Small island, big Wake

(Gerald Takeuchi is a member of the civilian community organization Friends of Hickam. He recently accompanied senior leaders from PACAF and the 15th Airlift Wing on a trip to Wake Island to deliver equipment and visit with the small staff of Airmen and contractors stationed there.)

I've been a member of the Friends of Hickam for at least 10 years, and was fortunate this year to be invited by General Gary North to accompany about forty other individuals, representing the Air Force and other branches of the military, to Wake Island. From the moment we arrived, we were treated with much "Hawaiian" hospitality...



We were each allowed one bag for the trip, and they were loaded onto pallets while Gen. North and Colonel Giovanni Tuck invited us "upstairs" to the cockpit to meet our pilot, Lt. General 'Hawk' Carlisle. I was amazed at the amount of instrument checking required before takeoff. Not only General Carlisle, but our co-pilot and two other crewmembers behind us were checking their instruments. I could not fathom how they managed to memorize and perform so many functions.

At Wake, we were greeted by Lt Colonel Stephen Blake, commander of the island. Wake is a V-shaped island in the middle of the Pacific, with no resources to speak of. Even a rogue wave can cause damage because the island is only 20 feet at its highest point. Contractors from Chugach maintain all the facilities necessary for people to be able to live and work on the island. Col. Blake explained his mission was to have a solid landing facility that can handle not only American planes that need to refuel, in peace or war, but also planes that have to be diverted for emergencies, boats that are in distress, and the list goes on.

As we toured, General North asked questions of the workers. The most interesting answers were the number of years some of them have been on the island: 21, 16, 10, 6. We were amazed. These people were proud of their accomplishments and their duties, and all were multi-taskers. They do plumbing, electrical work, repair roads, cars and buildings, service planes, fight fires... they learn whatever skills are needed. The complexity of keeping a military base running smoothly has definitely gained my admiration.

As a member of the Friends of Hickam, my mission is to help our servicemen blend into our island and culture. I hope to work even harder to do more as a Friend of Hickam and to treat the men as I was treated on that day at Wake. Thank you very much Gen. North, Lt. Gen. Carlisle, Brig. Gen. Baker and Colonel Tuck for everything I learned.


Mahalo Nui Loa!
Gerald