PACAF Pixels

Training with the Royal New Zealand Air Force

2011-12-29T09:09:00.004-10:00

Senior Master Sgt. Nicole Johnson, 613th Operations Center first sergeant, completes an obstacle as part of her Royal New Zealand Air Force Warrant Officer Promotion Course near Blenheim, New Zealand.

(By Senior Master Sgt. Nicole Johnson 613th Air Operations Center first sergeant)

It's 6 a.m. and I've just been assigned to a Royal New Zealand Air Force team. We were given a timed task to build an underwater cage with basic materials while treading water in less than 20 minutes. The next thing I know I'm in the back of an off-road truck traveling up a mountain. We arrived at a specified destination using coordinates, a grid map, and a compass in less than 90 minutes. But before starting we were blindfolded prior to crossing a suspension bridge dangling over a raging river. And there, my training experience with the RNZAF began.

I was honored to be selected as the first U.S. representative to attend the RNZAF Warrant Officer Promotion Course. Warrant officers perform duties similar to that of the U.S. Air Force first sergeant, so I was selected to be part of a subject matter expert exchange. The four and a half-week course of instruction was similar to our professional military education and included leadership models, a written paper, and of course some public speaking. But the training was a very different experience.

I was challenged physically by treading water for 20 minutes while simultaneously assisting my team with building an underwater cage. This was followed by hiking through mountains, over rocks and rivers in an unfamiliar country, with unfamiliar teammates, facing my fear of heights, all while not knowing what was around the next tree.

Along the way we were given puzzles to solve and leadership topics to discuss; those envelopes with instructions eerily reminded me of exercise injects from evaluators during base-level exercises. All of these obstacles counted against our 90-minute time frame to reach our destination.

At the end of what turned out to be four hours hiking through the mountains, we tackled an obstacle course, three more team-building exercises and brain teasing puzzles, before resting overnight in sleeping bags in wooden huts - without heat. I was tired, cold, and yet very excited to be a part of the experience.

The training was just the beginning of the differences in our military education. Drill, for instance, was a bit awkward for me at first. "Flight will advance to the left in three's" is the preparatory command for a left facing movement. I stepped on toes and heels, ran into people, and at one point marched in the wrong direction.

When it was my turn to call the commands, my classmates were good enough to do as I commanded even if it they didn't understand my accent or my instructions. My new "mates" helped me get on track and encouraged me to keep trying, and with their help, I passed my drill evaluation.

To be an effective warrant officer in the RNZAF, you also have to be able to lead through vision and values and know how to cross-functionally network in the [joint] New Zealand Defense Force. So we packed up and traveled to military areas in New Zealand including the Defense Headquarters in Wellington, the Army training base in Waiouru, and Naval Station Philomel in Devonport.

Through this week of travel I learned that as senior enlisted leaders across services and countries, we had the same challenges - just on different numerical scales. The conversations were sounding very familiar to those at home station and included topics such as budget cuts, joint working environments, policy and procedure changes, and discipline issues.

At the end of the course, we celebrated our new knowledge with a traditional RNZAF Dining In. Based on the British tradition, there were more rules I had to learn for the event. The splendid silver candelabra was our only light, drinks were passed from right to left, women do not pour their own drinks, and toasts were made by all to the Queen of England.

My "mates" also toasted to the President of the United States and the President of Singapore in honor of the Royal Singapore Air Force Warrant Officer on course with us. That evening was a magnificent ending to a magnificent, yet challenging experience.

To say it was an honor to be selected for this course is an understatement. The leadership exchange, knowledge expanded and shared, and friendships formed are only a few of the things I gained.

As our countries build on our international relationship, we will find ourselves participating in more exercises, deployments, and disaster relief with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. I can only hope I am honored once again to work alongside them in any capacity.

Senior Master Sgt. Nicole Johnson, (bottom middle) 613th Operations Center first sergeant, poses with her Royal New Zealand Air Force Warrant Officer Promotion Course class October 2011, at Blenheim, New Zealand.

Dec. 9, 2011 - Arrival ceremony welcomes fallen U.S. military members home

2011-12-09T16:26:00.001-10:00

111209-F-CJ433-004

Service members load unaccounted-for Americans from World War II onto a bus during an arrival ceremony at Hangar 35 of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Dec. 9, 2011. The remains received full military honors and represent losses associated from World War II and the Vietnam War. The individuals unaccounted for from World War II were recovered from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Republic of Vanuatu, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. The final transfer case was recovered from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and represents Vietnam War losses. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez/Released)

Six unidentified American heroes returned from war Dec. 9th, 2011 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. They were honored by friends and fellow service members, with full military honors. The fallen heroes from Vietnam and World War II, paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and have finally been brought home to be identified and laid to rest.

The arrival ceremony, hosted by U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command officials, represents the success of JPAC's mission: to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans lost during the nation's past conflicts.

The ceremony began with a salute to the American flag rendered with full honors by the honor guard whom were represented from separate military services. The crowd then stood silent as the six flag-draped cases passed while being carried by pallbearers from the plane they arrived in, to vehicles for transfer.

A Marine bugler was seen in the distance standing rigid and began to play ‘Taps’ as all the cases were being properly prepared for transfer. The homecoming was somber, yet bittersweet, as some members from the crowd expressed their gratitude and sadness for the fallen.

After the ceremony, the transfer cases were brought to the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory for forensic identification, according to the JPAC press release. If and when identifications are established, the names will be announced following notification of next of kin.

Falling directly under the U.S. Pacific Command, JPAC is a jointly-manned organization of more than 400 military and civilian specialists who research, investigate, recover and identify Americans who remain unaccounted-for from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War.

Since 2003, JPAC has identified more than 608 Americans. The heritage of the U.S. Government accounting effort began in the 1970s, and since then, approximately 1,770 Americans have been identified and returned home to their families.

“Until They Are Home”

For more details go to : http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/

Blog posted by PA Specialist Mrs. Venetia Gonzales

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-12-07T10:25:00.000-10:00

Hickam row after bombing of Hicakm Field December 7, 1941 as viewed from the flight line.

Col. Andrew Kowalski, USAF retired of Honolulu.

He was the First Sgt of the 14^th Recon Sqdrn., Hickam Field.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, he was in his NCO quarters on 14^th Street.

During the attack, he reported for duty at the wing headquarters building on the 2^nd floor where he assisted the commander.

Col. Kowalski is 97 years old.

(Jessie Higa research files Nov 2011)

Photo courtesy of http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-12-06T16:39:00.000-10:00

FRANK KARAS

Age: 90

Residence: Sunnyvale, CA

4^th Reconnassance Squadron/5^th Bombardment Group

Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii

National Pearl Harbor Survivors Assn—Chapter 7 (Santa Clara Valley, CA)--will disband Dec. 31, 2011

Attended last year’s 7 Dec 2010 Remembrance Ceremony

7 Dec Story:

Buck Private Frank Karas was asleep in his bed when Japanese enemy aircraft entered the azure skies above Hickam Field. His dormitory was one of several wings within the 3,200 consolidated airmen’s barracks which also had a mess hall facility in the center of the building. Karas decided to sleep-in that Sunday morning rather than head for the chow hall. It was a decision that he believes saved his life….

At about 0800, a Japanese dive bomber scored a direct hit on his target….the consolidated barracks. That bomb struck the mess hall facility killing up to 35 airmen having breakfast and awoke Karas from his extended sleep.

He quickly put on his clothes and with a group of airmen, assisted in transferring and distributing ordnances and ammunition from the storage bunkers during the hailstorms of bombs and bullets from enemy planes.

Compiled by Jessie R.S. Higa 11/2011

Photo Courtesy of 15th Wing

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-12-06T09:48:00.002-10:00

Heavily damaged truck at Hickam Field next to parade grounds with big barracks in background, Dec 7, 1941.

Ellsworth “Bud” Jung (pronounced Young)

Ellsworth Jung #106

July 26, 1985

Q: Mr. Jung, let me ask you first, when did you first join the

Service?

A: November 1, 1940.

Q: How did you come to be in the Air Corps?

A: Well, actually I enlisted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and I just

saw an ad in the local paper that if you had a high school diploma,

you could come down and join the [Army] Air [Corps] and serve in

Hawaii. And that's something that was intriguing to me, so I did

it!

Q: When did you finally get to Hawaii?

A: Well, it was the first week of December of 1940. I don't

remember the exact dates... 6th of December or something like

that, in '40.

Q: What was the first duties you were assigned to?

A: Well, our first duties, of course, were some drilling and

ground training. We were put in a tent city as soon as we arrived

at Hickam Field, before we were assigned to barracks. And shortly

after that I was assigned to the 26th [Bombardment] Squadron and put

into the main barracks and I guess one of the first duties I had was

Q: After you finished KP, what did they have you doing?

A: Well, I had asked to go to AM school (airplane mechanic

school) when I enlisted, and they did. They sent me through

airplane mechanic school.

Q: Was that at Hickam there?

A: That was at Hickam, yes.

Q: When did you finish that, roughly?

A: I think I finished it in June of 1940.

Q: Were you assigned to a Squadron then?

A: Yes, I'd been in the 26th Squadron. I'd been in 26th Squadron

from the time I arrived. And after finishing AM school, then I

went through flight training. I went through flight engineering

school.

Q: What types of airplanes did you fly?

A: We were B-18's at that time.

Q: What sort of plane was the B-18?

A: Well, the B-18 was a twin-engine bomber. It was... well, we

used it... we did use it to dropping little 100-lb. sand bombs we

were bombing tow targets that the Navy took for us, and bombing

some of the islands out there that we used for targets. But I

was flying before the War broke out, as a crew member, in a B-18.

Our Squadron I think at that time had been assigned two of the

early Flying Fortresses (the ones without the tail guns.) But I

hadn't flown a [B-]17 until right after the War broke out.

Q: Just before the War broke out, what was your daily routine

like?

A: Well, the daily routine was on the flight line. As a flight

engineer, I worked with the mechanics, I worked with armament,

and we flew. We flew our missions where we were training pilots

in instrument... I remember one of my duties as a flight engineer

was to put the black shroud around the co-pilot so that he was

flying in the dark. And we would fly over here and do all types

of simulated things, just for the pilot training really.

Q: Where were you when the attack began on December 7th?

A: Well, I was in the main barracks at Hickam Field. Actually, I

was taking a shower when I first heard the bombs go off.

Q: What made you first realize something was happening?

A: Well, actually, Fort Kamehameha, which was the entrance to

Pearl Harbor, just below Hickam Field, had large coastal guns,

and they would fire those once in a while. So when I first heard

the first explosions, I thought it was their guns exploding.

But then when it continued and started to shake the barracks,

well I figured then there's something else going on, and ran out

of the shower and went into the wing of our squadron, and we just

started to wake up other people that didn't know what was going

on.

By that time, I saw one of the Zeroes come over real low,

and I could see the insignia on it, and new something was

happening that we weren't trained for.

Q: When did you first realize that it was a Japanese attack?

A: Well, about that time, you know. Then everybody else was

getting excited and talking about it and saying, "Hey, this has

gotta be for real”. The Japs are really attacking us, which was

kind of unreal to me, because I was a 21 year old kid. I didn't

know anything about fighting a war. We were a peace time Air

Force and hadn't really been trained for something like that.

Q: What did you do during the attack? Where did you go?

A: Well, the first thing most of us did, as I recall, we just

assembled down on the first floor, and we were looking out the

main doors and just watching it, until some old timer, I guess he

was a Tech or a Master just came over and said, "You fellows get

out of the barracks and just disperse someplace. They're going

to hit these barracks!" So luckily, we did, because they didn't

hit the barracks on the first bombing. They waited and they

dropped bombs which really hit the mess hall on the barracks,

after we had all got out of the barracks.

And the group that I was with, most of us just ran out in the

ballfield which was adjacent to the main barracks. And about that

time or shortly after we got there, I remember, is when they came

over without the dive bombing. They came over in a higher level

bombing and dropped a bunch of bombs that I suppose were to hit

the barracks, but they really did hit the baseball diamond where

most of us were laying out there.

Q: Was the baseball diamond adjacent to the barracks?

A: Yes, it was. Yeah, it was just a little bit south of it I

would think... or no, that would be, north... that would be

south. It was south towards Pearl... towards Pearl Harbor. The

diamond is still there. In fact, I saw it when I was there this

last trip here.

Q: What did you do when the bombs started falling there?

A: Oh, didn't really know. I guess uh... I'm sure we were all

scared. We were just to dumfounded to know what was going on.

And when the bombs did drop, we had craters all around us and the

dirt and the debris kind of hit me and covered me. And I remember

when it was over I just looked myself over and thought I've got to

be wounded. But I didn't get a scratch. I came out of it pretty good.

Q: What about any of the other guys that were there with you?

A: There were people in there who had lost their lives and were

hurt.

Q: Did you see anybody firing back at the Japanese?

A: No, I didn't at that time. No, not there.

Q: What was the scene like over where the hangars were, and the

aircraft were?

A: Well, I didn't get on the hangar line, but I could see it,

and I could see the flames and the fire and destruction over

there. But shortly after the raid ended, a truck came by (an

open 4x4 I guess we called them at that time) and they just

grabbed everybody they could find, and I was told to get aboard.

And they took me out and took me on the perimeter of Hickam and

put myself and another gentleman in a machine gun position and

just said, "This is it. Don't you leave." and I tried to tell

them at the time I was combat crew, I should report to my Unit,

but I was actually stuck out there I think for two nights before

they did come and get me.

Q: Do you recall what directions the Japanese planes came from?

A: No, at the time, I really didn't. At first I heard the

explosions and I saw the planes flying low enough that you could

see the insignia real well, and I guess you could almost make out

the pilots. But I realize of course, they came from the north

over the mountain passes. But I didn't know it at the time, from

what direction they came.

Q: While all this was going on, what were you feeling?

A: Well, I really, you know, don't know what my feelings were at

the time except that changing in just a few seconds from a peace

time operation as we were, into a War, of course, everybody has

some thoughts. What is going to happen? Most of us thought the

Japanese were landing, and didn't think it was just an attack and

they would leave again. We thought for sure, you know, it was

not only a surprise or a sneak attack, but the Japanese had

followed it up and were going to land. We didn't know what was

going to happen the next couple of days.

Q: Were there a lot of rumors going around?

A: There was, yes. Especially that first night. There was all

types of rumors going around, that they had landed, and they

landing on various sides of the Island. In fact, that evening,

everybody shot I guess what was one or two of our Navy planes,

because I was in that machine gun nest and everybody else was

filling the skies with tracers and we did too (laughter). That's

just... we're not organized. We didn't know exactly what we were

doing. We were just kind of following what everybody else did.

Q: What's your single most vivid memory of the attack?

A: Well, I really don't know. One of the things that does stick

out in my memory is the parking lot where the enlisted personnel

had cars parked, just next to the barracks. And some personnel

during the strafing had jumped underneath the cars and when I

went by there I did see a couple of the bodies that had been

burned very, very bad. They had shrunk and just burned up. That

always stuck in my mind. I remember that.

Q: Sounds like a grim experience. I appreciate your taking the

time to talk to me.

A: Well, thank you.

Q: Thank you.

A: It's the first time I've ever been interviewed on what

happened on Pearl Harbor day.

Credit: USS Arizona Memorial Archives, National Park Service

Jessie R.S. Higa research materials 2010

Photo courtesy of http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-12-05T10:01:00.002-10:00

Looking out toward Hangar Avenue and the flight line from courtyard between heavily damaged Wing E and Wing D of the big barracks at Hickam Field, December 7,1941.

J. DANIEL JONES (Lt. Col. USAF ret.)

Hickam Field Survivor Veteran

Age 91

Lives in Orlando, Florida

On 7 Dec, assigned to the 4^th Reconnaissance Squadron/5^th Bomb Group (redesignated 394^th Bomb Sq after 7 Dec 1941)
He arrived in Feb 1940
SSgt. rank
Age 21
On special duty assignment as a technical engineering instructor
He was a full time student at UH
On his way to the flight center in the Base Operation Building to meet the in-bound B-17s
100yds from base ops when he saw a formation of planes heading for Hickam
It was a crystal clear day
One plane peeled off and there was a red circle on plane; knew it was Japanese
He watched that plane (possibly a Val diver bomber) drop a 500lb bomb on the Hawaiian Air Depot (HAD) hangar #35---the first bomb to hit Hickam Field
He had a .45 cal pistol and fired a few shots
His thoughts were, “Better to shoot than stand there and do nothing.”
Believes he possibly fired the first shots at enemy planes that morning
Immediately ran back to barracks to wake up and warn his roommates in the barracks building (now PACAF).
His dorm wing was nearest the base ops bldg. and next to the parade field on second floor—possibly F or G Wing.
Then went to the hangar to receive a WWI rifle. It was still covered in Cosmoline!!! and a few ammo clips.
Also grabbed a 50 cal water-cooled machine gun and set it up in the parade field.
He had a car to go back and get ammunition for it.
When he returned, a young boy lay dead over the machine gun and it had no ammunition.
High altitude bombers (KATES) came overhead dropping bombs at 10,000 ft and he saw the bombs falling and could hear the whistling sounds.
He quickly hid in the shallow drain along the sidewalk for cover.
Bombs hit the barracks and exploded with a great force and then, absolute silent.
One bomb landed just 20 ft from him and knocked him out for a few minutes.
Thought he was dead because his body went numb.
Lost hearing for an hour.
Only had a slightly injured leg.
A higher ranking Sgt told him to go to the hospital but once he got there he realized there were too many others with more life-threatening injuries than his.
Had he done son, he would have been awarded a Purple Heart but he has no regrets.
Col. Jones is here with his daughter, son-in-law, twin grandsons and a granddaughter
The twins boys LOVE Air Force aircraft

Compiled by Jessie Higa (re-interviewed Nov 2011)

Photos courtesy of http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-12-01T11:55:00.002-10:00

Inspecting Hickam Field Hangar 1 damage, December 7, 1941. A 5th Bombardment Group B-18 aircraft can be seen in background at right.

I arrived at Hickam early December, 1939. Construction of the base was still under way. The housing areas for Officers and NCOs were complete and the rest of us were in 4 man tents. Some months later the enlisted barracks were completed and all moved in there except personnel assigned to the 58th Bomb squadron (A-20 aircraft). I was initially

assigned to a headquarters squadron (I do not remember its' numerical designation). A great disappointment since I had hoped to be involved in aircraft maintenance or operations and the headquarters squadron did not operate any aircraft. Ultimately, I was transferred to the 58^th after completing a base school in armament. The armament of the A-20 was very minimal and my duty consisted mostly of maintaining machine guns. At this time, it became known that the Hawaiian Air Depot was in need of employees and that if one was given a job offer by the depot, he would be honorably discharged at the convenience of the government to accept the civilian position. I followed that path.

Shortly after I started working as a civilian at Hickam Field, I received an invitation from a staff sergeant in the 58th to have breakfast with him and his wife on Sunday, December the 7th. I was in his quarters when the attack began. We had just sat down for breakfast when we heard explosions and we walked out into the front yard which was near the old Hickam front gate. We thought it odd they were conducting maneuvers on a Sunday and walked back into the house and very shortly thereafter heard a very large explosion (presumably the Arizona)? We ran back into the yard and saw a plane right overhead at tree top level with a clearly marked Rising Sun on the side! It was obvious we were being attacked! The sergeant immediately departed for the squadron's aircraft area. His wife received telephone advice to exit the base. She was very upset and asked me to drive her off base which I agreed to do. At the gate, the sentry refused my exit. I returned to the south end of the hanger line where the depot shops were located. A few other civilians were there when I arrived. An officer came by and we asked if there was any way that we could be helpful.

Since the supply warehouses had not been damaged at that time, he directed us to the removal of high value items, such as, engines, large airframe components, etc. These items were scattered around the base which we continued to do for the rest of the day.

Shortly thereafter I along with a number of others were detailed to work at the Naval Air Station on Ford Island. My best guess is we worked there for about six weeks, each day taking a launch across Pearl Harbor where we witnessed the horrible damage to our people and ships. However, when we first walked into the shops on Ford Island it was like

nothing had happened as they had not been touched and we were able to go right to work. I was sent back to Hickam Field when a shipment of P-40s arrived and needed to be made ready to fly. Since all of the hangars were severely damaged, the aircraft were parked all over the base, usually under a tree, and that was where the work was done. It didn't require a lot since most of the work involved the removal of anticorrosion products that had been applied as protection from sea spray. We understood that the craft were shipped on the open decks of the ships that carried them. I don't know if that was true. I worked at Hickam Field throughout the war and met my future wife, Minsy Hawaiiloa Wailehua, there and both my children, Fred R. Brown and Shirley Brown Sweigart were born in Hawaii. I returned to the mainland with my family to take a job at McClellan Field in Sacramento in April, 1949. I retired from the US government civil service in 1975.

I don't know how or why it happened, but some years later, I received a certificate, dated 18 May 1948, and entitled "Commendation for Meritorious Civilian Service".

Regards,

C Fred Brown

(Jessie Higa research files 2011)

Photos courtesy of http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-11-29T10:52:00.002-10:00

B-17 frames the devastating results from Japanese attack on Hickam Field, December 7, 1941. The smoke in the background is from USS Arizona which Japanese bombed. The B-17s arrived at Hickam the morning of the attack.

MAX BAKER

Rank: Private

Age: 19

72nd Bomb Squadron/5^th Bomb Group—up to 7 Dec 1941

31^st Bomb Squadron/5^th Bomb Group—a few weeks later

Grew up as a Pennsylvania farm boy
At time of attack he was awake in bed thinking about getting up to get some breakfast.
When he heard explosions, he assumed it was the Navy practicing.
His bed was below the barracks window and he sat up and saw a low flying plane with a giant red meatball painted on its wing.
He didn’t what it was until another young man yelled it was the Japanese.
He jumped out of put, put on his coveralls and ran out the barracks.
Across the street was a parking lot and he decided to hide under a parked car.
A few minutes later he thought it was a bad idea since the Japanese would probably strafe and or bomb the cars and ran back across the street to the barracks building where he stood tightly against the reinforced concrete building wall (corner of J-Wing along Vickers Ave).
After the first wave, he ran back to his dorm room to grab his WWI gas mask and helmet, and then headed to the hangar line where the squadron planes were parked.
When he got there the planes were badly shot up or completely, utterly destroyed.
There was an undamaged B-17 about 1/8mile away from the hangars out in the revetments and he and two others ran out to the plane when the second wave of Japanese planes swooped in on them.
The all laid face-down on the runway as the strafing bullets hit around them and miraculously no one was injured.
After the air raid, Max returned to his dorm and found that a bomb had penetrated through the barracks roof (3^rd floor), down through the flooring and into the second level where it exploded on a time-delayed fuse.
“As for my personal belongings, almost everything was gone, except I had one pair of socks which were rolled u p and then I had a Bible which my grandmother had given to me when I went overseas. It was lying there, pock-marked with pieces of reinforced concrete that hit it, and it was bloody.”
His grandmother and aunt had inscribed the Bible, “Give God the morning’s first minutes and He will bless the day’s long hours.”
Casualty reports to the US mainland were inaccurate and Max’s obituary was printed in two Pennsylvania newspapers.
“Upon hearing the news, my mother had a nervous breakdown. Even though she later heard that I was alive, she never fully recovered.”
Max donated his Bible in 2008 where it is currently in a display case in the Kenny Conference Room/PACAF Blg.
Max currently lives in Topeka, Kansas

Quoted excerpts and portions of information gathered from COURAGE BEFORE EVERY DANGER HONOR BEFORE ALL MEN, written by Joanne Pfannenstiel Emerick, 2010, with author’s permission.

Compiled by Jessie Higa—Nov 2011

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

2011-11-28T12:07:00.003-10:00

ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW #281

FRANCIS MACK--HICKAM FIELD

Interviewed by Jeff Pappas on December 8, 1998

Transcribed by Cara Kimura on July 24, 2001

Oral history interview was conducted by Jeff Pappas for the National Park Service, USS Arizona Memorial, at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 8, 1998 at four p.m. The person being interviewed is Francis Mack, who was at Hickam Field on December 7, 1941.

Full Name: Francis L. Mack.

Birth Date: 10 April 1920

Birth Place: Rockville, Connecticut

Arrived Hickam Field Dec 1940

At the time of 7 Dec 1941, he was 21 yrs old

Assigned to 19^th Transport Squadron

Lived 2^nd floor in consolidated barracks building (wing ?)

Morning of 7 Dec, he was sitting on the barracks steps dressed in his swim suit waiting to get picked-up for a day at the beach when he saw a plane fly over Pearl Harbor.

He kept his eyes focused on that plane and noticed it was headed for Hickam approaching the hangar line in a shallow dive and began strafing.

Then he heard a loud explosion.

He the rushed to his squadron’s hangar to receive orders on what to do.

A young reserve LT had several of them lined up on the parade ground to issue them small arms and ammunition (.45 cal pistols).

A bomb exploded nearby killing twelve of his squadron-mates and wounding eleven others.

Although the shrapnel was all around him, he didn’t get a scratch.

The reality of losing his friends left him with anger and fear.

“The noise coming from Pearl was horrendous. And equally so was the bombing of our hangars, because just about every hangar on Hickam Field was destroyed. The bombs just tore ‘em apart. It was—I don’t know how to describe it, really. It was just horrendous.”

“The first wave just destroyed us. The second wave was up quite high and I, in my own mind, I figured, get to the hangar line. They’re not going to bomb it again. So I headed that way and one of my friends was running behind me. And there was an explosion. I felt the concussion. I didn’t feel any—I wasn’t hit at all, but I turned around and the guy that was behind me, a friend of mine, his back was completely blown out; he was dead. Just like that.”

“I guess I probably cried a bit for him, you know. He was a real good friend.”

It was assumed that the Japanese were planning to invade so he and several others were instructed to take their .45s and run across the runway to the other side of the revetments where their planes would have normally been parked…and dig foxholes.

“And I dug down. We all did. This was late in the afternoon, I believe. And we hit water because the channel had been dredged up to make the runways in Hickam Field. All that came, was coral and so forth, you know, out of the ocean. Dug down, it was water. So what we had to do was just take our shoes and socks and pants off and try to hide in there, you know, the best we could. And we spent the night that way, the whole night.”

He was married before arriving to Hickam Field in 1940 but did not bring his wife. Somehow she was misinformed by the War Department that he was dead. About thirty days later he called her by telephone to inform her he was very much alive and unhurt.

He served twenty-three and a half years in the Air Force, retired as a Chief Master Sergeant but held aWarrant Officer 3 rank in the reserve.

He is now 91 yrs old

Currently living in Colorado Springs, CO

Researched by: Jessie Higa - Data collected from the National Park Service USS Arizona Memorial Archives, 2010.

AMD/AECT (Aeromedical Evacuation Control Team)

2011-10-05T10:13:00.006-10:00

Medical emergencies can happen at any time of the day or night and it takes a team effort to support the needs of our people. Just in the last 72-hours, here in the Pacific the medical teams along with the airlift teams had to respond not just once, but five times. It all started on 27 September 2011 with a priority patient from Atsugi NAS, Japan.

The first priority AE requirement was an active duty US Navy service member that was moved to Kadena AB, Japan from Atsugi NAS, Japan on the 374 AW C-130 channel, but then required onward movement to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), HI with a Critical Care Air Transportation Team (CCATT) from Kadena AB. The 18 WG KC-135 AE Bravo aircraft was selected to make the move. The patient was authorized a stop at Andersen AFB, Guam so we were able to add a second priority AE requirement to the mission. This patient was a retired US Navy patient from Andersen AFB enroute to JBPH-H. In addition to these priority patients, we also transported four routine patients on these two mission, one of which was an infant that flew with a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) team.

The third priority AE requirement was an active duty US Army soldier from Suwon AB, South Korea to San Antonio, TX. An In-System-Select 154 WG KC-135 aircraft from Andersen AFB, Guam was selected for the mission. The aircraft had to reposition to Kadena AB, Japan in order to pick up the AE crew with onward movement to Suwon AB to pick up a patient and the Joint Medical Attendant Transport Team (JMATT) which flew commercial air from Honolulu, HI to meet up with the patient at Suwon AB. To further complicate the patient move to San Antonio, the aircrew did not have sufficient crew duty day to complete the mission. The aircraft was routed through Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), HI to change the flight crews and JMAT Team. At JBPH-H the crew received priority fuel and ground support to minimize the ground time in order to expedite the crew swaps and safely transport our patient to Brooks Army Medical Burn Center in Texas.

The fourth priority AE requirement was a US Marine Corps dependant infant from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), HI to North Island NAS, CA. A 459 ARW KC-135 AMC AE channel mission was rerouted to fly to North Island enroute to Travis AFB, CA. The patient was accompanied by a NICU team. In addition to the priority patient, three routine patients were also moved on this mission.

The fifth priority AE requirement was an active duty US Navy sailor from Andersen AFB, Guam to Kadena AB, Japan. We utilized the depositioning 18 WG KC-135 Bravo from the first and second priority AE requirements. The mission was routed to fly from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), HI to Andersen AFB to pick up the patient and transfer them to Camp Lester Medical Center, Okinawa.

PACAF AE leads the way again!

9/11 Remembered: A reflection on the 10th anniversary

2011-09-08T22:02:00.002-10:00

(Staff Sgt.Nicola L. Dunham is a diagnostic imaging technician for the 374th Medical Support Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan)

In August 2001, I decided to join the military. My history of dead-end jobs and dropping out of college was leading me nowhere, and I feared I would never be able to support myself. I remember being hounded in high school by an Army recruiter and, despite his best efforts, I had no intention of ever joining the military. But now the idea looked different to me. It was an easy way out. The military would send me to school, give me a career, housing and food. It would provide the independence I sought. Where else could I achieve that?

A few weeks later, before I had raised my right hand, something happened, something horrific, something that I would remember for the rest of my life. I was a housekeeper, on my way with two other women to our next cleaning job. We were half listening to the radio and heard New York was under distress. We thought it was some type of natural disaster and went about our work. Eventually, we turned on the TV to see if there was updated news, and there was. There was major news. We saw two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. We immediately packed up our things and went to be with our families.

No one knew at this point that it was an act of terrorism, but everyone knew something was horribly wrong. I soon learned the truth: Sept. 11 was the day the U.S. had been attacked. At first I felt relief that no papers were signed, but that feeling quickly changed. That night I huddled around a TV with a friend and his family, waiting to hear words of hope and promise, to feel safe as President Bush addressed the nation. His speech changed me, and I knew that not only did I want to defend my country and the innocent people who lost their lives by the hands of terrorists, but that President Bush was the leader I wanted to follow. I believed he loved our country and its people, and I supported his trust in God. As long as our country kept faith, we would fear no evil.

I was soon placed in the Delayed Entry Program and waited to be called to arms. More than nine years ago, on March 26, 2002, I set foot on Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, for my first day of Basic Military Training. Wow, it doesn’t seem that long ago! I was placed directly into the medical career field, first as a dental assistance and later as a radiologic technologist. I have cared for everyone from children of military members, young healthy Airmen, WWII vets in the ICU, and even spent time at the Dover Port Mortuary. I do love patient care, but my true love in the military has been serving on the Honor Guard. There is no job more rewarding and no feeling better then presenting honors for those Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Soldiers who have fallen.

The job of serving my country and representing all of those who served before means everything to me. I still proudly support the war against terror and continue to serve my country in the United States Air Force. Unfortunately, over the years we have lost many of our men and women in uniform to this war. But I always go back to the 3,000 unarmed, unaware, civilian men, women and children who lost their lives within hours on Sept. 11, 2011. It is for them that I serve.

CASTING CALL ALL ACTIVE AND RETIRED AIRMEN ONLY

2011-07-14T11:33:00.000-10:00

Mobbed is FOX’s new unscripted hidden-camera series, hosted by Howie Mandel, which features the use of a flash mob to make big announcements to an unsuspecting and very deserving person. Each episode is centered on a life-changing announcement, news or event. Mobbed is currently casting for unique military-based stories worthy of a mob!

We are looking for people who are:

18 or older, US Citizen or permanent legal resident of the United States.
Outgoing, charismatic, and willing to share your news on national TV

Are you returning home in August or September and have NOT told your family of your return?

Did you get married before you were deployed but have yet to let your family know?

Has it been years since you’ve seen a loved one and are looking to reunite?

If you fit one of these situations or have your own compelling story, we want to hear from you!

Members interested do not have to live in the Los Angeles area to go through their casting process.

THE CASTING PROCESS:

Interested candidates should email their stories to the email address

mobbedtv@gmail.com

Please include your name, contact info, occupation, current photos, summary of your story, who your story would be good for the show and worth of a mob.

Please write MILITARY STORY in the subject line of your email.

For more information on Mobbed go to: www.fox.com/mobbed

NOTE: The casting for this show is highly confidential and secretive, so please do not tell anyone that you are applying for the show.

If your story is chosen as a candidate you will then be contacted to discuss their story and determine if it works for the show. Candidates moving forward in the casting process will be emailed a casting application and the production would need to get an on-camera interview with the applicant.

Casting is decided by the production only.

Airmen who are chosen for the show should inform their base PA office, as well as the Air Force Entertainment Office. For Airmen Members of PACAF Headquarters please contact pacaf.paops@hickam.af.mil.

This is an Air Force/DoD supported show.

For more information about the show, go to: http://www.fox.com/mobbed

www.airforcehollywood.af.mil

www.facebook.com/usafhollywood

PACAF ITEMS OF INTEREST

2011-07-13T14:29:00.001-10:00

Airmen can help feds feed families

Outstanding Airmen of the Year

Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter to catch an update on all headline PACAF news and other items.
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CSAF Vector 2011 - Vision of the Air Force

2011-07-06T10:27:00.000-10:00

http://www.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110703-001.pdf

Click on the link above to view the lastest information.

My Jejudo Story

2011-06-29T19:07:00.006-10:00

(Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Sun “Sunny” Park is a community readiness consultant at the Osan Air Base Airman & Family Readiness Center)

In the summer of 1970, the air was hot and muggy in Korea as usual. My "quonset hut" BOQ had no air conditioning so I decided to take a week of in-country leave to Korea's version of Hawaii, the resort beaches of Jejudo (Jeju Island).

My trip began on a train ride from Seoul to Busan. I checked into a hotel and strolled the beaches for a day. The next morning, I bought a one-way ticket to Jeju city on a Korean Airlines propeller airplane. I managed to find my way to the US Air Force Ground Controlled Interceptor (GCI) radar site at the southern tip of the island, then met up with an Air Force lieutenant friend. He arranged an empty room for me to stay in and gave me rides to several locations during my vacation.

After a few days, I was recharged and ready to return to my unit in Seoul, the K-16 original ROK (Republic of Korea) Yoido Air Force Base. But 2 days before my return flight, my friend recommended I hop space-A onto a US Air Force transport returning to Osan Air Base. It had brought Class-6 supplies to the island and would be empty and available for passengers on the way back. I took my friend's advice and boarded the C-47 amongst other US and Korean military personnel on leave or PCS. Our plane took off from a Pierced Steel Plank (PSP) dirt airstrip in southern Jejudo.

Unfortunately, by the time the plane was in the air, we were flying in rain. I had also managed to catch a cold from swimming in Jeju's beaches. The painful pressure differential and bumpy, cloudy ride gave me a terrible headache and an earache to match. I got off at the next stop to proceed on ground transportation instead. I disembarked at Kunsan Air Base (the plane's one stop on its way to Osan). I then rode a rickety old bus to a nearby train station,"Iri" (now named "Iksan") and began to stand at the platform waiting for the next train to Seoul.

After five minutes, a plain-clothed Korean policeman walked over and said to me in Korean "Smells suspicious!" You see, that day I had decided to wear my standard short-sleeve buttoned shirt, American sneakers and light brown striped jeans. Apparently this did not fit in with the dress code of shiny shoes and dark slacks popular among local Korean men those days. That, and my short military haircut.

In those days, there was a huge paranoia around North Korean spies infiltrating Korea. In addition, anyone catching one would be awarded a generous financial sum.

"We need to see inside your bag." I only carried a single black leather bag, with my travel essentials. My nice Canon camera and powerful zoom lenses inside further ignited the suspicions of this Korean officer. My detailed military Joint Operation Graphic (JOG) VFR maps of Korea displaying sophisticated icons and graphics seemed to dispel any doubt in his mind that I was an acute and valuable suspect. He was joined by two other police officers, who said "I think we may have caught a big one!" They pulled me over to their station police box (a room) and demanded that I confess my "true Identity."

I obligingly produced my US military ID card, professing I was a Korean-American serving as an Army Aviator in Korea. I said I usually carry these items because I am into photography and like to use these maps to navigate my way around Korea. This was upon deaf ears. One of the men yelled: "What kind of a fake ID is this! There is no such a thing!" He then whispered "We are going to need to beat the stuff out of him for the truth!"

Until this moment, I had considered myself lucky to survive the Korean War having lost both birth parents to the war, lucky to be aided by the kindness of American Foster parents, lucky to have the fortune of being schooled in the United States, lucky to have become a pilot for the US Army. I had returned to my homeland serving my country. But now I was going to be killed by the hands of my motherland's police. At this moment I said to myself "Ok, I am about to be dead meat."

Suddenly, a man pounded on the window and said "Gentlemen. This man is not a North Korean agent. I flew with him in a US Military airplane from Jejudo and he is, in fact, a US Army Officer. Please let him go." He had been peeking through the window and realized I was about to be beaten up by the three ROK policemen! The men shook their heads unconvinced. "Who are you really? What is your identity?" "Who are you...who are you? And to each other I kept hearing " Big one....big one!" They continued to search through my bag contents while interrogating me.

As the Seoul-bound train arrived, I heard "Oh Shucks! He's not one of them!" and disappointedly, eventually, gave up and released me.

I swiftly thanked the ROK Air Force captain, rushed out of the police box, and jumped onto the train to Seoul.This experience I call one of my nine lives.....in the summer of 1970 in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Operation Pacific Angel 11-3 treats nearly 4,000 Indonesian patients in seven days

2011-06-19T02:07:00.021-10:00

More than 150 U.S. military members from around U.S. Pacific Command’s area of responsibility gathered in Pekanbaru, Indonesia from Jun. 11 to 18 to execute operation Pacific Angel 11-3 with the 36th Contingency Response Group out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in the lead.

Operation Pacific Angel is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance rapid response team (HARRT) operation conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility to support U.S. Pacific Command's civic outreach efforts.
As a result of the operation 3956 people in Pekanbaru, Indonesia received medical treatment.

"This humanitarian outreach operation was a total success," said Lt. Col. Scott Hughes, 36th Medical Group physician.

“These operations enhance U.S. relations with other countries in the region, such as Timor Leste, Indonesia, Mongolia and Cambodia by demonstrating U.S. resolve to promote regional security and humanitarian interests.”

On the final day of the humanitarian service outreach operation, the medical team saw an astonishing 900 patients, and they couldn't have accomplished something like that without a concerted team effort,” said Col. Theodore Corallo, 36th Contingency Response Group commander.

"Our interagency cooperation between international partners, Ministry of Health and the U.S. agencies has been simply amazing," said Capt. Ramon Veglio, 36th Medical Group Administrative Officer.

“This operation served as a prime opportunity to train HARRT personnel. Therefore, we are now better prepared to respond to disaster relief operations in the U.S. Pacific command area of responsibility.”

The first stage of medical care provided during the humanitarian assistance mission was a health and hygiene seminar where all patients learned proper hand-washing techniques then received multi-vitamins.

“Operation PACIFIC ANGEL helps cultivate common bonds and foster goodwill between the United States and other regional nations by conducting multilateral humanitarian and civic assistance operations,” said Maj Nerriza Brooke, 13th Air Force, International Health Specialist.

The HARRT tent had a designated area where people with flu-like symptom could be separated and screened for illnesses and given information on preventing the spread of viruses and disease.

The medical personnel distributed more than $140,000 in medical supplies during the operation. The medicines ranged from prescription medicine to common over-the-counter medicines.

"Providing antibiotics is probably some of the most important prescriptions we have done during this civic outreach effort," said Maj. Ellen Roska, 374th Medical Support Squadron pharmacist.

"Due to the remoteness of some of the villages, the medications' cost and the sub-standard conditions some of these people have been living in, create conditions which make fighting off infection a difficult task. However, bringing in the medicines we have and mitigating some of these conditions early will increase their likelihood of recovery."

The dental hygienists provided 262 dental screenings and performed some minor procedures. Children were also given a preventative dentistry instruction to teach them proper brushing techniques and how to care for their teeth.

Another important aspect of the humanitarian outreach operation was the psychologists who provided four mental health screenings and subject matter expert information exchanges.

“As part of Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 2011, we are committed to supporting each of the host nations’ efforts to bring assistance to their people. The United States, at the invitation of the host nations, will provide support by conducting medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering programs," said Maj. Terry Winnett, critical care nurse, 374th Aerospace Medical Squadron. ”

The next Operation Pacific Angel will be conducted Jul. 18 to 23 in Mongolia.

Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 Closing Ceremony

2011-06-19T01:08:00.009-10:00

The Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 Closing Ceremony officially occured the operation here, Jun. 18, 2011.

The ceremony included an ending speech from Col. Theodore Corallo, 36^th Contingency Response Group commander stationed at Andersen Air Base, Guam.

In seven days, more than 3,956 patients were seen, 7,043 prescriptions made, 882 glasses given, 325 teeth pulled, and 14 surgeries.

“It has been a very successful effort over the past week as we executed PACIFIC ANGEL (PACANGEL) 11-3,” said Col. Corallo.

“The results represent the best of everyone’s efforts and speak to the great contributions of everyone assigned to support this event.”

Operation PACANGEL is a series of joint/combined humanitarian civic outreach efforts training conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility in support of Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, capacity building efforts.

This humanitarian and civic outreach training program is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

The operation consists of several civil military assistance programs to include medical civic assistance programs (MEDCAP/DENCAP) with focuses on general health care, dental, optometry, women’s health, and pediatrics. Also included is the engineering civic assistance program (ENCAP), with focus on structural, plumbing, and electric repair of medical clinics and schools.

According to Col. Corallo, PACANGEL was a complete success.

“We started strong and far exceeded our goals when we finished,” he said. “I would personally like to thank everyone who participated in this event. Your hard work provided us with great results and your teamwork that developed will make our friendship a lasting relationship.”

Trippler Medical Center doctors join operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3

2011-06-17T03:07:00.007-10:00

PEKANBARU, Indonesia – A team of doctors from the Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, reconstruct an ear for a local Indonesian during operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3, at the Arifin Achmad Hospital, June 15, 2011.

Today, seven surgeries were conducted.

“We had a great surgical mission,” said Dr. (Cmdr.) David Healy, ear, nose and throat surgeon stationed at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. “We concentrated on two kinds of surgeries; ear surgeries, cleft lip and cleft pallet repairs,” he said.

PACANGEL is a series of joint/combined humanitarian civic outreach efforts training conducted in the Pacific. This humanitarian and civic outreach training program is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

“It feels good to be a part of something like this,” said Dr. Healy. “Just being able to take those individuals and impact them in such a meaningful and profound way is very gratifying,” he said.

PACANGEL is scheduled to be conducted from 11 Jun-18 Jun.

Project Hope joins operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3

2011-06-16T02:44:00.008-10:00

(Blog by Jon Brack, Project Hope, from Washington DC, originally from Boulder CO)

Day One: 6/9/11

Project Hope volunteers arrived at the US Air Force camp outside of Pekanbaru at sunset, a flurry of action in an otherwise quiet, rural area. Tents were being raised in a field by a group of over 100 Air Force personnel while heavy equipment unloaded pallets as they arrived on flatbed trucks from the airport 45 minutes away. This is the first mission utilizing the HARRT and Operation Pacific Angel units of the Air Force in a joint response, a trial run of their combined resources and potential.

HOPE’s four volunteers didn’t join the C-17s that arrived from Guam with supplies and personnel. We met at LAX and flew commercially through Taipei to Jakarta, a 22-hour journey. After a night in Jakarta, we jumped one more leg to Pekanbaru in central Sumatra, but first managed to spend a few hours downtown visiting national monuments and the largest mosque in Indonesia.

Anticipation for the next week’s activities occupied many of the conversations between this mission’s two medical volunteers.

Noreen Prokuski participated last year with the Project Hope Pacific Angel mission in Vietnam and immediately noticed some differences between the two missions. In the past, participants stayed in hotels and worked out of local clinics and hospitals. Staying onsite in military tents with a portable clinic is a big change and Noreen is excited to be connected closer to the communities she will be working with by living in their community 24/7 and not being sequestered in a hotel.

Susan Opas has been trying for years to fit volunteering with Project Hope into her schedule and is delighted to be on her first mission. She can’t wait to get to work and be involved with pediatric patents and women’s health education.

“Seeing how people live and move in such congestion, taking risks that we in the States would never consider like riding 4+ on a moped, makes me wonder what type of medical conditions we’ll come across in Pekanbaru. What was nicely surprising was that over 99% were wearing helmets”

Tomorrow, the medical tents will be set up and final preparations for camp assembled. There are currently no showers and only two shared squat-toilets in a nearby building. Medical care should begin on Sunday with a minimum of 700 patients a day and everyone is expecting a busy time.

Day Two: 6/10/11

No one expects to be cold in the tropical islands of Indonesia. The temporary clinic for Operation Pacific Angel sits within a degree of the Equator on Sumatra south of Pekanbaru. At high noon the sun bakes down from almost directly overhead and temperatures soar. Nights don’t cool down much, making the air-conditioned barracks tents onsite at the clinic a comfortable sleeping retreat.

Probably because of that unbelievable heat, the thermostats in the 10 tents (with 14 cots each) were set low last night, so cool that conversations at breakfast generally concerned freezing through the night and wearing several layers of the clothing to bed.

Everyone warmed up quickly, though, when they got to work after breakfast.

The five clinic tents went up quickly, their double walls intending to keep the cool inside and the heat away. Fine-tuning their positions took some time, ensuring a tight “H” configuration while making sure floors were tight and doorways connected as designed. With an expected 700+ patients a day coming through the temporary clinic and over a hundred medical staff to attend to them, the facility’s physical organization must ensure a smooth flow of operations.

One of the four wings will be designated for women’s health, the worksite for Project Hope volunteers Noreen Prokuski and Susan Opas. It will be divided into several private bays so that women can seek private medical care, possibly the first time they will have ever been attended by a female doctor.

Noreen will be working with an Air Force FNP, Major Susan Foster, and two local midwives. “Based on previous deployments,” reports Major Foster, “arriving in rural areas with western health care brings along a miraculous component that patients get the most excited about. Seeing an American doctor has healing powers for them.”

“In some cases, this is the first time that some patients will be seeing any health care provider since their last child was delivered,” mentions Noreen.

Susan anticipates that most mothers won’t arrive alone but with families and children in tow.

The other three wings will be utilized for optometry/dental care and general care.

Hope volunteers finished the day helping organize the pharmacy medications. They mostly divided large bottles of vitamins into small bags with Indonesian instructions. Air Force personnel organized supplies and made batches of other pills and medications, preparing for every situation imaginable. Tomorrow the remaining organization will be completed and an opening ceremony will announce the beginning of the clinic’s services. VIP visits and live music will highlight the event.

Day Three: 6/11/11

A midnight rain made for a muddy start to day three of Operation Pacific Angel in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. Project Hope’s two medical volunteers got right to work continuing with their help readying the pharmacy for tomorrow’s first patients. Blankets were hung to create private spaces for examinations, shopping lists created for any additional supplies and cots built for a variety of needs. The interior spaces were transformed from large empty tents into a operational HARRT facility ready for a onslaught of visitors.

This year’s joint operation between the US Air Force’s two medical humanitarian units, HARRT and Pacific Angel, includes a multi-national cooperation between medical personnel from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Singapore and Timor Leste. A large staff of local translators and assistants also joins the mission to help in successful operations. These personnel received a morning of orientation detailing the ideas behind the mission and what to expect in the week ahead.

Susan Opas and Noreen Prokuski were active in many of the day’s activities and most involved with a Subject Matter Expert Exchange for approximately 23 local midwives concerning women’s health and the importance of regular exams. It became a comfortable space to learn about maternal care in both countries. Eager questions were asked thorough a translator and everyone walked away with a better understanding of issues facing local women and their pregnancies. “Everyone blossoms when we start talking about babies, no matter what culture

Susan earned a D- at her first attempt assembling military cots. “Hopefully it was done well enough that they won’t collapse tomorrow.”

The afternoon continued with a formal opening ceremony for the Pacific Angel 11-3 attended by local VIPs and everyone involved in the operation. The proceedings attracted hundreds of audience members and took place under an enormous, suspended parachute in a field between the tent city and clinic. They opened with a prayer followed by a traditional dance in local costumes. Speeches continued from every organization involved in this year’s Pacific Angel, all translated from English to Indonesian as required. The VIPs were then given a tour of the tents and their enclosed facilities.

Excitement runs high for the first patients tomorrow morning at 0900, day one of six that the clinic will be open for business.

Day Four: 6/12/11

The Air Force’s HARRT clinic opened this morning outside of Pekanbaru, Indonesia, with a crowd of excited customers. Morning hours were spent seeing the first patients and developing systems to efficiently move people between medical stations.

Noreen Prokuski’s first patient was a healthy pregnant woman excited to have an American doctor tell her that everything was going well. Susan Opas first assisted with an IM injection and spent the remainder of the day moving between areas, evaluating and diagnosing a wide variety of ailments and situations. Both Project Hope volunteers kept plenty busy with the stream of patients coming in the zippered tent doors.

Overall, the clinic saw 492 patients on its first day, the longest lines for dental work and optometry. Several required surgery well beyond anything the HARRT was capable of handling, so local medical providers were consulted with recommendations for nearby hospitals. Because government health care programs only pay for services in a person’s home district, several patients not from this area haven’t sought help because they aren’t eligible in Pekanbaru. One 38 year-old woman initially judged to be pregnant ended up being afflicted with an enormous tumor and has never had surgery for that very reason.

Tomorrow should see even higher numbers of patients through the doors of the tent clinic once word spreads of the services available. The US Army’s Sight, Sound and Smile team of surgeons also arrive to work in a nearby hospital performing cleft pallet surgeries. Weather forecasts predict continued heat at or just below 100 degrees F with the increased potential for more rain, something that would surely discourage the amount of patients from this rural area from seeking medical care

Day Five: 6/13/11

Pacific Angel welcomed a new Project Hope volunteer medical staff member today. Denise Barnes has been a Certified Nurse-Midwife for 8 years and joins the team from her current home in Jakarta, Indonesia. She’s excited to be back on Sumatra after prior work in Banda Aceh on the northern tip of the island.

Activities in the clinic began far smoother on this second day, mainly due to improvements learned from the day before. Three new temporary roofs provided more shade and comfort for the hundreds of waiting patients outside. A group of additional interpreters inside assisted the multi-cultural medical staff in providing care more effectively. The military medical personnel from Singapore, Bangladesh, Timor Leste and the United States rely on their Indonesian counterparts to communicate. A grand total of 473 patients were treated today.

The most active areas of the tent clinic continue to be those dedicated to dental care and optometry. The Air Force’s dental team had another busy day of pulling dozens of teeth and providing oral hygiene advice. The optometrist was in such high demand that her assistant started seeing patients so that they could work together passing out free pairs of glasses for near and far-sighted individuals. By the end of the day, one of the general medicine wings of the clinic was transformed into an optometry ward. Even then, patients were so numerous that about seventy of them were told that they would have to return tomorrow because there wasn’t enough time today to see them all.

The women’s health wing saw less business, partially because school was back in session, but also probably due to reluctance for exams considered invasive. Women of the Muslim faith in Indonesia and elsewhere tend to be very shy and private about exposing any skin to strangers, even in a safe, medical setting. Noreen Prokuski and Denise had the opportunity to work with a few pregnant women and listen for fetal heartbeats. Susan Opas worked all over the clinic assisting with everything from pediatrics to the pharmacy, always smiling and laughing.

“I was delighted to see our group come together, Project Hope with our trusty interpreters, and became an active part of Pacangel,” say Susan.

Everyone is hoping for another busy day tomorrow, day three of the six that the clinic will be open.

Day Six: 6/14/11

The morning started busy and maintained that pace throughout the day for Project Hope volunteers with Operation Pacific Angel in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. An influx of babies and children had pediatrician Susan Opas bouncing from one curtained room to another diagnosing everything from a scabies rash to the cause of some moped-accident pain. “After two days with only a few children, it’s great to have so many kids around. I feel so useful!”

Midwife Denise Barnes worked with a steady stream of pregnant women seeking advice and care. She utilized all opportunities throughout day for training and talking the local midwifes through her thought processes.

Noreen Prokuski spent most of her day working as a pediatrician instead of in her usual midwife capacity because of the unusually high amount of young visitors. Patients had a variety of issues, or sometimes nothing more than a curiosity to see inside the strange US military clinic that magically appeared in a field near their home, but all received her complete attention and kind style.

From Burr Ridge, west of Chicago, Illinois, Noreen has been a Certified Nurse-Midwife for 18 years. When her first child was born using a midwife, “it seemed like the greatest job in the world and I wanted to do the same thing” even though she had no formal medical training. She’s never looked back and still gets a glow in her eyes when talking about babies, even after a long day of work.

In the HARRT clinic today, Noreen saw a 40 year-old-patient who came in with some abdominal pain that seemed like acid reflux. While investigating, she realized that this woman was little more than skin and bones, not something easy to observe through the long, flowing clothing and head coverings that Muslim women wear. The woman revealed that she had lost 40 pounds in the previous year (around a third of her weight) for an unknown reason. It was determined that this patient had intestinal parasites, or worms, a situation curable with a single, easy pill. The simple solution brought Noreen nearly to tears.

“We have so much, they have so little.” She gets undeniable satisfaction from helping people and wants to make working with the less fortunate through organizations like Project Hope a new focus in her life.

Overall, the clinic saw 984 patients today, clearly the most successful day yet. Cheers and applause from the entire staff greeted the announcement at the close-of-day meeting.

736th Security forces' role during PACANGEL 11-3

2011-06-15T19:31:00.010-10:00

PEKANBARU, Indonesia-During Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 (PACANGEL), the 736^th Security Forces’ role is a little different from what their accustomed to at their original duty station at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

Security Forces personnel walk around and assist civilian and medical personnel with performing a variety of tasks to include securing the camp site. “Our role in PACANGEL is basically to help build partnerships with the locals and interact as much as possible and show that positive force we have,” said Airman Calisa Smith, 736^th Security Forces Squadron, Anderson Air Force Base, Guam.

“We’re being positive and showing that we can provide medical care when needed,” she said.

According to Senior Airman Kristen Patlin, 736^th Security Forces, Anderson AFB, Guam, providing civic outreach efforts to the locals is important.

“It helps build partnerships with the local community and assist with medical care,” she said.

PACANGEL is a series of joint/combined humanitarian assistance operations conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility. This humanitarian and civic assistance program is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

According to Airman Smith, her experiences with PACANGEL thus far have been memorable.

“I had a blast with the local children and interacting with them a lot,” she said.

PACANGEL will operate from 11 Jun – 18 Jun.

Bioenvironmental's role during PACANGEL 11-3

2011-06-15T18:45:00.005-10:00

PEKANBARU, Indonesia – As part of Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 a medical and civil engineering subject matter expert exchange occurred here, June 12, 2011 between several members of the U.S. military and Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian military).

“Within the camp site we need water for many things to include sanitation. Bioenvironmental takes care of that, and essentially takes care of everyone involved with PACANGEL,” said Tech. Sgt. Roberto Cortez, 36^th Contingency Response Group bio engineering NCOIC stationed at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam.

“We go out and test out the water, check out the weather, making sure that our troops our safe so that they can carry out the operations wherever we go in the world.”

In addition to taking care of and testing the water, American military members were also responsible for training Tentara Nasional Indonesia members to conduct their own water samples.

“We are getting ready to show our partner’s from other countries how we go and do our water sampling to make sure whatever pot of water we do get is safe for our troops to use,” he said.

According to Sergeant Cortez, there is a lot of value in the international hands on training.

“It builds partnerships,” he said. “It brings up their capabilities as well so that they can be responding with the same capabilities we have for any future taskings we might have to work together.”

Operation PACANGEL is a series of joint/combined civic outreach efforts training conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility. This program is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

PACANGEL is scheduled to run from 11 Jun. – 18 Jun.

Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 Ceremony

2011-06-15T05:40:00.014-10:00

PEKANBARU, Indonesia – The Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 Ceremony officially kicked off here, June 11, 2011.

The ceremony began with a traditional ceremonial Indonesian dance, gift exchanges, dessert, and a speech from Col. Theodore Carallo, 36^th Contingency Response Group Commander stationed at Anderson Air Base, Guam, that officially began the ceremony.

According to Tech Sgt. Scott Eberley, 36^th Mission Response Squadron stationed at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, the ceremony went well.

“We just had a ceremony with the Indonesians along with Singapore and Bangladesh,” he said. “We are talking about the medical that we will be doing here soon. We just set up this base camp here, we set up a medical facility on the other side and we are going to be doing some medical care for the locals.”

According to Capt. April Stillman, 36^th Medical Group stationed at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, the ceremony had a positive impact on the local Indonesian population of Pekanbaru.

“I think it was all very well received,” she said. “It’s definitely going to positively affect the community relations. There was a lot of support from the local community, were going to help them out and I think it’s going to bring us closer together.”

Operation PACIFIC ANGEL is a series of joint/combined humanitarian civic outreach efforts training conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility in support of Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, civic outreach efforts.

This humanitarian and civic outreach training program is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

Medical care key to Operation PACIFIC ANGEL

2011-06-11T21:58:00.017-10:00

PEKANBARU, Indonesia – Providing medical training for subject matter experts (SMEs) was paramount during the first day of Operation PACIFIC ANGEL June 10, 2011, Pekanbaru, Indonesia.

PACIFIC ANGEL is a series of joint and combined humanitarian assistance operations conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility in support of Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, civic outreach efforts.

This humanitarian and civic assistance program is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

Operation PACIFIC ANGEL consists of several civil military assistance programs to include medical civic assistance programs (MEDCAP/DENCAP) with focuses on general health care, dental, optometry, women’s health, and pediatrics.

“We’re expecting 600 patients a day, over six days,” said Major Marlon Rimando, 154^th Medical Group flight surgeon stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

“This is my first experience and I’m coming with an open mind and I’m just ready to help out where ever I can,” he said.

U.S. Pacific Command shows HARRT during PACANGEL

2011-06-11T21:45:00.009-10:00

PEKANBARU, Indonesia - Before Operation PACIFIC ANGEL kicks off, Airmen helped set up Humanitarian Assistance Rapid Response Team tents June 10, 2011, Pekanbaru, Indonesia.

“We’re setting up the HARRT hospital tents so that the providers can get the clinic set up and have the pharmacy up and running. We want to be prepared to start seeing patients in the next day or two,” said Major Sue Foster, 329^th Medical Squadron family nurse practitioner at Travis Air Force Base.

HARRT is a rapid response medical team designed to quickly set up a hospital in any given area with the support of the 36th Contingency Response Group out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.

More than 600 patients a day are expected to be seen during PACANGEL. PACANGEL is a humanitarian and civic assistance program that is aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and Indonesia.

PACANGEL will operate from June 11 – June 18.

Pekanbaru Airport, Indonesia, Jun 8, 2011

2011-06-08T06:39:00.010-10:00

Pekanbaru Airport, Indonesia, Jun 8, 2011 — An Air Force C-17 landed here today at approximately 2 p.m. today in support of operation Pacific Angel 11-3.

The aircraft carried health services outreach supplies and Air Force personnel from around the United States Pacific Command’s (USPACOM) area of responsibility in support of the operation.

Operation Pacific Angel is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance operation conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility to support U.S. Pacific Command's civic outreach efforts.

“The U.S., in consultation with other nations, developed operation Pacific Angel for two reasons. First and foremost, it gives the U.S. an opportunity to support the efforts of other governments in the region to provide medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering assistance to their citizens,” said Lt. Col. Scott Hughes, 36th Medical Group physician.

“Additionally, these operations enhance U.S. relations with other countries in the region, such as Timor Leste, Indonesia, Mongolia and Cambodia by demonstrating U.S. resolve to promote regional security and humanitarian interests.”

The operation aims to build civil military cooperation between the U.S. and the host nations, as well as train civil-military personnel to work together with a focus on civil assistance.

“We are committed to supporting Indonesia’s efforts to bring assistance to its people. The U.S., at the invitation of Indonesia, will provide support by conducting medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering programs,” said Col. Theodore Corallo, 36th Contingency Response Group commander.

2011-06-08T05:09:00.017-10:00

Pekanbaru Arifield, Indonesia, Jun 8, 2011 — A Republic of Singapore Air Force C-130 from Halim Air base, Jakarta, Indonesia landed here today at approximately 12:30 p.m. as part of operation Pacific Angel 11-3.

The C-130 carried approximately $140 thousand dollars worth of palletized medicine and medical supplies in support of the operation.

“This delivery illustrates America’s commitment to working with other nations and organizations in order to build relationships with our partners in the Pacific region,” said Capt. Patrick Carpizo, 36th Contingency Response Group Logistics Readiness Officer.

Members of the U.S. Air Force and Indonesian military worked together to unload the aircraft, break down the pallets then transport the medical supplies to a secure storage facility.

Operation Pacific Angel is a series of combined humanitarian assistance operations conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility in support of commander U.S. Pacific Command’s civic outreach efforts.

“Operation Pacific Angel helps cultivate common bonds and foster goodwill between the United States and other regional nations by conducting multilateral humanitarian and civic assistance operations,” said Col. Theodore Corallo, 36th Contingency Response Group commander.

The United States Air Force and Indonesian Air Force Working Hand In Hand

2011-06-06T18:59:00.002-10:00

(Major Mintoro Sumego is a medical doctor from the Indonesian Air force. During operation Pacific Angel 11-3, he will be the subject matter expert. He hails from Jakarta, Indonesia)

Operation Pacific Angel’s objectives include training civil-military operators to work together with a focus on civic assistance. The operations consist of several civil-military assistance programs to include: subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs) and medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering civic assistance programs. Operation Pacific Angel 11-3 will be conducted in Indonesia, 12-17 June, 2011.

13th Air Force Builds International Partnerships During Operation Pacific Angel 11-3

2011-06-06T17:49:00.004-10:00

(Lieutenant Colonel Scott Hughes is a medical doctor from the 36th Medical Group at Andersen Air Force Base. He is serving as the medical commander during operation Pacific Angel 11-3.)

Operation Pacific Angel is a series of joint/combined humanitarian assistance operations conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility in support of United States Pacific Command Commander’s capacity building efforts. Participants include the active, reserve and guard components of the U.S. Air Force; military forces from Timor Leste, Indonesia, Mongolia and Cambodia; and various non-governmental organizations. These humanitarian and civic assistance operations are aimed at improving military-civic cooperation between the United States and the respective host nations.

Operation Pacific Angel 11-3 Fosters Goodwill In Indonesia

2011-06-06T01:23:00.006-10:00

(Major Justin Wellen is a Logistics Readiness Officer assigned to 13th Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. During Pacific Angel 11-3, he is serving as the logistics planner.)

Officially in its fourth year, Operation PAC Angel is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance operation led by 13th Air Force at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The operation supports U.S. Pacific Command's capacity-building efforts by partnering with other governments in the region to provide medical, dental, veterinary and engineering assitance to their citizens.

2011-06-06T00:46:00.001-10:00

(Captain Patrick Carpizo is a Logistics Readiness Officer assigned to the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. During Pacific Angel 11-3, he is serving as one of the lead planners.)

Pacific Angel is a Pacific Air Forces humanitarian assistance operation led by 13th Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. It is aimed at improving military civic cooperation between the United States and other Asia-Pacific area nations.

Pac Angel 11-3 Gets Underway

2011-06-05T23:56:00.010-10:00

(Staff Sergeant Romalyn Vanderloop is a personnelist assigned to the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.)

I am Staff Sergeant Romalyn Vanderloop from the 36th Contingency Response Group at Andersen Air Force base Guam. This is my first time to visit Indonesia as well as my first opportunity to participate in a humanitarian relief mission.
This mission will include medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering programs as well as subject matter expert exchanges in infection control and basic life support procedures.
There are more than 100 U.S. military members, along with local non-governmental agencies and host nation military forces involved with this operation. I am responsible for providing personnel support during this operation.

So far the weather here has been pretty hot, humid and rainy. The people here are very friendly, the host nation’s cuisine is delicious and the work with our partner nations has been very rewarding!

Four days in China

2011-06-01T19:06:00.012-10:00

(Captain Dear Beloved is chief of plans and programs for the ISR Division (ISRD), 607th Air Operations Center, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. He hails from Hattiesburg, Miss.)

I just returned from a four-day trip to Beijing, China with my wife Ha Young, my sister and her friend. Four days didn't seem like a long time, yet we managed to rack up quite a few experiences and observations while there.

We toured Tienanmen Square, the iconic and well-known wide-open space in Beijing where one man faced down a number of tanks in the 1989 protests. It was filled with dozens of security cameras, presumably to monitor any protests that might arise, and at the far end of the square was a traditional imperial building with a large picture of Mao Zedung.

Beijing has wide and spacious tree-lined roads with special bus lanes and large scooter/bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways. It's quite striking actually to see the cast of Beijing road users. In an honorable effort to battle big city pollution, Beijing has outlawed the use of gas-operated scooters. Instead there are hordes of electric, battery-operated scooters and bicycles. This makes for a very quiet street in comparison with many other cities that I've visited.

The Forbidden City was an imperial city in ancient times and it housed the Chinese emperors and their surrounding cast of scholars, martial fighters, and support staff. Built like a fortress, you can only enter through a couple gateways in the huge stone walls and from the very beginning it's like a maze. The Chinese seem to have this fascination with building huge structures and the Forbidden City was no exception. As we walked through the Forbidden City, I felt like I was peeling back layers of an onion. Each huge courtyard ended with a huge imperial Chinese building or hall and then as we bypassed that building, another huge courtyard would appear that couldn't be seen before and another huge building and it continued on like this for quite time as each building gets a little closer to the true Imperial residence (White House equivalent).

After a good night's sleep, we boarded the bus to head out of Beijing and see the Great Wall. Pictures and videos don't really do justice to the size of this manmade border that spans and winds over 5000 miles. It's longer than the distance from America's east to west coast and built entirely out of huge pieces of rock. I'd like to run a Great Wall marathon one day just so I could see a small part of it. We only walked over a half-mile portion before having to return to the bus.

China seems to have a measured pace of life where people go through their daily routine without much thought. So while people seem content, not everyone seems happy. Even so, I didn't see an atmosphere of pessimism throughout Beijing. It just seems strangely calm and relaxed, but somehow lacking the same level of motivation and innovation that drives our creativity and modern genius in the Western world. Perhaps this is present in other parts of China. China is changing for the better albeit at a very gradual and controlled pace and the Chinese people seem to be aware of this and to accept it.

Osan Airman participates in "Filial Piety" 10K

2011-05-17T20:33:00.013-10:00

(Staff Sgt. Erinn Taylor works quality assurance for the traffic management office, 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. She is from East Colorado Springs, Colo.)

What an experience running the 10K in Suwon! It was different from the 10K I ran last year in Afghanistan. Of course there were a lot more people involved with the Suwon race, and we had the option of running a 21K, 10K or 5K. The Suwon race was like a festival. They had many booths of different kinds; they were selling food and advertising different things; there was a stage with speakers getting the crowd pumped for the run; and they had fireworks and performances.

We took off at 5 min increments and the run was pretty intense; there were a lot more hills than expected and they were steep, and I'd have to say they added some time to my
run.

Race organizers had many water stations and even gave sponges filled with water so runners could soak themselves. The weather was perfect for a run. I got through the race and was proud that I finished. The race was free to enter and organizers provided a few small snacks and juice at the end. I even got a medal! All in all, it was good time and a great experience; I'd do it again.

Comments on Osan’s AFAF fun run and FOD walk

2011-05-05T19:58:00.007-10:00

(Staff Sgt. Antwaynete Andrews is the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of Emissions Security and she’s from Long Island, N.Y. She’s currently assigned to the 51st Communications Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.)

We came out this morning and formed up so we’d be ready to go by 6:30. Normally I’d just be getting up at 6 o’clock in the morning to get ready for work … but you know, service before self, excellence in all we do, that’s the stuff that makes all this worthwhile.

Right now we are participating in a wing FOD walk. We started out the morning first with a nice little morale run…an exercise regimen to start the day!

I believe the purpose of this morning’s events was to get everybody together, to build cohesion, and to boost morale. It’s always good to just get everybody together to work out a little bit, see each other, and do some things together.

I think the run, and now the FOD walk, were effective in boosting morale. We ran, we did Jody calls, and of course the commander was making sure to keep the morale up during the run. People were laughing and smiling; we like to have fun!

Airman artist

2011-05-05T19:34:00.008-10:00

(Airman 1st Class Jaynell Felizardo is a fitness specialist from Oceanside, Calif. She was assigned to the 51st Force Support Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.)

I didn’t intend on doing any murals at all, let alone murals at Osan AB, Korea.

It all started because my squadron was doing room inspections and my first shirt (MSgt Alsvig) just happened to walk into my room and see my "crazy walls" (all the art work posted up on my walls). He then approached me later and said "I saw your artwork on your walls, and I see that you can draw. Do you think you would be interest in painting murals in your (the 51st FSS) dormitory? It would be located at the main entrance of your dormitory." And since I have never painted murals in my life I decide to go for it....why not?

The first shirt gave me free will to do what I wanted with the walls and what type of murals I wanted to put up. He gave me 5 walls, probably only expecting one mural. I then came up with 5 different murals.... all revolving around the 51st FSS squadron logo, the PACAF logo, the Air Force symbol and the base name, AFSC badges of the "new" FSS (the combination of services and personnelist), and finally the 51st FW logo with the main gate and a military person in full MOPP 4 gear.

Within 3 weeks I found some free time here and there to work on the murals. The sketches for the murals took 6 hours in total to put up, but the whole task together took about 50 hrs.

As for me I was totally honored that the first shirt approached me to put up murals in the FSS dorms...and for my very first murals with the time that was allotted to me, I think they came out pretty decent.

I would like to thank the first shirt for approaching me and allowing me and helping me to make these murals happen. I’d also like to thank the commander (Major Chargualaf) for approving this. Like to thank Sgt Poplin for helping me out by finding the equipment I needed, while the first shirt was out of the country. And for everyone else, thank you.

I am proud to have put up these murals because it has boosted morale in my squadron and in my dorms and hopefully around the whole base... for those that have seen my murals.... and it’s good to know that the hard work and time and persistence that I put into these murals is paying off by making people smile and say, "Hey these look pretty good!"

Differences

2011-05-02T13:58:00.005-10:00

(Amn Matthew Versluis is a Hydrualics Systems Apprentice from the 374th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Yokota Air Base, Japan)

Things really have changed here over the last few months, and no, this isn’t more navel gazing or self-reflection. As you all know the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the northern coast of japan closer to two months ago and while things have returned to a slight sense of normalcy, at least in places, in others the differences are profound. Last weekend I went down to Shibuya as I will every so often to take pictures of the city, the sights, sounds and people. At first glance things did appear to be normal, thousands of people crammed into a very busy intersection with people running in all directions at once, groups of friends gathering, chatting, or just chilling. You wouldn’t think that anything negative would have occurred such a short time ago. So I walked around taking lots of pictures visible here ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/58409124@N03/ http://verseless-photography.com/ http://www.verseless.deviantart.com/)

Note, none of them, or at least very few, are actually of the city, that’s for a reason. Sundown finally came and I set up my camera at about 15 till, and I start to look around expecting the lights to come on any second hoping to get some great pictures of the city and people. Maybe a few nice low light shots. Possibly a good spontaneous portrait or two. The sun goes down behind the labyrinthine cityscape, the last copper hues of the sunset fading into….dark? The city was dark, for Shibuya anyway. The closest comparison that I can give to it would be like standing in Times Square and all of the billboards, all of the video screens, were turned off. And that’s exactly it, all of the video screens, all of the advertisements, the brighter streetlights, even shop lights were deactivated to save power. Now, I am unsure of the exact state of the infrastructure here in Japan right now, but I know that since the Fukushima Daiichi plant got hit life appears to be at least a little less colorful in Tokyo.

People have been through worse in the world, and thankfully Tokyo just seems to be rationing power, no daytime lighting on the trains, or air conditioning at all, no heated seats either, small little conveniences that I’d begun to take for granted now no longer evident in anyone’s lives. Might just be my observation, who knows, maybe they’re flawed, that could be. But to see all of those bright, comforting, and saturating lights and sights just gone….it made me feel like something had been lost. It made me remember that everything we’re doing to help these people will actually have an effect. It may be years, it may be decades but to see Shibuya return to its former shining glory will be worth it at some point. A transformation has taken place in the nation of Japan and they’ll never be the same. The lights will eventually return, the glitz and glamour will be back to inspirational levels at some point, but for now things are subdued if only in some degree.

I wouldn’t say that any of this has been inspirational though, that word just doesn’t cut it, to apply such a finite word to a series of events such as these, to apply such a word to the relief effort that started the day it happened, the month of nonstop support that numerous nations provided and continue to provide still, the coming together of branches of numerous militaries, aid organizations, and even firefighters from all across the globe coming together to forge a cohesive response force well within a month to help these people, is not inspirational. It… is… legendary. It’s not about medals, news coverage, a renewed sense of responsibility, strong senses of pity, regret, conscience, or anything like that. It’s that almost jubilant feeling of pride you get hearing that perhaps barely intelligible ‘thank you’ from people that genuinely have many things to be thankful for. I’ve only ever personally received the smallest part of that, one lone man telling me that we’re ‘big hero country, thanks for what you do.’ I can only imagine the kind of thanks that rescue workers deserve and received when they helped those directly affected by the tsunami.

If you’re coming here don’t expect all the ultramodern conveniences that have been touted for years, even some basic amenities are still hurting, come here expecting the warm reception of a thankful nation and from those truly in need. If you’re leaving here, like me, then I hope that you’ve received a sense of pride that you’ll never forget. Those who leave may go on to do great things, but remember, the greatest thing that one can hope to accomplish is to have been deserving of a simple ‘thank you’ from one you’ve helped however indirectly.

One last wintertime blog

2011-04-21T17:04:00.016-10:00

(Senior Airman Todd Bedo, left, is an F-16 avionics specialist from Gilbertsville, Pa. He's assigned to the 51st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. Airman Bedo is an avid photographer and captured all photos in this blog during a trip to Seoraksan National Park in December.)

We all know how it is to be away from our families during the holidays, but this year I convinced myself I was going to make the best of it. I decided to experience the Korean culture and do what a lot of the Korean people do for New Years, and that is to watch the first sunrise of 2011. I couldn’t think of a better place to do that than at Seoraksan National Park in Sokcho, which I had been to several times before.

So I rounded up some willing participants and we headed to Seoraksan around 7 a.m., arriving there at 3 p.m. After arriving at the park we checked in to the hotel, for 121,000 won, and headed to the waterfall trail before the last sunset of 2010. Braving the icy trails and metal stairs we made it to the waterfall, and it was completely frozen, which is something I had never seen before. We realized that it was quickly getting dark on us and we didn’t want to be hiking on ice in the dark so we headed back to the hotel.

Going to sleep by 9 p.m., we woke up at 4 a.m., bundled up, and headed to the Ulsanbawi (Ulsan - bowee) trail to see the sunrise. It is a difficult trail to begin with, add in ice and snow, and you’ll have a great time falling up the mountain! We got all the way to the top just as the luminance of the sky was getting brighter and quickly realized just how cloudy and windy it was.

We never did get to see the sun come up because the sky was just too stormy, but it made for amazing pictures as the mountains pierced through the clouds! It didn’t take long until it got cold up there with the wind, so we began our venture back down. We got back down by around 11 a.m., so we still had time to hit the cable car to the top of another peak, and by this time it was snowing like crazy.

At the top of the cable car it is just a short hike to the top of another amazing peak, where we watched the mountains disappear right in front of our eyes in thick fog. That is where I got some of my favorite pictures, but the entire trip was just incredible! By the time we took the cable car back down we were praying we would still be able to get home because it had snowed 3 inches already.

Safe and sound we arrived home exhausted, but content around 10 p.m. I would have to say that this has been my favorite trip to Seoraksan and I think next time I go I will be looking for storms as well. It all goes to show that Koreans know how to “do holidays” and have an experience that you will never forget. Sometimes getting out of your comfort zone is where you really, truly, find out who you are. There was no better way to bring in 2011!

"Thank You" is not necessary; U.S. forces honored to help reopen Sendai Airport

2011-04-07T17:34:00.003-10:00

Col. Robert Toth is the commander of the Joint Force Special Operations Component Joint Support Force

I cannot put into words the carnage left behind by the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent 33-foot tsunami March 11, 2011. More than 300 miles of eastern coastline along Japan's main island of Honshu was destroyed. Some of the most graphic initial images were of Sendai Airport and its nearby cities of Natori and Sendai. As shocking as it was to see videos of Sendai Airport and the surrounding towns being overrun by the tsunami, nothing could prepare us for the firsthand view of the area when we arrived at Sendai Airport March 16.

The images of an unusable airport covered with thousands of smashed vehicles, twisted aircraft, uprooted trees, shattered houses, water, sand, fish and seashells are recorded on film and in our memories. However, in stark contrast, today's image of Sendai Airport is one of hope and recovery.

From the beginning, our vision was to coordinate with our Japanese counterparts to facilitate the reopening of Sendai Airport which would enable delivery of humanitarian aid directly to the heart of the disaster area. On March 16, we achieved our vision as we landed the first fixed-wing aircraft on Sendai Airport's main runway.

Four days after that first MC-130 landed, our Japanese and American team cleared the entire runway, allowing C-17s to land. Together, we established a hub and aid began to flow into the epicenter of the disaster. Little did I know this would inspire the people of Miyagi Prefecture to view the opening of Sendai Airport as a symbol of hope. Prior to our arrival, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Civil Aviation Bureau, and the Sendai Airport Authority believed Sendai's Airport would never open again.

The process of restoring Sendai Airport to pre-tsunami form required a great deal of cooperation between the Japanese Government and Self Defense Forces, the U.S. Air Force, Marines, Army, Navy and government agencies. A bilateral coordination board was established. Initially, the board developed a plan for SOF Airmen to temporarily handle all airfield operations to allow delivery of aid while Japanese workers performed recovery operations.

When units from the Army and Marines arrived on March 20, they were quickly integrated into this process. With additional help on hand, the bilateral coordination board developed a plan to transition all airport operations back to Japanese control based on key milestones.

We reached one of those key milestones April 1 when U.S. Air Force combat controllers transferred tower operations over to Japanese air traffic controllers at Sendai Airport. As I flew into Sendai Airport that day, I was thrilled to hear the voice of a Japanese controller in the Sendai tower, proudly clearing us to land.

In those short 21 days, U.S. Air Force combat controllers at Sendai Airport controlled over 250 aircraft from the Air Force, Marines, Army, Navy, and Royal Australian Air Force participating in Operation Tomodachi. Those aircraft delivered more than 2.31 million pounds of humanitarian aid and more than 15,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline to fuel humanitarian convoys and recovery vehicles.

While U.S. forces worked around the clock to run airport operations and deliver aid, teams of Japanese workers at the airport worked furiously with

heavy equipment to clean the airport and repair infrastructure.

As I approached Sendai Airport for the last time April 3, I could not believe I was looking at the same airport that was in utter ruin only 19 days ago. Even more unbelievable was what I saw on final approach to the

runway. As we crossed the beach on a half-mile final to runway 27, I

looked down and noticed the Japanese word Arigato "thank you" spelled out using 20 to 30 foot pine trees that were knocked down by the tsunami.

Our effort here on Honshu pales in comparison to the effort put forward by the people of Japan, and when we depart, their struggle will continue. They have put forth tremendous effort in the midst of struggling for survival and searching for those lost.

Japan Ground Self Defense Force Lt. Gen. Eiji Kimisuka, commanding general of Joint Task Force Tohoku, visited Sendai Airport April 5 and oversaw the final transfer of airport operations from U.S. military personnel to the airport authority. As Sendai Airport opened April 6, the airport returned to the state it was in the morning of March 11 - fully operated by the people of Japan.

All U.S. forces that participated in Operation Tomodachi at Sendai Airport are stationed in Japan on the islands of Honshu and Okinawa. I think I can speak for them when I say it was our honor to help the people of Japan: our hosts, friends and neighbors.

To the men and women of the U.S. Air Force's 353rd Special Operations Group, United States Marine Corps Task Force Fuji, Marine Logistics Regiment 35, and Army Logistics Task Force 35: I thank you for your hard work to help re-open Sendai Airport and restore hope to the people of Japan.

Saint Augustine once said, "We deserve no praise when we do things we ought to do and they are right."

To the people of Japan: a thank you is not necessary.

Supply Pick Up for Humanitarian Aid

2011-04-03T16:00:00.003-10:00

Today was an awesome day. After being in Yokota Air Base, Japan for a few days I finally had my first mission. No hot zone or anything like that but it was still an important one. Head up to Misawa Air Base, Japan and drop off supplies and pick up some to be used for Operation Tomodachi.

Landing in Misawa AB, the Loadmasters and Air Transporters went to work quick, downloading the cargo that we brought up to them, then re-adjusting the configuration of the cargo hold to take on the on-coming cargo load. They were quick and efficient. It was a sight to behold.

They loaded 15 generators to be used for Operation Tomodachi amongst other items into the aircraft.

It was quite cool to see the hull of the C-17 Globemaster III full. As I said when I started this post... Today was an awesome day.

Staff Sgt. Joshua Garcia

Aerial Photographer

673d Air Base Wing/PA

Helping to cool things down

2011-03-28T05:14:00.000-10:00

Tech. Sgt. John Obermuller, 374th Maintenance Squadron, and a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force member join two sections of hose. The hoses are part of water pump donated by the US government to help the Japanese government stabilize the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The entire system was flown to Yokota and will soon be transported to the reactor site. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Krystal M. Garrett)

A team of Yokota Airmen labored nonstop March 25-27 to design and create essential components for water pumps to be used at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan.

The power plant, located roughly 130 miles north of Yokota Air Base in Fukushima Prefecture, suffered catastrophic damage to its cooling system in the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami March 11.

To help Japanese crews stabilize the reactors, the US government purchased several water pumps to help their cause, and the Royal Australian Air Force helped transport them to Yokota. The Japanese hoses, however, didn't fit the attachment points on the pumps.

Fortunately, the 374th Maintenance Squadron developed the solution...
Two teams of four Airmen on 12-hour shifts designed and created the necessary adapters, pressure valves and other pieces so Japanese crews could use the pumps to augment the plant's cooling system. The pumps will be used to transport fresh water into the plant instead of ocean water, which leaves corroding salt residue when it evaporates. The project is one more way Team Yokota has supported Operation Tomodachi, the overall relief mission to help the Japanese people in their recovery efforts.

Staff Sgt. Charles Coy, aircraft metals technology section chief, spearheaded the endeavor. Working a swing shift between day and night crews enabled him to coordinate efforts as everyone worked on a different part of the project.

"Normally people bring us a broken part, blueprint or an idea they've sketched," Sergeant Coy said. "For this, they showed us the pump and the hoses - that was all we needed. We designed every piece from scratch, and then just built what was needed."

Read more about this effort here...

Welcome to Osan!

2011-03-27T19:30:00.008-10:00

(Airman Basic Jacob Restemayer is a vehicle operator from Rogers, Minn. He’s assigned to the 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron, Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. Airman Restemayer offered these comments after attending a Commander’s Call/ORI (operational readiness inspection) pep rally at Osan March 25 )

This is my first week here. I got here last Saturday, March 19. I’m a vehicle operator and basically my job is to move the force. I do tractor-trailer runs transporting goods around the base.

I’ll be participating in an ORI my second week at Osan. From what I’ve heard, an ORI consists of a simulated war environment. I don’t know what to expect but my idea is that I’m going to be wearing full MOPP gear a lot, that basically I’m going to do the job while transitioning through the inspection phases. Other than basic training, I’ve never worn full MOPP gear.

I’m actually looking forward to the challenge of an ORI. My recruiter told me, once he learned I was going to Osan, that I’d be doing a lot of drills and exercises. He said the great thing about Osan and exercises is that I was going to get used to them, get good at them, that when I leave I’ll feel comfortable with any situation at any base. This is a hard working base.

Personally I would like to come out of here stronger and I’d like to take on a lot more responsibility. I want to come out of here with people thinking about me having a good reputation.

The view from my window

2011-03-25T00:50:00.003-10:00

(Staff Sgt. Robin Stanchak is the NCO in charge of Operations Projects for the 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office at Yokota Air Base, Japan.)

This was going to be my first flight up north since the earthquake and tsunami struck March 11. I was both eager and anxious to finally see what I, like so many others, had been supporting with 12+ hour work days and no days off.

The mission was pretty straight forward: The C-130 Hercules crew assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron here at Yokota, along with two members from the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron combat mobility flight, were to fly up to Chitose Air Base, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan's second largest island.

Once there, they were to pick up six pallets of humanitarian relief supplies, including water, blankets and rice, and deliver it down south to Matsushima.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Matsushima was located in the Miyagi prefecture, one of the hardest hit areas in Japan. It would be on the descent during our landing at Matsushima that I would finally see just how bad things really were there...
Once we arrived at Chitose Air Base, both the JASDF and 374th LRS members worked to inspect the cargo so that the relief supplies could be uploaded on to our C-130. Once it was cleared, everyone worked quickly to get the pallets onboard.

I can tell you this was no easy task. Not only was the freezing temperature and constant wind almost unbearable, but the snow that pushed down on us during the supply upload made it far from a pleasant experience.

But the weather didn't seem to slow anyone in their efforts; it was as though they all knew just how important these supplies were to those who were waiting for them.

Now because there were six pallets packed into this C-130, it made the available seating very limited, to say the least. When it was all said and done, the crew managed to provide me with a small section to sit on during the hour-long flight down to Matsushima. It was from this seat that I was able to see out of a small window down onto the Japanese countryside beneath us.

The sun had already begun to set, and, as the night started to darken the world below, I could see the lights from the houses and cars as we passed over them. Even as a child, I enjoyed looking out of the airplane window as we flew over cities and towns, wondering where we were and who was out there.

As we began our descent, I noticed at one point that the lights in those houses and buildings were all off, and that just a few car lights could be seen. It was strange to see so much light from below and then practically nothing.

At first, I thought it was just another scheduled power outage; those are pretty common throughout Japan these days. But as we got closer, I finally understood what I was actually seeing, and it was at that moment that I was filled with sadness and heartbreak.

As I looked on in complete disbelief, I could see houses with only the roof tops visible above the water. The roadways had been completely washed away; only the street signs hanging high above them could still be seen. Cars and trucks were submerged under water, while boats and vessels lay on their sides grounded in the mud.

As I turned back around in my seat and stared at those six pallets of cargo full of 15,000 pounds of relief supplies, I understood on a new level just how important all of this was and that what we were doing really mattered.

As we touched down on a desolate runway in Matsushima, the aircraft came to a stop and the supplies we offloaded by Japanese workers to be taken by a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter unit to distribution centers around the city.

What stood out in my mind as the last pallet was taken off the aircraft were the faces of those Japanese workers. In the midst of all this despair and devastation they were still smiling. As the aircraft door began to shut, I could see them clapping and waving to us onboard as a way to say thank you for bringing relief supplies.

As I smiled and waved back to them, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and honor to be a part of something so important.

PACAF Pixels

Training with the Royal New Zealand Air Force

Dec. 9, 2011 - Arrival ceremony welcomes fallen U.S. military members home

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

Honoring the Survivors' Legacy - 70th Anniversary of the Attacks on Oahu

AMD/AECT (Aeromedical Evacuation Control Team)

9/11 Remembered: A reflection on the 10th anniversary

CASTING CALL **** ALL ACTIVE AND RETIRED AIRMEN ONLY****

PACAF ITEMS OF INTEREST

CSAF Vector 2011 - Vision of the Air Force

My Jejudo Story

Operation Pacific Angel 11-3 treats nearly 4,000 Indonesian patients in seven days

Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 Closing Ceremony

Trippler Medical Center doctors join operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3

Project Hope joins operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3

736th Security forces' role during PACANGEL 11-3

Bioenvironmental's role during PACANGEL 11-3

Operation PACIFIC ANGEL 11-3 Ceremony

Medical care key to Operation PACIFIC ANGEL

U.S. Pacific Command shows HARRT during PACANGEL

Pekanbaru Airport, Indonesia, Jun 8, 2011

The United States Air Force and Indonesian Air Force Working Hand In Hand

13th Air Force Builds International Partnerships During Operation Pacific Angel 11-3

Operation Pacific Angel 11-3 Fosters Goodwill In Indonesia

Pac Angel 11-3 Gets Underway

Four days in China

Osan Airman participates in "Filial Piety" 10K

Comments on Osan’s AFAF fun run and FOD walk

Airman artist

Differences

One last wintertime blog

"Thank You" is not necessary; U.S. forces honored to help reopen Sendai Airport

Supply Pick Up for Humanitarian Aid

Helping to cool things down

Welcome to Osan!

The view from my window

CASTING CALL ALL ACTIVE AND RETIRED AIRMEN ONLY