Service Terminal and was briefed on the limitations of the current facility the proposed military construction for a new AMS Freight Terminal and the squadron’s efforts to prevent the spread of the brown tree snake in outbound cargo.
B-52s deployed to Andersen participate in Koa Lightning exercises
According to an Oct. 1 release the B-52’s of the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deployed to Andersen Air Force base from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base N.D. participated the Pacific Command’s Koa Lightning Training exercise early in September. The exercise consisted of training missions to Hawaiian airspace and back to Guam. The missions provided scenarios designed to hone the combat edge of both the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and the Pacific Forces.
The flight to Hawaii and back required two refuelings for the B-52s. Two KC-135 tankers from Andersen’s 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron deployed from Grissom Air Reserve Base IN supported the first refueling. In Hawaiian airspace the B-52s coordinated with forward air controllers to deliver simulated joint direct attack munitions.
Pacific Air Forces Command Chaplain visits Guam
On Sept. 20 through the 23 Col Richard M. Hartwell command chaplain to the Pacific Air Forces; Command Chaplain made his first visit to Guam. The purpose of his visit was to learn how to better serve airmen stationed on Guam. Hartwell supports the chaplain service teams throughout the Asia Pacific. He is responsible for Alaska Hawaii Japan Korea Okinawa and Guam.
Contingency Response Group returns from Wake Island
On Sept. 8 the initial airfield assessment team from the 36th Contingency Response group returned from Wake Island. The team determined if the airfield and infrastructure on the island was serviceable after the damage caused by Supertyphoon Ioke on Aug. 31. It cleaned of the runway apron erected temporary shelters and set up a generator for follow-on teams. The follow-on team’s job will be to do a fiscal assessment for repairs to damages caused by the supertyphoon. The assessment could take from 10 days to more than 30 days.
Wake Island serves as a scientific outpost and a midpoint air base for Air Force aircraft flying across the Pacific Ocean. The island also serves as a divert airfield for commercial air traffic.
A Sept. 21 Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Labor the Agency for Human Resources Development and the Airman and Family Readiness Center is to help find jobs for Guam’s returning servicemen and women and integrate civilian-military population. The partnership will help fill critically needed jobs on Guam that were not filled by the civilian workforce with veterans and military spouses who may qualify.
The memorandum allows the government of Guam to use federal funds to help train and place veterans and military spouses into jobs on Guam.
Navy
Construction on new school begins
On Oct. 3 the Navy and the Department of Defense Education Activities Guam held a groundbreaking ceremony for DODEA’s new school on U.S. Naval Base Guam. The new school will be named Cmdr. William C. McCool Elementary/Middle School and will service all eligible Department of Defense students on Guam. When completed the new school will be able to accommodate 850 students and will have 15 850 square meters of space.
Dick Pacific Construction Co. was awarded the $37.6 million contract in March. The project is scheduled for completion in May 2008.
Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard seizes foreign fishing vessel for illegal fishing
On Sept. 9 the U.S. Coast Guard seized a foreign fishing vessel — the Marshalls 201 — for illegally fishing inside the 200-mile U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone at Holand/Baker Islands approximately 1 700 mile southwest of Honolulu.
The vessel and its crew were spotted two miles inside the EEZ by a Coast Guard C-130 airplane that was on patrol. The plane kept visual contact with the Marshalls 201 while the Coast Guard Cutter Walnut was diverted to its position.
A Coast Guard boarding team conducted an at-sea law enforcement boarding of the Marshalls 201 and collected evidence of its activities. The Coast Guard received permission to seize the catch and vessel for illegally fishing inside the U.S. EEZ. The Marshalls 201 was carrying an estimated 500 metric tons of skipjack tuna valued at about $350 000.
The Walnut escorted the fishing vessel to Guam where it rendezvoused with the Coast Guard Cutter Sequoia based on Guam and continued the escort.
According to a release jurisdiction for this case is established in the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act which establishes the U.S. Attorney in Guam as the lead authority for prosecution. Possible penalties include forfeiture of the catch and the proceeds from the sale of the catch forfeiture of the vessel additional fines and possible confinement for the master.
The master of the Marshalls 201 is a Taiwanese citizen and its crew was made up of Micronesian and People’s Republic of China citizens. The vessel is a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel owned by the Marshall Islands Fishing Co. MBJ
“
