INSIDE

This issueLightning Spirit A-2

Deployed Forces A-3

News Briefs A-6

MWR B-2

Sports & Fitness B-4

Launch off Celebrate African-

American History Monthwith NASA Astronaut

Robert Satcher, at FortShafter Flats, Feb. 22.

See Community Calendar, B-2

Kolekole Jam IIDon’t miss the best, freeconcert of the year with

Montgomery Gentry,Feb. 23, at Sills Field,Schofield Barracks.

B-3

Center mass Jerry “The Burner”

Barnhart teaches 25th ID,3rd Brigade Combat Team

Soldiers world-callmarksmanship.

A-5

NFC takes titleFootball fanatics fill the Aloha Stadium

to witness the battlebetween NFC

and AFC at the Pro Bowl.

B-1

Tax centers offer free assistance for service members & their familiesStory and Photo by

MOLLY HAYDENStaff Writer

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — The2007 tax-filing season is well onits way, and Soldiers and familiescan turn their visions of tax re-funds into reality with help fromthe Schofield Barracks and FortShafter tax centers.

More than 80 members of themilitary ohana recently walkedthrough the doors of the tax cen-ter here, recently. On the openingday, Soldiers and families receivedmore than $50,000 in refunds andsaved more than $14,500 in taxpreparation fees, according toCapt. Geoffrey Guska, officer incharge, Office of the Staff Judge

Advocate Tax Assistance Pro-grams, 25th Infantry Division.

“We had an overwhelming re-

sponse the first day,” said Guska.“We provide this service to savemilitary families time and money.

This shouldn’t be a stressfulprocess.”

The Schofield Barracks and FortShafter tax centers provide freewalk-in service for all eligible in-

dividuals, including active dutypersonnel and retirees. Also eligi-ble are family members of activeor retired personnel, along withreservists and National Guardmembers serving on active dutyorders in excess of 29 days.

Returns are prepared for the2007 tax year, along with the 2005and 2006 tax years for Soldierswho have recently redeployed toHawaii from combat tours.

“This experience has been morepersonal and more efficient thanmy past experiences,” said Spc.Pete Rodriquez, 540th Quarter-master, 45th Sustainment Brigade.“They went through all of our op-

Pfc. Anne Marie Crumpler (right) prepares a tax return for Spc. PeteRodriquez. The tax centers on both Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafterprovide a free walk-in service for members of the military ohana.

SEE TAX, A-9

Tax CentersFort Shafter: The Aloha Center, Rooms 107and 108 9:30a.m.-5 p.m.,Monday–WednesdayCall 438-1813

Schofield Barracks:1612 Foote Ave., Building 6489:30a.m.-5 p.m., Monday–Thursday 9:30a.m.-4 p.m., FridayCall 655-1040.

Sappers train for close quarters, urban warfareEngineers learn transitioningskills to close quarters combat

Story and Photos by

SPC. KYNDAL HERNANDEZ8th Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Combat engi-neers with the 95th Engineer Company“Sappers” honed urban warfare tactics duringextensive training the past three weeks atArea X.

The 95th, a relatively new unit with the 8thTheater Sustainment Command’s 65th Engi-neer Battalion, has been growing since this

summer. The phased training began withClose-Quarters Marksmanship (CQM), whereSoldiers focused on reflexive fire drills and ba-sic movement techniques. The second weekSoldiers practiced close-quarters battle drillsand moved on to demolitions the final weekof training.

“We are beginning with CQM, which isjust learning how to transition when Sol-diers enter or clear a building,” said StaffSgt. Jason Wrynn, a platoon sergeant with theSappers. “During deployments, a lot of engi-neers are conducting missions where theyare clearing buildings right alongside the in-fantry or by themselves, so this will help

them train and be prepared for that.”“This is all brand new to me,” said Pfc.

Richard Kugelmana, a combat engineer withthe unit. Kugelmana joined the Army afterserving in the Air Force security forces. Hesaid the Army’s training is more extensive.

“I think this is really good training, because it teaches us about another aspect ofour job and what we need to know when we are deployed,” Kugelmana said.“Plus, it helps with muscle memory — if youkeep doing it, you keep getting better at it.”

CQM, the basic building block for the Sap-

Muddy low-crawling 101SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Members of the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, master low-crawl-ing techniques as part of their training regimen, Feb. 4, at Area X.

Spc. David House | 8th Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs

25TH INFANTRY DIVISION PUBLIC AFFAIRSNews Release

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — The Departmentof Defense announced Tuesday the death of fourSoldiers from units within the 2nd StrykerBrigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Soldiers died Feb. 8, in Taji, Iraq, ofwounds suffered when their vehicle encoun-tered an improvised explosive device.

The following Soldiers were killed:Spc. Michael T. Manibog, 31, of Alameda,

Calif., who was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21stInfantry Regiment. He joined the Army inAugust 2005 and was assigned to SchofieldBarracks in October 2006.

Sgt. Timothy P. Martin, 27, of Pixley, Calif.,who was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 14thCavalry Regiment. He joined the Army in

April 2005 and was assigned to SchofieldBarracks in March 2007.

Staff Sgt. Jerald A. Whisenhunt, 32, of Or-rick, Mo., who was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment. He joinedthe Army in October 2000 and was assigned

to Schofield Barracks in May 2007.Sgt. Gary D. Willett, 34, of Alamogordo,

N.M., who was assigned to 1st Battalion, 21stInfantry Regiment. He joined the Army inFebruary 1995 and was assigned to SchofieldBarracks in October 2006.

7th Engineer DiveTeam Soldiers returnhome from 15-monthdeployment

Story and Photo by

SPC. NATALIE BARBER8th Military Police Brigade Public Affairs

FORT SHAFTER — Soldiers withthe 7th Engineer Dive Team werewelcomed with open arms, Feb. 4,when they returned home from a15-month deployment in supportof Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During deployment, Soldiersperformed their wartime missionin four different countries in theMiddle East: Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrainand Qatar. The dive team’s dailyfunctions included force protec-tion, security swims, hydrographicsurveys, and searches for equip-ment and fallen Soldiers.

While every mission carrriedequal importance, the team saidone mission in particular wasmost gratifying. That mission in-volved a 142-ton bridge on theEuphrates River, according StaffSgt. Chris Foster.

“If left as it was, [the bridge] would have fallen and hit a gasline that could have killed a lot ofpeople,” Foster said. “That wasone of our biggest tasks and feltmost rewarding.”

The team worked directly withthe Kuwaiti Navy, the Iraqi Min-istry of Defense, MultinationalCorps-Iraq, and many other or-ganizations throughout theCentral Command Theater.

“We worked a lot with theKuwaiti people,” Spc. Taylor Lop-er said. “We had very good rela-tions with them; they would eveninvite us over to their homes toeat with them.”

Overall, the 7th Eng. Dive Teammade more than 260 dives, spent

Dive teamresurfaces

VOL. 37 NO. 7 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008

Manibog Martin Whisenhunt Willet

IED kills four 2nd Bde. Soldiers

Sgt. Jeremy Tomlin’s son wave’s atthe camera during a welcomehome celebration, Feb. 4.

SEE DIVE, A-11SEE SAPPERS, A-11

“Just beingable to be afemale andserve in theU.S. Army iswhat I enjoythe most.”

Sgt. EbonyBanks 94th AAMDCAdministrativespecialist

“I value our free-doms and the pos-sibilities the U.S.has to offer as faras job careers andthe ability to dowhat we want inour lives.”

Pvt. Dylan McEwen D Co., 2-35th, 3rd IBCT Infantry

“With President’s Daycoming up, I think theU.S. is a great place tolive because you knowyou’re safe here. Youknow your family issafe, and you don’t haveto be afraid when yougo out because youknow you are safe.”

Pfc. Kevin Crum 643rd Eng. CompanyElectrician

With President’s Day coming up next week, whatdo you treasure most about the U.S.?

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43 dayssince last fatal accidentNumber represents fatal ac-

cidents as defined by ArmyRegulation 385-10, which is in-clusive of all active componentU.S. Army units and person-nel. Current as of 2/13/08.

A-2 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY NEWS & COMMENTARY

“I treasurebeing able totravel freely,and all thedifferentthings theU.S. has tooffer.”

Maj. DavidLynn G6, 25th IDInformation sys-tems manager

“I treasure the free-dom that we haveas Americans, andI treasure theopportunity tofight for freedom,not only for Amer-icans but for thoseof other countries.”

1st Sgt. TiffanyBasley536th MC, Rear Det.First Sergeant

In the Feb. 1 edition, page A-1, the article “MPSA re-unites Soldiers and parcels” listed the wrong e-mail ad-dress. The correct address is MPSA-MRC@conus.army.mil.

Also, in the article “AMR housing’s cultural fest makes a last-ing impression,” page B-3 of the Jan. 25 edition, Maj. RajeshLobrecht was incorrectly referred to by the pronoun she.

Sometimes U-turns arethe most direct route

CHAPLAIN (MAJ.) SCOTT A. STERLINGU.S. Army, Pacific, Chaplain’s Office

After living in the Mojave Desertfor four years, I decided that thedesert (any desert) can be a great andbeautiful place to travel through, butnot always such a wonderful place tolive.

This belief was reaffirmed duringtwo deployments in the deserts ofIraq. I learned that deserts are notcalled “wastelands” for nothing.

But I have also discovered thateven though deserts may be consid-ered wastelands, that doesn’t meanour time there has to be wasted.Deserts can be places of growth andnourishment.

As people travel to desert healthspas to become physically rejuvenat-ed, many also retreat to deserts forspiritual refreshment as part of a spir-itual journey. In fact, many of theworld’s religions see the desert as aplace to seek God, be tried and test-ed, and ultimately move forward.

In the Bible, the Israelites traveledin the desert for 40 years after es-caping from slavery in Egypt andbefore entering the promised land.They had to learn to love and followGod’s law.

And, of course, Jesus spent a spir-itually exhausting 40 days in thedesert at the beginning of his min-istry, facing challenges and tempta-tions, and overcoming by the powerof God.

Likewise, today, Christian holy menand women retreat to the desert tocommune with God without distrac-tions. Each year still, faithful Muslimswait in the desert plains outside ofMecca, praying and reflecting, be-fore entering the city during the Hajjpilgrimage.

The thread that runs through all ofthese desert experiences is the themeof spiritual renewal and transforma-tion through prayer, self-reflectionand self-denial.

In the Christian calendar we haveentered the 40-day period of prepa-ration for Easter called Lent, an an-nual season of intentional spiritual re-newal and transformation. Unfortu-nately, many Christians are too eagerto get to the party (Easter) and tend toignore the journey of preparationalong the way.

And although Lent, the passionand Easter are certainly Christianconcepts, there are still some univer-sal truths that can be appreciated bypeople of all faiths. For example,Rabbi Michael Greenstein said, “Partof the Lenten draw, I believe, is thisseason’s underlying message of re-newal.”

The idea of renewal simply meansthat we’re not content or satisfiedwhere we are at the moment, and wewant to be different. There are areasof our lives that we want to shed like

a heavy overcoat on the first warmdays of spring (OK, maybe thatmetaphor doesn’t work in Hawaii,but …).

Dr. Marcus Borg put it this way:“Some of us may need to die to spe-cific things in our lives — perhaps toa behavior that has become destruc-tive or dysfunctional; perhaps to a re-lationship that has ended or gonebad; perhaps to an unresolved grief orto a stage in our life that it is time toleave; perhaps to our self-preoccu-pation; or even to a deadness in ourlives.”

Borg concludes by saying that thejourney of Lent is about “dying andrising, about … transformation.”

When I’m driving in unfamiliar orconfusing cities, I am so grateful forthe opportunities to make U-turns.It is maddening to me to have tocontinue down a road that I know tobe wrong, but I can’t turn around. It’slike getting on the H-3 by mistake —the view may be beautiful, but you’llend up where you don’t want to be.

But the joy of our relationship withGod is that God not only allows U-turns, but encourages them. No mat-ter how far down the road we are, nomatter how many times we takewrong turns, go down blind alleys ordead end streets, or wind up on dirtpaths, God always encourages us tomake U-turns and get back on theright road. That’s what we call re-newal.

Where do we start and how do weprepare? The Lenten tradition ofpreparation usually includes prayer,self-denial and giving to charity. Eachof these practices leads us to lookoutward, either to God (in prayer), orto those around us.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Anindividual has not started living un-til he can rise above the narrow con-fines of his individualistic concerns tothe broader concerns of all humanity.”

It pleases God and enriches ourlives when our focus turns from our-selves to God and God’s world.

Deserts come in various sizes,shapes and temperatures. But whatall deserts have in common is the un-canny ability to force human beingsto face self and our challenges.

On our desert journeys we can ei-ther move forward in God’s strength,or we can be content to wander andthereby squander the opportunitiesfor renewal God offers. Remember,U-turns are permitted.

Gates favors pause after deployment surgeJIM GARAMONE

American Forces Press Service

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON,Iraq — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gatessaid Monday he’ll probably recommend apause for evaluation and assessment in Iraqbefore further troop reductions when the lastsurge brigade leaves in July.

Gates spoke following a two-hour meet-ing with Multinational Force Iraq com-mander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus.

“I think the notion of a brief period ofconsolidation and evaluation probably doesmake sense,” Gates told reporters travelingwith him. The secretary did not speculate onhow long the pause would be.

Last month, Petraeus recommended apause in redeployment from Iraq after thesurge brigades left Iraq. The first of the five

surge brigades left Iraq in December. Thesecond is scheduled to leave by the end ofnext month, then one more will go homeeach month through July. These movementswill leave 15 brigade combat teams, or theirequivalents, in Iraq.

Petraeus said he wanted to have a pauseto reassess the conditions on the ground andto evaluate how the Iraqis are picking up thesecurity mission.

Gates has said repeatedly that conditionson the ground will dictate how fast furtherbrigades will redeploy. Though he had ex-pressed the hope that more brigades couldleave Iraq in August, he said he had beenleaning toward a brief pause.

“I had been kind of headed in that direc-tion as well,” he said. “One of the keys ishow long is that period and then what hap-

pens after that. All of that is still to be de-termined, and then ultimately decided by thepresident.”

Gates arrived in Baghdad, Sunday, andimmediately went to a working dinner withIraqi officials, including Prime MinisterNouri al-Maliki. Gates complimented theIraqis on the legislative progress they havemade and urged them to keep it up.

Monday, the secretary had breakfast withMultinational Corps Iraq sergeants major. Hesaid the sergeants major talked to him abouttroop morale, the commitment troops havemade, and problems that remain.

Following the breakfast, Gates moved tothe Al Faw Palace and presented Army Lt.Gen. Raymond T. Odierno and CommandSgt. Maj. Neil L. Ciotola with awards fortheir service in Iraq. Odierno and Ciotola are

the commander and senior enlisted advisorfor the Multinational Corps Iraq, and they’rewrapping up their 15-month tour this week.Pending Senate confirmation, Odierno isslated to receive his fourth star and to be-come Army vice chief of staff later thisyear.

“General Odierno and his team arrived lastyear in what was considered a grim time inthe Iraq mission,” Gates said. “Under theguidance of General Petraeus, the Corpscarried out a strategy that combined classiccounterinsurgency principles with ap-proaches that broke new ground in the his-tory of warfighting.”

Gates said the Corps made impressivegains under Odierno and Ciocola, that at-tacks have dropped, and the Iraqis have achance for freedom and prosperity.

Blacks have long legacy ofmilitary service, sacrificeAfrican-American Soldiershave fought in every war sincethe American Revolution

AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICENews Release

WASHINGTON — Since the birth of Ameri-ca, African-Americans have been fighting anddying alongside their countrymen as the U.S.has struggled for freedom and peace at homeand abroad.

African-American Soldiers have fought inevery war the U.S. has participated in, from theRevolutionary War to the current war on ter-ror.

About 5,000 African-American Soldiersfought in the American Revolutionary War. Inthe Civil War, 180,000 African-Americansmade up 163 units of the Union Army, andmany more served in the Union Navy. African-Americans were used mostly for labor by theConfederate forces, although in 1865, Con-federate President Jefferson Davis signed abill authorizing the enlistment of slaves.

Fifteen African-American Soldiers wereawarded the Medal of Honor for their actionsin the Civil War, and another seven African-American sailors were honored for their hero-ism.

In 1866, federal legislation was passed thatallowed African-Americans to enlist into theregular Army, and by 1869, the Army hadfour all-African-American units: the 9th and10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry reg-iments. It was these African-American unitsthat fought in the Indian Wars of 1867-1891,the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Philip-pines Insurrection from 1899 to 1901, and

Gen. John Pershing’s punitive expedition intoMexico in 1916. The units were dubbed “Buf-falo Soldiers” by the Native Americans theyfought against.

The first African-American general officerin the U.S. Army was Benjamin O. Davis, ofWashington, D.C., who entered the militaryJuly 13, 1898, during the Spanish-AmericanWar. He reached the rank of brigadier gener-al Oct. 25, 1940.

Davis’ son, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ben-jamin O. Davis Jr., was the fourth African-American graduate of the U.S. Military Acad-emy at West Point and the nation’s second

African-American general officer. Although the U.S. armed forces remained

segregated throughout World War I, manyAfrican-Americans volunteered and foughtwith U.S. forces. By the end of the war, morethan 350,000 African-Americans had served inthe conflict, 1,400 of whom were commis-sioned officers.

Many African-American units were rele-gated to support roles during World War I, but

RELATED STORY• Staff Sgt. Arshad Jones, 30th Signal Battalion,

was honored with the 2008 African-American HistoryAward. See A-4.

Celebrate African-American HistoryMonth Feb. 22 at Fort Shafter Flats and

Feb. 28 at Schofield Barracks. See Community Calendar, B-2.

U.S. Army Photo

Sgt. 1st Class Major Cleveland, weapons squad leader, 2nd Infantry Division, points out communist-led North Korea’s position north of the Chonchon River to his machine crew, Nov. 20, 1950.

LIGHTNING SPIRIT

SEE LEGACY, A-5

“The idea of renewalsimply means that we’renot content or satisfiedwhere we are ...”

Chaplain (Maj.) Scott Sterling

Macedonian Soldiers join 2-11th FAStory and Photo by

SPC. AARON ROSENCRANS2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — Soldiers with 2nd Bat-talion, 11th Field Artillery (FA) Regiment,helped get a platoon of Soldiers from theMacedonian Army up to speed with gateprocedures here, recently. Training wentsmoother than some Multinational Division-Baghdad (MND-B) Soldiers initially thought itwould.

Macedonian Soldiers volunteered to helpwith perimeter security around the militarybase here, which is located northwest of Bagh-dad.

Each Soldier had his or her own reasons forvolunteering for the six-month deployment,but all have one mission — to help secureand stabilize this region of Iraq.

“The whole platoon came, except for fiveguys who couldn’t come for one reason or an-other,” said Sgt. Elvis Torovski, platoon leader,2nd Battalion, 2nd Mechanized InfantryBrigade (MIB), Macedonian Army.

“I came to Iraq because a lot of my col-leagues raised their hands and decided tocome here,” said Torovski, who didn’t want toleave his Soldiers with a new platoon leader.

Macedonian 1st Lt. Ljupco Sosoloski, pla-toon executive officer, 2-2 MIB, had otherreasons for volunteering to come to Iraq.

“I volunteered to help the coalition forcesand fight the terrorists around the world,”said Sosloski. “I wanted to see how AmericanSoldiers work, to work with them and to learnfrom them.”

“Preparing the Macedonian Soldiers wasfairly easy because they caught on very quick-ly,” said Sgt. Felix Correa, an initial vehiclesearch team leader with A Battery, 2-11th FA.“We had a hard time at first because of the lan-guage barrier, but we worked around that andeverything went smoothly.”

Before the platoon arrived in country, itreceived the same training MND-B Soldiers re-ceive.

“They got the full package of training inKuwait that everybody else has,” said 1st Lt.Ryan Napier, executive officer, A Battery, 2-11th FA. “Back in Macedonia, they have adesert training area in the center of the coun-try where they did their desert warfare train-

ing before going to Kuwait and coming here.”According to the 2-11th Soldiers on the

ground at the Gunners Gate, the new influxfrom Macedonia has been a big help, andU.S. Soldiers look forward to the next sixmonths with their new comrades in arms.

Infantryman patrolsIraq to oust criminals

STAFF SGT. J.B. JASO III1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — A long wayfrom friends, family and his fa-vorite past time, hunting, Pvt. Ben-jamin Raulerson is here helpinghis unit, A Company, 1st Battalion,27th Infantry Regiment“Wolfhounds,” 2nd Stryker BrigadeCombat Team, rid the northwestBaghdad area of terrorism andcriminal activity.

In his first month in Iraq, the 22-year-old infantryman participat-ed in more than 50 patrols, wherehe assisted identifying and seizingenemy cache sites and helped se-cure the area so the Iraqi govern-ment could provide essential serv-ices to its people.

“[It] feels good knowing that I’massisting in removing items thatcan harm the U.S. and [Iraqi citi-zens],” said Raulerson, after re-turning from a patrol where hisunit located a weapons cache.

The cache contained severalmortars, rocket-propelled grenadesand other items that could havebeen used as improvised explo-sive devices (IEDs).

Raulerson said his typical dayincludes patrols into various vil-lages where his unit assists theIraqi Army in securing the area.When not on patrol, Raulersonsaid he uses the rest of his time torelax.

Though he had many storiesabout various patrols, one inci-dent stuck out in his mind. Whileon patrol, he was invited to lunchat a local leader’s home.

“I had no idea what I was eating,but it was good,” he said. “I enjoytrying new things.”

That same adventurous spirit oftrying new things led Raulersonto join the Army in April 2007.After completing Basic CombatTraining at Fort Benning, Ga., hewas assigned to the Wolfhounds.He reported to the unit just in timeto join his fellow Soldiers at theNational Training Center (NTC) inFort Irwin, Calif. There, he spentseven weeks honing his skills as aninfantryman.

While at NTC, Raulerson wasawarded the Army AchievementMedal for his exemplary service.

“Raulerson is the best Soldier inmy team,” said Cpl. Douglas Urias,Raulerson’s team leader.

Raulerson said he attributes hisinitiative and natural leadershipto his father, who served in theArmy as a military police officer inSouth Korea.

When Raulerson returns toHawaii, in about 13-months, hesaid he plans to explore the Hawai-ian Islands, learn to surf and fre-quent the beaches. In the mean-time, however, he will continue tohelp protect the new freedoms ofthe Iraqi people.

Sgt. Brad Willeford | 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment

Pvt. Benjamin Raulerson, 1-27th Infantry, speaks to a child while onpatrol in Taji, which is north of Baghdad.

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | A-3DEPLOYED FORCES

Sgt. Felix Correa (right), the initial vehicle search team leader with Battery A, 2nd Battery, 11thField Artillery Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, and Macedonian Sgt. Elvis Torovski, team leader, with 2nd Pla-toon, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, check identification cards and suspi-cious electronic devices in vehicles as they enter the Gunner’s Gate here Jan. 28.

BILL MCPHERSON516th Signal Brigade Public Affairs

FORT SHAFTER — The 516th SignalBrigade’s reigning Noncommissioned Of-ficer of the Year, Staff Sgt. Arshad Jonesof the 30th Signal Battalion, bested can-didates from seven major commands towin this year’s 2008 African-AmericanHistory Award, said Maj. Phoebe Jeter,U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) equal op-portunity program manager. Jones hadbeen named USARPAC’s recipient in Jan-uary.

Jones will accept the award at the De-partment of Defense’s African-AmericanHeritage Symposium, Feb. 25-26, at Fayet-teville State University, Fayetteville, N.C.Accompanying him to the symposium will

be his supervisor,Capt. Maribel Oster-gaard, commander,396th Signal Compa-ny, who nominatedhim for the honor.

“In the past year,Staff Sergeant Joneshas demonstrated thequalities of an out-

standing leader andhas lived the United States Army corevalues,” said Ostergaard.

“His relentless drive for excellence ledhim to get promoted to staff sergeant inMarch 2007, with only four short years ofactive service,” Ostergaard said. “One weeklater, as the 30th Signal Battalion NCO of theYear, he beat out five other NCOs of the Year

to become the brigade NCO of the Year.”Jones then represented the brigade at the

Network Enterprise Technology Command(NETCOM) and finished first runner-up,missing winning the title by one point.Although Jones did not take the NETCOMtitle, his professional essay on “Safetywithin the Army” was submitted by NET-COM Command Sgt. Maj. Donna Harboltto the deputy secretary of the Army.

Last fall, Jones attended the Basic Non-commissioned Officer Course (BNOC) atFort Gordon, Ga.; he was selected as thedistinguished graduate for his class andalso earned a superior evaluation for hisleadership abilities while serving as platoonsergeant and class leader.

Jones exceeded BNCOC academic stan-dards by maintaining a grade point aver-

age of 98.53 and received the comman-dant’s Certificate of Achievement for scor-ing 297 on the end of course Army Phys-ical Fitness Test.

While still in BNCOC, Jones earned hisCisco network associate certification, scor-ing a perfect score of 1000/1000.

“Staff Sergeant Jones is now applyingthe knowledge and experience he gainedin BNCOC to devise a training program atthe 396th, which will ensure the profes-sional development of his Soldiers,” Os-tergaard said.

Recently in his off-duty hours, Joneswas instrumental in coordinating and ex-ecuting a project for raising funds to re-furbish the playground at the Winsor El-ementary School. His team raised enoughmoney to replace 16 swing sets, paint the

corroding playground equipment, and re-pair the basketball courts, Ostergaard said.

“Jones truly embodies every aspect ofthe Total Soldier Concept,” Ostergaard said.“He is a leader who excels at everything hedoes, and takes the time to share hisknowledge and experience with not onlyhis peers, but his subordinates alike. He isthe type of leader that every Soldier hopesto be and every leader is grateful to have.”

A native of Suffolk, Va., Jones graduat-ed in 2000 as the valedictorian of his highschool class. He then completed two yearsat the College of William and Mary beforejoining the Army, Jan. 1, 2003.

His first assignment was with the 3rdSignal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas, where hedeployed to Iraq for 15 months in supportof Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Jones

Signal staff sergeant wins history award at U.S. Army levelA-4 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY SOLDIERS

Story and Photos By

PFC. JAZZ BURNEY3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

PUULOA RANGE — One by one each round punchedthrough the center mass of the paper targets as Soldiers practiced advanced training from a world-renowned marksman and demonstrated their newskill, accuracy and competency.

World-class firearms instructor Jerry Barnharttaught Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division’s,3rd Brigade Combat Team during an advanced marks-manship course at Iroquois Point’s Puuloa Range,recently. Barnhart shared his skills and passion formarksmanship to help Soldiers perform more effi-ciently during deployment.

“I’ve always liked to shoot and [was] a recreation-al shooter as a kid,” Barnhart explained. “I always hada knack for [shooting] and have become a technicianat my craft. [Since] I have a lot of friends overseas and... responsibilities to ... ensure that our Soldiers are wayahead of our enemies and trained with these tech-niques,” he added.

The training enhanced small unit leaders’ knowledgeand warfighting capabilities.

“In a perfect world, every brigade would haveBarnhart-trained Soldiers,” said 1st Lt. Matthew Dot-son, officer in charge of the range, B Company, 2ndBattalion, 35th Infantry Regiment.

Barnhart’s training is geared to allow Soldiers totake knowledge back to their fire teams, squads orwhatever size element they might have.

“Everything that Barnhart teaches in this course has‘train the trainer’ type material,” said Dotson. Headded that Barnhart instructed Soldiers not only howto use drills and materials, but also about why the drillsare important.

During the training, students developed skills tobetter teach advanced marksmanship techniques toother Soldiers.

“This training is very user-friendly,” said Sgt.Derek Kerns, squad leader, C Company, 2-35th Inf.Regt. The course helps noncommissioned officers fo-cus on Soldiers’ capabilities, where to start, what toteach, and where to build on previous knowledge.

As a private contractor hired by the military, Barn-hart has trained Soldiers for more than 15 years, andhe has the experience and practical knowledge todemonstrate and teach advanced combat marks-manship.

“I am constantly watching and trying to learnmore myself, to improve what I do every day to

make the Soldiers more proficient,” saidBarnhart. “Since the environmentthey’re fighting in today is different,my job is to bring Soldiers up to the21st century of marksmanship.”

During the training, Soldiers lis-tened and trained intensely to graspconcepts that could eventually makethe difference in combat.

“Mr. Barnhart’s training gives youenough repetitions of each ex-ercise to partially override ex-isting muscle-memory ... [and] develop the Soldier’s new abil-ities to be used downrange,”said Kerns.

Above — Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regimentreceive advanced marksmanship training from Jerry Barn-hart who helps Soldiers perform more efficiently duringdeployment.

Right — A Soldier from the 2-35th sites in a target ashe practices skills developed by Jerry Barnhart duringan advanced marksmanship course on Puuloa Rangeat Iroquois Point.

‘The Burner’ teaches marksmanshipHAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | A-5TRAINING

several units distinguished themselves in com-bat.

In World War II, more than 2.5 million African-Americans registered for service, but only 1 mil-lion actually served. African-American servicemembers served in Casablanca, Italy, the Aleutians,Northern Ireland, Liberia, New Guinea, the China-Burma-India theater, Guam, Iwo Jima, Guadal-canal, Bougainville, Saipan, Okinawa, Peleliu,Australia, France and England.

It was during World War II that the famedTuskegee Airmen served. Actually the 332nd Fight-er Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the TuskegeeAirmen were the first African-American militarypilots.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Ex-ecutive Order 9981, integrating the armed forcesand eliminating racial discrimination in federalemployment. Segregation in the military official-ly ended in 1954, when the last all-African-American unit was abolished. Soon, the KoreanWar and Vietnam War both saw many great ac-complishments by African-American service mem-bers.

African-American enlistment into the U.S. mil-itary jumped with the advent of the all-volunteerforce in 1973. African-Americans made up about17 percent of the military’s enlisted force when thedraft ended in 1973.

By the early 1980s, African-Americans made upnearly 24 percent of the enlisted force. When theU.S. and its allies pushed Iraqi dictator SaddamHussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991, the mostsenior officer in the U.S. military was an African-American, Army Gen. Colin Powell, the chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell later served assecretary of state in President George W. Bush’s ad-ministration.

Today, African-Americans continue to serve thenation as members of the military during the waron terror. (Editor’s Note: Information for this article wastaken from several military, government andcivilian sources.)

CONTINUED FROM A-2

Legacy: Enlistment ofAfrican-Americans jumpswith all-volunteer force

STAFF SGT. CRISTA YAZZIEU.S. Army, Pacific, Public Affairs

MAKUA VALLEY — Endangeredspecies of Hawaii have found afriend in the Oahu Army NaturalResource Program (OANRP).

Natural Resource staff members and several volunteers recentlyscaled some of Oahu’s tallestridges and rode helicopters toMakua Valley’s tightly angledpeaks to keep the countrysidegreen.

“It was absolutely amazing,”said Candace Russo, environmen-tal outreach specialist. “We got tofly in a helicopter to the mostbeautiful spot I’ve ever been to, allwhile surrounded by nativeHawaiian vegetation ... and thenwe outplanted even more vegeta-tion.”

Outplanting involves collectingseeds from endangered plants inthe area, planting the seeds in theNatural Resource nursery, andthen replanting the growing seedlings in the original area.

The Natural Resource staff con-ducts outplanting for endangeredspecies seasonally, during therainy season between Decemberand early March. This particularventure encompassed two days ofoutplanting.

“We bring the plants up with usin the helicopter, we take a coupleof loads with us, and we carrythe plants down along the slopeon the side of the ridge, to partic-ularly good habitats for eachplant,” said Kim Welch, environ-mental outreach specialist.

Due to weather, the outplantingcrew was unable to use helicoptersthe first day. Instead, they hiked to

the site in the Waianae MountainRange, carrying the plants withthem.

“They’re definitely troopers,hiking at least 45 minutes to thesite. It’s very steep terrain, so theydid an awesome job getting itdone,” said Jane Beachy, NaturalResource management coordina-tor.

“People don’t always realizethat Oahu has a lot of endan-gered plants, that there are a lot ofamazing resources out there topreserve them and just how much

is being done to facilitate theirstabilization,” Beachy said.

One plant finding more groundalong the ridge thanks to theOARNRP is the “Loulu” (scientif-ic name: pritchardia kaalae), anendangered palm native to thenorthern Waianae Mountains.

“The largest population of thispalm is found in the Makua Val-ley,” said Welch.

“We do a lot of work with thispalm, the main threat being rats,which eat all its fruit,” saidBeachy. “Rats are so good at eat-

ing all the fruit that there hadbeen no young trees for manyyears. So we set out rat bait, col-lect fruit from the tree, grow it,and take it back to the wild. Nowthere are hundreds of trees grow-ing.”

During the second day of out-planting, the crew planted 90Palapalai ferns along OhikiloloRidge, on the southern ridge ofthe Makua Valley.

The Palapalai are not endan-gered, but are planted as a form ofweed control. Culturally, the plantis significant to Hawaiians foruse in hula and lei making.

“We have a relationship with a‘hula halau’ [hula group], andPalapalai is used quite often in thehula,” said Russo.

“This halau comes out and doesvolunteer work with us; then af-ter a certain number of trips, theycome out and collect ferns fortheir performances,” she added.

Russo said there weren’t anyLoulu seedlings in Makua Valleyin 2000; now there are hundreds.

“We don’t want to make theforest into a garden, but we wantto give the forest a bit of a headstart,” she said.

NewsBriefs

Send news announcements for Soldiers and civilian employees

to community@hawaiiarmyweekly.com.

19 / TuesdayBone Marrow Drive Training

Session — A bone marrow drivetraining session will take place atSgt. Smith Theater, Feb. 19, 9:30-10:30 a.m. All commanders anddirectors are highly encouraged tosend a representative.

The goal is to have each com-mand/organization at SchofieldBarracks, Wheeler Army Air Fieldand Helemano Military Reservationhost its own drive during the weekof March 10-14, with a final base-wide drive March 14. Bone Marrowregistration is as easy as two pagesof paperwork and four Q-tip swabsinside of a cheek — and it's done.

Currently, more than 500 Sol-diers and family members are sickand in need of life-saving bonemarrow transplants. Call CathyBallie at 655-8978/0497,or e-mailcatherine.ballie@us.army.mil formore details.

27 / WednesdayPre-Retirement Orientation

— A semiannual preretirement ori-entation will be held Feb. 27,8–11:30 a.m. at the Schofield Bar-racks Post Conference Room,Building 584. This orientation is forSoldiers with 18 or more years ofactive service. Spouses are alsoencouraged to attend.

Information concerning the ben-efits and privileges of a military re-tirement will be provided. Repre-sentatives of federal, state agenciesand military staff offices will beavailable to answer individualquestions. Call 655-1585/1514 formore information.

OngoingTax Centers — File your tax

return at the Schofield Barracksand Fort Shafter Tax Centers. FortShafter’s center is located in Room107 and 108 of the Aloha Center.Hours of operation are 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Wednesday.

The Schofield Barracks Tax Cen-ter is located at 1612 Foote Ave.,Building 648. This facility is open9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Thurs-day, and 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Fridays.

Call Schofield Barracks at 655-1040, or Fort Shafter at 438-2941.

A-6 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY GARRISON

Natural Resources ‘outplants’ new ground

Kim Welch | Environmental Outreach Specialist

Army Natural Resources staff members Vince Costello (top), RobRomualdo, and volunteer Tom Rau (bottom) hike along the fencelineto reach the outplanting site.

Annual Great American SpitOut day encourages chewlesstobacco users to quit, Feb. 21

BRAD TAFTU.S. Army Center for Health Promotion & Preventive Medicine

“Smoking is bad. I know that. “But look, I don’t smoke, I chew. That’s a lot bet-

ter choice, right?”“That depends.”Chewing tobacco is a choice that depends on two

things: what you want to get out of using smoke-less tobacco and the price you’re willing to pay toget what you want.

Soldiers are the Army’s most important asset.They are strong — Army strong. Therefore, nothingshould get in a Soldier’s way as he or she lives outstrength of character, strength of will and strengthof purpose.

The problem is, smokeless tobacco does get in theway because it is highly addictive. The drug nico-tine makes smokeless tobacco addictive, and theamount of nicotine users get from a dip of chew-ing tobacco is three to four times the amount de-livered by a cigarette.

Just like any other addiction, addiction to smoke-less tobacco takes things away from users:

•Money. Each year hundreds of dollars of aSoldier’s hard-earned money gets put in the mouthand then spit out.

•Health. A Soldier may develop problems withhis or her teeth, mouth and stomach from thechemicals in smokeless tobacco. As well, there’s thepossibility of heart problems and cancer.

•Priorities. Everything starts to revolve aroundthe Soldier being able to have a chew.

If a Soldier can’t get through the day withoutchewing tobacco, then he or she is probablyaddicted.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention, the nicotine in tobaccomakes it as tough to break free of as addictionto heroin or cocaine.

However, Soldiers can free themselves fromsmokeless tobacco addiction and get all theresources they need to quit by calling 433-8675

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | A-7HEALTH

Ten tips to aid losing weightMAJ. KAREN E. FAUBER

Dietitian, Defense Commissary Agency

FORT LEE, Va. — The new yearis here and you are off and run-ning with your resolution to loseweight. Tennis shoes in one handand water bottle in the other, youare going to lose those five, 10 ormore pounds this time, right?

Well, to help you reach yourindividual weight loss goal, trythese tips and the pounds will meltaway:

•Be real. Set a realistic goal forweight loss and write it down.Losing two to no more than threepounds a week is generally rec-ommended by the experts. Re-member how long it took to gainthe weight? Give yourself time tolose it gradually and you are morelikely to keep it off as you changeyour lifestyle habits.

•Feel the burn. Calories in, calo-ries out, or what you eat is whatyou get; this means be active. Gowalking, swimming, jogging, bi-cycling and dancing to burn thosecalories. The key is to make phys-ical activity a part of your every-day life.

•Go small. Use the small plateand small bowl at meals instead ofthe large ones. It is too easy to eattoo much when you use a big din-ner plate or a large bowl, espe-cially for that nighttime ice cream.

•Eat fiber. Aim for 25 to 35grams of fiber a day. Fiber fillsyou up and helps you feel full fora long time between meals.

Easy ways to get more fiber in-clude eating cereal for breakfastthat has 10 or more grams perserving, eat a pear or an apple fora snack, add beans to your meals,soups and salads, and add a fewnuts as a snack or on a salad.

•Got protein? Do not skimp onprotein, which includes chicken,fish, turkey, lean beef and pork. Italso includes dairy foods like skimmilk, yogurt, low-fat cheese, beansand nuts, all found in your com-missary at savings of 30 percent ormore.

The average person needs .8grams protein per kilogram bodyweight, about 60 to 90 grams pro-tein a day.

•Is that plate big enough? Por-tion control, portion control, por-tion control. A serving that is big-ger than your fist is probably toomuch to eat — unless that servingis vegetables.

•Mama said, “Eat your veggies,”and mama was right. Eat vegeta-bles at lunch and dinner. Portionsare not so important here. In fact,eating vegetables is a good placeto cheat if you need to. Make sureto fill up half your plate at mealswith vegetables. The fiber, water

content and nutrients in vegeta-bles help the body lose weight.

Fresh, canned or frozen veggiesare all great choices. Avoid thesauces, though, as they add manyextra calories.

•Don’t forget the fruit. Fresh,canned or frozen, they all makegreat snacks and a nice desert.Dried fruit is OK, too, as long asyou control the portion sizes.

•“I get by with a little help frommy friends.” Get support to stay ontrack with your weight loss fromyour family and friends. Howabout creating your own biggestlosers contest and invite others tojoin? Support goes a long waywith weight loss.

•Celebrate your progress. Giveyourself a pat on the back andmore as you continue to loseweight. It’s no easy task. As youreach a weight loss goal, howabout something special to rewardyourself?

Make it something that you re-ally can enjoy like a new outfit,season tickets for your favoritesport, or taking a special vacation.You decide what it is and write itdown with your goal.

www.commissaries.com.

Smokeless tobacco just asbad as cigarettes, heroin

The Army Toolkit for GASpO 2008 has some goodresources as do the sites listed below. Check themout and talk to your healthcare provider aboutbeating the addiction to smokeless tobacco.

Resources:• Army Toolkit—GASpO 2008 http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/dhpw/Population/Tobacco-Cessation.aspx (Scroll down to “Great AmericanSpit Out.”)

• Centers for Disease Control and Preventionhttp://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/entertain-ment_education/tips/tobacco.htm

• National Institute of Dental and CraniofacialResearch http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/HealthInfor-mation/DiseasesAndConditions/SpitTobacco/de-fault.htm

The U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion andPreventive Medicine (CHPPM) is the Army’s pub-lic health organization. It supports Soldiersaround the world with health education informa-tion and deploys its expert medical and scientificstaff to deliver occupational and environmentalhealth surveillance everywhere Soldiers go. OnU.S. military installations, CHPPM provides envi-ronmental health engineering and health hazardassessments as well as injury and disease preven-tion programs.

NICOLE KRUGTriWest Healthcare Alliance

If you’re expecting a new addi-tion to your family this year, youhave a lot to think about and prob-ably more than a few questions.Getting Tricare Prime or Prime Re-mote coverage for your new childis one of the important things youshould be thinking about, and nowit’s easier than ever.

Whether welcoming a newbornor adopting, it pays for parents tounderstand how to get TricarePrime coverage for their child. If allof your bases aren’t covered, youmay receive unexpected bills forout-of-pocket fees.

New parents have 60 days fromthe date of birth or adoption to

enroll their child into Tricare Prime.On the 61st day, a child not en-rolled in Prime will automaticallybe covered by Tricare Standard.

You can still enroll your child inPrime, but the 20th of the monthrule applies. This means that if acompleted application for Primeenrollment is received by TriWeston or before the 20th of the month,Prime benefits will go into effect onthe 1st of the next month. If Tri-West receives the application afterthe 20th of the month, the Primeenrollment will be effective on the1st two months away.

By taking a couple baby stepswithin the first 60 days, you cankeep your child’s Prime coveragecontinuous:

1. DEERS (Defense EnrollmentEligibility Reporting System)

The first step is to add the childinto DEERS. This must be done ata DEERS identification site. Youmay contact DEERS at 1-800-538-9552 to obtain the location of theidentification site nearest to you.

An Application for UniformedServices ID Card and DEERS En-rollment Form (DD Form 1172)must be signed at the DEERSidentification site by the sponsor.This form may be downloadedfrom www.triwest.com on the“Birth or Adoption” page of the“Life Changing Events” section.Additional documentation is re-quired such as a birth certificate.

For more specific information,contact DEERS at 1-800-538-9552.

2. Tricare Prime EnrollmentOnce the child is enrolled in

DEERS, he or she can be enrolled inPrime. You may now enroll yourchild online at Tricare’s Beneficia-ry Web Enrollment (BWE) site. Goto www.triwest.com and click the“Enrollment” link on the left-handside under “Quick Links” to findthe link to the BWE site, whereyou can enroll your child.

You may also choose to down-load a Tricare Prime EnrollmentApplication and PCM Change Form(DD Form 2876) found on the samepage on www.triwest.com.

Both forms require you to iden-

tify your first and second prefer-ence for a primary care manager(PCM), since the final PCM assign-ment is dependent upon provideravailability and local militarytreatment facility (MTF) policy.

If you are an active duty familymember (ADFM) who would like to

receive medical care from an MTFPCM, you should contact yourTricare Service Center (TSC) before

submitting your enrollment appli-cation. MTF provider assignmentsare coordinated at your MTF orthrough the local TSC. MTFproviders are not listed in the on-line Provider Directory.

If you are mailing your forms, besure to sign the form in either blueor black ink. Forms that are notsigned and dated are consideredincomplete and will be returned,delaying the enrollment process.Completed forms should be mailedto: TriWest Healthcare Alliance P.O.Box 41520, Phoenix, AZ 85080-1520.

Visit “Life Changing Events” inthe Beneficiary section of www.tri-west.com for more details.

A-8 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY HEALTH

Parents must remember to enroll newborns in Tricare Prime

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | A-9GARRISON

tions and provided us with thebest possible refund.”

To expedite the refund process,tax centers use electronic filing, or“E-file,” for federal tax returns.E-file returns are handled on afirst-come, first-served basis. Allclients receive a copy of their taxforms so they may mail their re-turn instead of E-filing.

A new service for the 2008 taxseason is “drop off” tax prepara-tion services. This tax season, Sol-diers and other qualifying tax-payers who file using the IRSForm 1040EZ may, after complet-ing an interview at the tax center,drop off their tax documents forthe center to prepare. Completedtax forms may be picked up with-in 24 hours.

“Our goal is to help Soldiersand provide assistant with cur-rent taxes as well as future taxplanning,” said Guska. “We wantto provide Soldiers and familymembers a clear path for their fi-nancial future.”

The tax center staff includes 18Soldiers who are IRS VolunteerIncome Tax Assistance certifiedtax preparers. Their training en-compasses all IRS-required sub-ject areas and ensures staff mem-bers are familiar with the IRS taxcode and personal income taxpreparation.

Soldiers also receive instruction

from the IRS, the State of HawaiiDepartment of Taxation, the JudgeAdvocate General’s Legal Centerand School (in tax law), and thetax software.

“We provide quality for our mil-

itary personnel,” said Guska.“Everyone is here to help.”

“I’d recommend this service toanyone,” said family member Ash-ley Rodriquez. “It’s quick, easyand we are saving money.”

The following forms and documentation are required toprepare your federal income tax return:• Social security cards for you, your spouse and any claimed

dependents or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and supporting documentation for individuals without Social Security Numbers.

• Military ID card.• Federal tax package that you receive in the mail.• Forms W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, 1099 MISC or any other income

statements you have received.• Form 1099-INT and 1099-DIV, or other statements to report

interest, dividends and other types of income.• Forms SSA-1099 or 1099-R to report social security or retirement

income.• A copy of your 2006 tax return.• Voided check if you wish to have any refund direct deposited into

your account.• All documents supporting your adjustment or deductions.• Bring all information related to itemized expenses if you plan on

itemizing your taxes.• IRS Form 2848 if you are having someone else’s taxes prepared.

Requirements to file 1040EZ:• Filing status is single or married filing jointly.• No dependents.• Income is from wages, salaries, tips, taxable scholarship or

fellowship grants, unemployment compensation, or Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends.

• Taxable interest income must be under $1500.• Taxable income is less than $100,000.• Claiming standard deduction.

CONTINUED FROM A-1

Tax: Patrons seek relief

pers’ three-week’s training, is a series ofindividual drills where Soldiers fire at avariety of targets while standing sta-tionary and maneuvering with liverounds.

“It teaches them how to control and doweapons manipulations to engage theenemy if a target pops up,” Wrynn said.“They learn how to shoot at differentdistances — four, seven and 10 meters —while moving.”

“We are also doing CQM qualificationwhere they have to engage 18 out of 20targets in order to qualify at those vari-ous distances,” he added.

CQM also prepares Soldiers for breach-ing and close-quarters battle, where, in-stead of individual drills, four-man teamslearn tactics for clearing a building.

In the typical close-quarters battle(CQB) scenario, the team conducts a veryfast, violent takeover of an enemy structure where the enemy usually has noeasy way to withdraw. Because of the

close proximity, CQB demands quicknessand precision, as well as the ability tomake split-second decisions, to limitfriendly casualties.

The Sappers’ CQB training teaches Sol-diers to clear rooms in a swift, safe man-ner, while at the same time maintainingmuzzle awareness and protecting battlebuddies to their left and right. The train-ing also introduces Soldiers to possiblescenarios they may face in close-quarterscombat and provides ways to make thebest of each situation.

“You are never 100-percent preparedfor deployment, but we train to help us beas prepared as we can be,” Wrynn said.“But aside from training, a lot of it is justgetting to know their battle buddy.

“This is a brand new unit, so a lot ofthese Soldiers are still trying to get toknow each other. What most units alreadyhave, as far as camaraderie and team-work, is something we have to build. Butas far as today’s training and marks-manship goes, they are doing extremelywell,” he added.

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | A-11TRAINING

more than 250 hours underwaterand used more than 12,000pounds of military explosives toaccomplish its mission.

“We did a lot of good overthere, and we still could havedone more,” Foster said.

The 7th Eng. Dive Team re-turned home to the 65th Engi-neer Battalion with no mission-re-lated injuries and no lost or dam-aged equipment.

Now back in Hawaii, most Soldiers had a similar thought inmind.

“I am going to enjoy my timeoff,” said Foster.

CONTINUED FROM A-1

Dive: Teamreturns home

CONTINUED FROM A-1

Sappers: Training prepares engineers for possibilities

Above — Soldiers with the 95th Sapper Company engage targets during a close-quarters marksmanship qualification range.

Right — Spc. Fernando Valles, a Sapper with the 95th Sapper Company, practicesshooting targets while maneuvering during close-quarters marksmanship training.

ASY site givescalendar ofideas to aidthe deployed

AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICENews Release

WASHINGTON — New Year’sresolutions frequently include goodintentions, such as joining a gym,calling parents or organizing clos-ets. But through its America Sup-ports You program, the Departmentof Defense (DoD) is helping Amer-icans resolve to support the na-tion’s service members through-out 2008.

America Supports You connectscitizens and corporations with mil-itary personnel and their familiesserving at home and abroad. It’sestablished a 12-month calendarsuggesting ways to support thenation’s military men and womenand their families each month.

“Remembering the troops at atime when people are already set-ting goals will help keep the na-tion’s servicemen and women inthe forefront of our mindsthroughout the year,” said AllisonBarber, deputy assistant secretaryof defense for public liaison andinternal communications.

The calendar can be downloadedinto Outlook or iCal calendars andis available on AmericaSupportsYou.mil. The site not only of-fers ideas on how individuals cansupport troops, but also containsinformation about troop-supportgroups in their area.

Some suggestions found on thecalendar include lending a helpinghand to military families duringApril, the Month of the MilitaryChild and donating frequent-fliermiles to service members and theirfamilies during the summer.

September brings the opportu-nity to join in or plan a localAmerica Supports You FreedomWalk to commemorate victims ofthe Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacksand to honor veterans, past andpresent.

The calendar also includes waysto honor service members onMemorial Day and Veterans Day.

“There are so many ways toshow the military men and womenwe support them and the workthey do,” Barber said.

For more information, visitAmericaSupportsYou.mil.

Soldiers help make Pro Bowlhalftime show a success

SPC. DAVID HOUSE8th Theater Sustainment Ccommand Public Affairs

HONOLULU — After the recent deluge ofrain, the sun finally broke through just in timefor the National Football League’s annual ProBowl at Aloha Stadium, Saturday.

Held in front of more than 50,000 fans, thesold out game featured selected all-star playersfrom the National Football Conference and theAmerican Football Conference and was the cul-mination of a weeklong series of events in-volving the military.

Stars from the NFL visited bases aroundOahu and conducted meet and greets at TriplerArmy Medical Center, Pearl Harbor, Alia-manu Military Reservation, theSchofield Barracks Tropics and theSchofield Engagement Skills Trainer.

The game itself featured a tributeto the late Sean Taylor from theWashington Redskins as threeof his teammates (ChrisCooley, Chris Samuelsand Ethan Albright)wore his jersey numberfor the game whileothers sported a “21”on their hel-mets.

The notably offensive heavy game also saw astrong showing from Terrell Owens and rookieAdrian Petersen, the latter of which was namedMost Valuable Player after rushing 16 times to

rack up 129 yards and two touchdowns.The halftime show featured a performance

by the band Lifehouse as well as Soldiers fromthe 8th Theater Sustainment Command. TheSoldiers traded in their Army Combat Uniformsfor black T-shirts and volunteered their time tobecome stagehands for the day by moving thehalftime stages on and off the playing field.

“This was a good opportunity to be able toparticipate,” said Pfc. Kevin Nutt, 40th Quarter-master, 45th Sustainment Brigade, SpecialTroops Battalion. “It has been good trainingand a lot of fun as well as a chance to see thegame.”

Others saw it as a time to party.“We have been coming every year since the

late 80s,” said Malcom Wright, Steelers fanfrom Pittsburgh. “What better way to beat thecold winters than a vacation to Hawaii and, ofcourse, a tailgate party, the most crucial of allevents.”

After the game, Peterson probably said itbest, “We [the Vikings] didn’t get into the play-offs, so for me to come here and do this at thePro Bowl means a lot. I came with a goal towin the game and become the MVP, but thetrue MVP of this game is Sean Taylor. Thisgame was for him.”

The final score of the game was 42 to 30with the NFC besting their rival AFC and mark-ing a conclusion to the football season.

When work is finished. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008

Football’s All-Star game ends with NFC victory

Jeremy S. Buddemeier | U.S. Army Garrison, Hawaii, Public Affairs

Soldiers from the 45th Sustainment Brigade and 25th Spe-cial Troops Battalion haul a stage off the field following thePro Bowl halftime show, Sunday.

Jeremy S. Buddemeier | U.S. Army Garrison, Hawaii, Public Affairs

Above — Children from the Halau Hula Olana of Aiea perform during the Pro Bowl pregame show, Sunday.

Left — Rookie Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings eludes a defender enroute to a touchdown in the second quarterat the Pro Bowl, Sunday.

Spc. David House | 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Public Affairs

Members of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command carryout a trampoline for the half-time performance at the

2008 NFL Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium.

Send calendar announcements to community@hawaiiarmyweekly.com.

15 / TodayGAR Sports, Health and Fitness Expo

— Visit the Great Aloha Run Sports, Healthand Fitness Expo, Feb. 15-17, at the NealBlaisdell Center Exhibition Hall. This three-day event will showcase the most up-to-date, comprehensive, fun products andservices in sports, health andfitness.

The expo will be open Feb.15, 4–9 p.m.; Feb. 16, 10a.m.–8 p.m.; and Feb. 17,10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission is$4 for ages 13–64; $2 formilitary personnel with valid ID;free for keiki 12 and younger, seniorcitizens 65 and older, and all regis-tered entrants of the Great Aloha Run.

Visit www.greataloharunexpo.com or call528-7392.

16 / Saturday Bourbon Street Basket Bash — Join the

masquerade at the Hui O’ Na Wahine Bour-bon Street Basket Bash at Helemano Plan-tation, Feb. 16, 6:30–9:30 p.m. Baskets ofgoodies to be auctioned off include luxu-rious getaways for two, jewelry, Buzz’sSteakhouse certificates and much more.

Last year, guests had a grand ole MardiGras time and went home with more than$10,000 of amazing baskets and prizes.

Cost is $15 in advance or $20 at thedoor. Call 646-0107.

Wahiawa’s Chinese New Year Cele-bration — Welcome the “Year of the Rat”with Wahiawa Shopping Center and Wahi-awa Town Center’s Chinese New Year cel-ebration, Feb. 16, 3–6 p.m. Free mah jonggfortune readings, a traditional lion danceand lucky number prize giveaways will beprovided. Call 262-0687.

Casino Night 2008 — Be a winner atthe 2008 Casino Night and Silent Auction,hosted by the Leilehua High School BandBooster Association, at the LHS Gymnasi-um. All proceeds will benefit the LHS Bandand will be used to buy desperately need-ed new uniforms.

Cost is $20 in advance and $25 at thedoor. Call 225-3946, or visit www.leile-huaband.org.

19 / TuesdayExploring the Reef at Night — For an

experience you’ll not forget, visit the Waiki-ki Aquarium to explore the reef at night,

Feb. 19, 6:30–9 p.m. Aquarium staff and partici-

pants wade up to their kneeson these wet-and-wild excur-sions. Coral reef natural history,reef conservation and safety are

all covered. Participants must be at least 5

years old and children must be ac-companied by an adult. Cost is $10

per adult, $8 per child, or $12 and $10,respectively, for nonmembers.

Call 923-9741, or visit www.waquari-um.org.

21 / ThursdaySquare Dance Class — Join the action

at a free square dance class at the KalakauaCommunity Center, Schofield Barracks, be-ginning Feb. 21, 7-9 p.m.

The class lasts six-10 weeks, dependingon interest. Call 624-9490, or visitwww.squaredancehawaii.org.

22 / FridayAfrican American History Month —

Celebrate African American History Monthat Building 1554, Fort Shafter Flats, Feb. 22,11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. The event will feature ex-citing cultural entertainment, educationaldisplays and ethnic food sampling.

NASA astronaut Dr. Robert Satcher, anorthopedic surgeon, will be the specialguest speaker. Call 438-2678.

23 / SaturdayFree Practice Tests — The Honolulu

Kaplan Test Prep will hold a free GRE,GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, DAT, OAT and PCAT

practice test Feb. 23 for Oahu residents whoare considering applying to a graduate/pro-fessional school at Univeristy of Hawaii,Manoa, Richardson School of Law.

Check in opens at 8 a.m. In addition to taking practice tests under

timed conditions, students will receive theirscores and detailed feedback on their per-formance, including an analysis of theirstrengths and weaknesses.

Visit www.kaptest.com/practice, or call 1-800-KAP-TEST.

SGI Crater Women’s Division Meeting— Join Soka Gakkai International (SGI) atthe SGI Hawaii Culture Center, Feb. 23, 11a.m.–1 p.m. for lively discussion and af-ternoon tea.

SGI is a Buddhist organization that pro-motes world peace and individual happi-ness. Visit www.sgi-usa.org or call 595-6324.

28 / ThursdayAfrican American History Month —

Celebrate African American History Monthat Sgt. Smith Theater, Schofield Barracks,Feb. 28, 10–11:30 a.m. Enjoy cultural dis-plays, musical entertainment and dancingdemonstrations. Call 655-0053.

Magic Lessons — The Hawaii MagiciansSociety holds free beginners magic lessonsat Kalihi-Palama Public Library, Commu-nity Room, 1325 Kalihi St.,every fourth Thursday of themonth, from 6-7 p.m. Topicsinclude card magic, ropemagic, how to make our ownproduction boxes, magic ta-bles and more. Call 234-5262 orvisit www.hawaiimagicclub.com.

29 / FridayWest Point Founder’s Day Dinner — The

West Point Society of Hawaii will be host-ing the 2008 West Point Founder’s DayDinner at DeRussy Hall in the Hale Koa Ho-tel, Fort DeRussy, March 7. All West Pointgraduates and their families are invited toattend.

The evening will begin with BennyHaven’s Hour at 6:30 p.m, and dinner willbe served at 7:15 p.m. The guest speaker

will be Lt. Gen. “Buster” Hagenback, classof 1971. The attire is aloha “crisp.” Cost is$45 per person.

The deadline to R.S.V.P. is Feb. 29. Sendpayment to retired Col. Chuck Cardinal,576 Kumukahi Place, Honolulu, HI 96825;e-mail bandccardinal@msn.com or 1st Lt.Desiree Strozier at dstrozier@gmail.com.

Latino Idol — Singers are now beingsought for Hawaii’s second Latino Idolcompetition. Participants must be Hispan-ic, ages 18 and older, and sing in Spanish.The winner will receive $1,000 cash and aCD recording.

Deadline to register is Feb. 29. Call AlmaLatina Productions at 285-0072.

OngoingStained Glass Class — Make a beauti-

ful stained glass panel using copper foiltechnique at the Menehune Stained GlassStudio. Leading, lamp and advanced class-es are also available. Cost is $95 for sixweeks. Call 622-2686.

AER Scholarships — Do you need mon-ey for college? Applications for the State-side Spouse Education Assistance Programand the Dependent Children ScholarshipProgram are now available online atwww.aerhq.org. Call Jackie Torres at 655-

7132.

Coffee Social — Spouses, apiping hot, rich brew of java iswaiting for you at the FortShafter Army Community Ser-

vice (ACS) Outreach Center, lo-cated in Building S330, Room 111. If

you are tired of sitting at home with noth-ing to do, new to the community, or justneed a break, join your neighbors for freecoffee and fun conversation.

This coffee social takes place every first and third Wednesday; child care is provided at the Child Development Center, if your child is registered withChild and Youth Services.

Call 438-9285 for more details.

15 / TodayNAF Property Sale — Get the best bar-

gains on furniture, restaurant equipment,electronics, golf clubs and more at a Non-Appropriated Funds (NAF) excess propertysale, Building 1598, Fort Shafter Flats, to-day, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Call 438-3503.

Hot Country Nights — Join DJ CharlieGarrett, the Ghost Rider, and Kathleen,Rodeo Radio Girl, today, 8 p.m.–midnight,at the Tropics.

Enjoy great music, contests, giveawaysand much more. Ages 18 and older arewelcome at this free event. Call 655-5697.

Employment Orientation — Preparefor the job you want. Attend an ArmyCommunity Service (ACS) Employment Ori-entation class and get employment infor-mation on federal, state, private sector andstaffing agencies.

Reference materials, job listings, com-puters, Web tour and more will be availablefor use. Orientations will be held at theSchofield Barracks ACS, today, Feb. 22 &29, 9–10:30 a.m.

Call ACS Schofield at 655-4227. Registeronline at www.acsclasses.com. Free childcare vouchers are available. Call 655-5314.

Big Time Urban R&B — Enjoy greatmusic, card games and a cash bar at the Ne-helani, Schofield Barracks, today, Feb. 22 &29, 9 p.m. to closing.

Enjoy a free taco bar with a beveragepurchase, 9-10 p.m. Call 655-4466.

16 / SaturdayRead to Dogs — Register now for the

first session of the Read to a Dog Program,which will be held Feb. 16, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.All children must be able to read on theirown to participate. Call 655-8002.

Also, mark your calendars for addition-al Read to a Dog sessions, March 15, April19 and May 17.

19 / TuesdayPregnancy Education — Mothers-to-

be and their spouses are invited to attendPregnancy Education classes, which areheld every Tuesday at Public Health Nurs-ing, Building 673, 2nd floor, Schofield Bar-racks, 7–8 a.m. Call 433-8675.

20 / WednesdayChocolate Celebrations at the Li-

brary — Enjoy chocolate-themed events atyour local library throughout February.Sgt. Yano Library kicks off chocolate in-dulgence with the History of TheobromaCacao, a special session on chocolate foradults, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m.

Enjoy chocolate tasting at the Aliamanu

Military Reservation (AMR) Library, Feb.26, at 5:30 p.m.

Concluding the chocolate series, themovie “Chocolat” will be shown at Sgt.Yano Library, Feb. 28, at 5:30 p.m. Themovie is rated PG-13 and refreshments willbe served.

Call the Sgt. Yano Library at 655-8002 orthe AMR Library at 833-4851.

21 / ThursdayNew Parent Support Program — The

New Parent Support Program is hosting aResource Group Workshop for new par-ents at Army Community Service (ACS),Schofield Barracks, Feb. 21, 9:15–11 a.m.

This workshop provides information onthe nurturing parent curriculum, resourcesavailable in the community, and shortvideos on preventing shaken baby syn-drome and basic newborn care.

Call 655-4227 to register. Seating is lim-ited to the first 24 participants.

Ten Steps to a Federal Job — Learn themost important skills to finding a career inthe federal system. Attend a “Ten Steps toa Federal Job” workshop at the Fort ShafterOutreach Center, Feb. 21, 10-11:30 a.m.

Service members, family members andDepartment of Defense (DoD) employeesare welcome to attend. Register online atwww.acsclasses.com, or call 655-4227.

Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament — Put onyour best poker face to compete in a freeTexas Hold ‘Em Tournament at the Tropics,Feb. 21, from 6–9:30 p.m. All ID cardholdersage 18 and older are welcome.

Only the first 120 contestants to enter willplay. Call 655-5698/8522.

Heath Tutorial — Join Sgt. Yano Li-brary, Schofield Barracks, Feb. 21, 2–6 p.m.for a free, hands-on session of ConsumerHealth Complete. This program provides

access to health and medical informationthrough Army Knowledge Online (AKO).Call 655-8002.

23 / SaturdayKolekole Jam II — Don’t miss the best,

free concert of the year, Feb. 23, at SillsField, Schofield Barracks. MontgomeryGentry and Bowling for Soup are already confirmed, with more names onthe way.

Stay tuned to Family and Morale, Wel-fare and Recreation publications for furtherdetails on special offers and chances to winreserved seating for this great event. Call655-0112.

Ocean Count 2008 — Outdoor Recre-ation at Schofield Barracks is looking for volunteers interested in counting migrating whales and recording their behavior, Feb. 23 and March 29, 8a.m.–12:15 p.m.

This free event includes transportationand is great for families. Call 655-0143.

28 / ThursdayBuild Wealth Not Debt — Military

Saves Week kicks off with a Build WealthNot Debt class, Feb. 28, 1–6 p.m., atKalakaua Community Center, SchofieldBarracks. Learn how to make your moneywork for you, and enter a drawing forprizes. Call Army Community Services(ACS) at 655-4227.

Aida — Catch a presentation of “Aida” atRichardson Theatre, Fort Shafter, Feb. 28 &29, March 1, 7, 8, 14 & 15. Performancesbegin at 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy music by Elton John, with lyrics byTim Rice. Tickets are $22-28. Call 438-4480/5230.

OngoingMilitary Spouse Career Advance-

ment — The Military Spouse Career Ad-vancement Initiative provides assistance tomilitary spouses seeking to gain the skillsand credentials necessary to begin or ad-vance their career.

Career Advancement Accounts (CAA)cover the costs of training and education,enabling participants to earn a degree or credential in, in-demand, portable fields in almost any community acrossthe country.

Spouses can find out more by going towww.milspouse.org and attending a CAAorientation. Call ACS at 655-4227 or438-9285, the Education Center at 655-0800 for more information.

Cooking Club for Teens — The FortShafter Teen Lounge is looking for teenswho enjoy cooking and want to learn new recipes, participate in food tours and shows, and earn cooking award points toward reward excursions. The clubwill meet once a week, February throughMay. Call the teen manager at 438-6470.

MWR — Visit MWR on the Web atwww.mwrarmyhawaii.com.

B-2 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY COMMUNITY

Aliamanu (AMR) Chapel 836-4599

• CatholicSunday, 8:30 a.m. — MassSunday, 9:45 a.m. – Religious Education (Sept.–May only)• GospelSunday, 11 a.m. – Sunday School (Sept.–June only)Sunday, 12:30 p.m. –Worship service•ProtestantSundays, 9:45 a.m. – Worship ServiceSunday, 11 a.m. – Sunday School (Sept. – June only)

Fort DeRussy Chapel 836-4599

• CatholicSaturday, 5 p.m. – Mass in Chapel (May–Aug.)Saturday, 6 p.m. – Mass on Beach• ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m. – Worship Service

Fort Shafter Chapel 836-4599

• Contemporary ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m.–“The Wave” Worship

Helemano (HMR) Chapel653-0703

• Contemporary ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m. – Bible Study, 10 a.m. – Worship Service & Children’s Church

Main Post Chapel655-9307

• CatholicSunday, 9 a.m. – CCD & RCIASunday, 10:30 a.m. – Mass• Collective ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m. – Worship Service, Sunday, 10:30 a.m. – Sunday School• GospelSunday, 10:30 a.m. – Sunday School, Sunday, noon – Worship Service

MPC Annex, Building 791

• Chalice CircleTuesday, 7 p.m.• Islamic Prayers and StudyFriday, 1 p.m.• Buddhist4th Sunday, 1 p.m.

Soldiers Chapel

• CatholicFriday–Saturday, noon – Adoration (24 hours)• LiturgicalSunday, 10:30 a.m.- Worship Service

Tripler AMC Chapel 433-5727

• CatholicSunday, 11 a.m. – MassMonday–Friday, noon – MassSaturday, 5 p.m. – Mass• ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m. – Worship Service

Wheeler Chapel656-4481

• CatholicSaturday, 5 p.m. – MassSunday, 10:30 a.m. – Mass• Collective ProtestantSunday, 9 a.m. – Worship Service

One Missed Call

(R)Saturday, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 7 p.m.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

(PG)Friday, 7 p.m.Sunday, 2 p.m.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

(PG)Saturday, 2 p.m.Thursday, 9 p.m.

No shows on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Army greenerSpc. Marco Mazzurco, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, and BillMcKale plant stakes to support trees at the Oahu Veterans Center. Better Opportunitiesfor Single Soldiers (BOSS) volunteered to plant new trees at the Veterans Center. Treeswere donated by Home Depot.

Spc. Corey Idleburg

SEE COMMUNITY CALENDAR, B-6

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | B-3COMMUNITY

Montgomery Gentry to headline Kolekole Jam IITroy Gentry of countryduo shares his thoughts onmilitary, music and charity

KYLE FORD Staff Writer

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Countrymusic powerhouse Montgomery Gentrybrings its brand of hard-driving music toSills Field, Feb. 23, 5-10 p.m.

“We plan on getting the Soldiers row-dy and showing them a good time,” saidTroy Gentry of the award-wining duo. “Ifyou leave our concert and didn’t have agood time, it’s not our fault.”

Gentry said he and Eddie Montgomery really feed off the crowd, and the rowdierthe audience gets, the “wilder and betterwe perform.”

Soldiers should expect to hear somehits from the past eight to 10 years in ad-dition to songs from the new album“Some People Change.”

“My favorite song on the new albumhas to be ‘Takes All Kinds,’” Gentry said.“It’s a song everyone can embrace be-cause it does take everybody to makethis country work. Whether you’re a doc-tor, a lawyer, Soldier, or a sanitationworker, we need everybody.”

His favorite songs of all time are “Hill-billy Shoes” and “Hillbilly Hell Yeah.”

Montgomery Gentry’s involvementwith the military goes back to when theduo first started playing Veterans of For-eign Wars posts as teenagers.

“We talked to a lot of the veterans ofVietnam, World War II and other veter-ans, and listened to their stories,” Gentry

said. “The Soldiers always intrigued us.” The group’s continued support of the

military stems from these early experi-

ences, in addition to a respect and senseof patriotism for the United States.

“We live in a country that’s blessed

with freedom of speech and [the freedom]to pretty much do whatever we want aslong as we’re responsible,” Gentry ex-plained. “The reason we’re able to dothat is the men and women of the armedforces.”

The band plans on thanking these menand women by entertaining them withsome great country music.

Most Soldiers look at what they do asjust another job, but to others, like Gen-try, they are heroes.

“I sometimes get intimidated just walk-ing up to a Soldier, extending my handout and saying thanks,” Gentry said.“They do need to know that we’re behindthem, no matter what they may see orhear.

“We’re excited to be getting some ofour military home and welcoming themback,” Gentry added.

In addition to supporting the military,Montgomery Gentry has put its powerbehind several charitable causes.

“Regardless of charity, I’ve been trulyblessed to live the life I do,” Gentry said.“There are a lot of people who aren’t asfortunate to achieve the successes I have,so I like to reach out to people.”

His favorite charities include cancerresearch and children’s foundations.

The Kolekole Jam II Soldier and Fam-ily Appreciation Concert also featuresBowling For Soup and Katie Ray Davis,as well as food and beverage vendors,and sponsor booths.

The Kolekole Jam is free and open tothe public.

MARK DAYBELLNEED ORGANIZATION

“Build Wealth, Not Debt” is this year’stheme for the Military Saves Campaign,which runs Feb. 24-March 2. Simple dai-ly changes can cut costs and make bigsavings over time. You can do manythings with your monthly savings so youcan build upon your wealth.

When you are working on your “BuildWealth, Not Debt” financial plan, two pri-orities should be addressed. One priority isdebt reduction, and the key to debt re-

duction is learning to manage your ex-penses.

Here are some tips:•Switch to lower interest rates.•Avoid impulse buying.•Pay bills as soon as possible.•Keep track of purchases.•Avoid double spending.•Pay off balances in full each month.To get to the point where you can pay

off balances every month, you will needto lower your existing debt. One way tostart lowering your debt is by making ex-tra payments, that is, use the money from

making simple daily changes to cutcosts on credit cards with the high-est interest rate, or pay offthe smallest bills. Then,when you get one paidoff, keep the monthlypayments the sameand apply the dif-ference to anotherdebt.

Another priori-ty with any fi-nancial plan is to save. The two most im-portant types of savings accounts are for

emergency savings and reserve sav-ings. Your emergency savings

should be liquid and placed in asafe and guaranteed account.

This fund should not beused for your day-to-

day-expenses.Exper ience

shows that if everyfamily had at least

$500 in emergency savings,90 percent of payday loans would beeliminated.

A reserve savings account should be

available for funding to pay those recur-ring expenses that pop up every so often,such as car insurance payments every sixmonths, vehicle maintenance, or even avacation later in the year.

For more information and ideas, attendthe Military Saves Week event at theKalakaua Community Center, Feb. 28,from 1-6 p.m.

Financial counselors will be available toanswer your questions, and the event willinclude information booths, free food,games and prizes.

Soldiers, families encouraged to ‘build wealth, not debt’ in portfolios

Courtesy Photo

Eddie Montgomery and Troy Genty of Montgomery Gentry will play at the Kolekole Jam II Soldier and Family Appreciation Concert,5-10 p.m., Feb. 23 at Sills Field.

B-4 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY SPORTS & FITNESS

Send sports announcements to community@

hawaiiarmyweekly.com.

15 / TodayIn-Line Hockey League — The

Oahu In-Line Hockey League isstarting an adult league soon, andis always looking for more play-ers to play on Sunday afternoons.Call Richard Pentecost at 372-9270, or Norine Liem at 396-9475.

16 / SaturdaySwamp Romp — Register now

for Swamp Romp, the muddiest

run on the island of Oahu, whichtakes place Feb. 23. This event isapproximately five-miles throughvarious types of terrain. Partici-pants must register in teams ofsix.

Cost is $120 per team. Onlineregistration closes Feb. 16 at 4p.m. Visit www.mccshawaii.com/cgfit.htm, or call 254-7590.

Hike Oahu — Join the HawaiianTrail & Mountain Club on a camp-ing adventure, Feb. 16-18. Hikealong the rim of Makua Valley to acampsite below the Waianae sum-mit. Call 263-4690.

A $2 donation is requested ofnonmembers. Children under 18must be accompanied by an adult.

Hikers meet at Iolani Palace,mountainside, at 8 a.m. Bring lunchand water on all hikes; wear stur-dy shoes as extra caution may be

required on some trails.Hikers must keep all trails and

lunch sites clear of clutter, andtreat trees and plants with care andrespect. Visit www.htmclub.org.

Silverstreaks Sunrise Walk —Join in on the Silverstreaks SunriseWalk at Ala Moana Beach Park,Feb. 16, at 7:30 a.m. This sunrisewalk is for competitors ages 55and older. One-, two- and three-mile courses will be available. Par-ticipants can enjoy refreshments,entertainment, goodie bags, doorprizes and T-shirts for finishers.Cost is $15 and $20 for late regis-tration.

Call 528-7388, or visitwww.greataloharun.com.

Keiki Run & Circus Party —Children 12 and under are invitedto participate in the Kraft Hawaii

Keiki Run at the Blaisdell Center,Feb. 16, at 8:30 a.m.

Close to 1,000 island childrenare expected to participate in this1.5 mile fun run. Following therun, children and their guardianswill enjoy a Circus Party, whichwill include ono snacks, keiki ac-tivities, appearances by KraftChees-a-saurus Rex, clowns andballoons, magicians and more. Par-ticipants will also receive T-shirts,goodie bags and free entry to theSports, Health & Fitness Expo.

Cost is $12 for children and $6for adults. Late registration is avail-able.

Call 528-7388, or visitwww.greataloharun.com.

18 / MondayGreat Aloha Run — Experi-

ence the spirit of aloha at the GreatAloha Run, Feb. 18. This 8.15-mile

course starts at Aloha Tower, windsits way along the historic Honolu-lu Harbor, down Nimitz Highway,through Kamehameha Highwayand into the Aloha Stadium. Costis $40 until Feb. 2.

Call 528-7388, or visitwww.greataloharun.com.

19 / TuesdayEscrima Classes — Pedoy’s

School of Escrima holds classesevery Tuesday, Thursday and Sun-day at its training center in Waipio.Sessions cover hand-to-hand fight-ing, weapons, grappling, boxingand kicking. Call 678-2438, or216-3211.

OngoingGolfers Wanted — Are you

looking for a golf group? Military

or civilian golfers interested inplaying golf on Sunday morningsat Leilehua Golf Course shouldcall 347-8038 or 375-3322. Teetime is usually before 8 a.m.

Bicycling League — JoinHawaii Bicycling League’s HeavyBreathers as they bike from PakiPark to Makapuu Beach and back,Saturday mornings at 9:15 a.m.

This 20 to 40-mile ride is opento intermediate to advanced bik-ers who want to improve theirfitness. Call 368-6980 or 479-8142.

Wrestlers Wanted — HawaiianChampionship Wrestling seeksnew members. Persons should beat least 6-feet tall, weigh 250pounds or have an above averagemuscular build. Sports back-ground is preferred. Call 676-8107.

OngoingMom and Baby Yoga —

Get fit with your baby at Momand Baby Yoga, Wednesdays, 9:45 a.m., at the Heath and FitnessCenter, Schofield Barracks. Mats are provided, but it is rec-ommended that moms bring asmall towel or blanket for theirbabies to lay on. Register at 655-8007.

Karate Classes — Children ages5 and older can learn Do Shu-

dokan karate at these physical fit-ness centers: Aliamanu, FortShafter, Helemano or Schofield’sBennett Youth Center.

All youth students must be Childand Youth Services (CYS) mem-bers, and the cost is $35 permonth. A discount is offered fortwo or more family members.

Adults 18 and older can learn DoShudokan karate at the AliamanuPhysical Fitness Center, Mondaysand Wednesdays, 7–8:30 p.m. Costis $40 per month. Call instructorJoseph Bunch at 488-6372 or 265-5476.

Belly Dance — Learn the art ofbelly dancing at the Health andFitness Center, Schofield Barracks,every Tuesday, 4–5 p.m. Call 655-8007.

Paintball — Check out the newpaintball facility at Wheeler Army

Air Field, just off of Lauhala Roadnext to the baseball fields. The fa-cility features three lighted fieldsfor day and evening play. It’s openfor regular play, league and youthplay, private parties and physicaltraining (PT) reservations.

Hours of operation are Tuesdayand Thursday, 5–9 p.m.; and Sat-urday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.Rental equipment is available, andyou can bring your own paint orbuy it there. Instruction is availablefor those new to the sport. Call343-3929, or visit www.paintball-hawaii.com.

Little Ninja Classes — Parentsor guardians, bring 3- to 5-year-olds to Child and Youth Services(CYS) to learn basic Tae Kwon Doskills. At these classes, childrenwill improve their motor and com-munication skills, learn to focus,and build confidence and social-

ization skills. Children must be enrolled in

Schools of Knowledge, Inspiration,Exploration and Skills (SKIES) orbe a current member of CYS. CallSKIES at 655-9818.

Ladies Golf Clinic — Ladies,looking to improve your golfgame? Come to a free ladies golfclinic the first Saturday of everymonth, 2:20 p.m., at the LeilehuaGolf Course driving range. Call655-4653.

100-Mile Run/Walk & 50-Mile Swim Clubs — Record eachmile you run, walk or swim andwin incentive prizes. Stop by anyArmy physical fitness center orswimming pool to pick up a logsheet. Call 655-9914.

All Army Sports — Soldiersinterested in applying for Depart-

ment of the Army-level sportscompetitions must submit appli-cations with their Army Knowl-edge Online (AKO) account athttps://armysports.cfsc.army. mil.Faxed copies are no longer ac-cepted by the DA Sports Office.Call 655-9914 or 655-0856.

Youth Dive Team Lessons —Spring board and platform youthdiving lessons are available Mon-day–Thursday, 4–6 p.m., atRichardson Pool, Schofield Bar-racks. Cost is $63 per month. Call864-0037.

Sharks Youth Swim Team —Come join the Sharks Youth SwimTeam.

Applicants must be level 4 orhigher swimmers. Tryouts are heldat the Richardson Pool, SchofieldBarracks, Fridays at 3 p.m. Club feeis $35 per month. Call 655-9698.

Racquetball Ladder Chal-lenge — The Fort Shafter Physi-cal Fitness Center is hosting aRacquetball Ladder Challenge,now through March 31. Militaryand their family members, civil-ians and contractors who workon an Army installation on Oahuare eligible.

Divisions include co-ed, open(Level A) and novice (Level B).Entries will be accepted until theend of the challenge. Call 438-1152 or stop by the front desk atBuilding 665.

Volunteer Coaches — Inter-ested in volunteering to be aYouth Sports coach? Contact yournearest youth sports director to-day. Call 836-1923 for AMR; 438-9336 for Fort Shafter/Tripler; 655-6465 for Schofield; or 655-0883for Helemano Military Reserva-tion.

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | B-5SPORTS & FITNESS

Story and Photos by

STAFF SGT. MANUEL TORRES-CORTES8th Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs

PUPUKEA — Ear-shattering screams filledthe air as children from the Sunset Beach El-ementary School cheered on fellow classmatesduring the school’s annual physical fitnessmeet, Feb 1.

However, the children weren’t the only onesyelling; alongside them were Soldiers whovolunteered to assist in judging and scoringvarious events.

Soldiers with the 45th Special Troops Bat-talion (STB), 45th Sustainment Brigade, vol-unteered their time, lungs and skills to help pro-mote health and fitness.

“We don’t only go to wars and stop the badguys,” said Sgt. Brandi Clark, A Company,45th STB. “We want the kids to know that theArmy cares about supporting the communitieswith activities such as this.”

Throughout the day, 45th STB Soldiersjudged numerous events, including pull-ups,sit-ups, the eraser dash and the long jump.

“The state is starting up a wellness program

promoting youth fitness and health,” saidCindy Murakami, a first grade teacher at Sun-set Elementary. She said older students were

competing in the Windward District for topscores and times.

“It’s very important for the kids to get outand be active in competitions within the dis-trict during these physical fitness meets,” shesaid.

Though they didn’t compete for top scores,the younger children still took the opportuni-ty to have fun with the Soldiers. Getting out-side during recess to play soccer and run withSoldiers was the highlight of their day.

“It’s really cool and pretty fun having theSoldiers here,” said sixth grader Jake Anderson.“It’s important to stay healthy to live a longerlife, and you can also do more things with yourfriends.”

That kind of awareness is what 45th STB Sol-diers hoped to promote. By maintaining part-nerships with the local community, Soldiers areable to support schools with events that ben-efit local children.

“I’m getting my PT [physical training] on outhere,” said Clark as she finished racing a stu-dent. “I’m having a lot of fun motivating thekids and sweatin’ at the same time.”

A Soldier from B. Co., 45th STB, times a stu-dent in the bar-hang event, Feb. 1 during theannual Physical Fitness meet at the SunsetBeach Elementary School, near North Shore.

Children show 45th STB how PE is done

Sgt. Brandi Clark, A Co., 45th STB, motivates a student, in a race Feb. 1 during their annual Physical Fitness meet at the Sunset Beach Elemen-tary School, near North Shore. Soldiers from the 45th Special Troops Battalion volunteered their time, lungs and even their skills to the children theschool to help promote health and fitness.

B-6 | FEBRUARY 15, 2008 HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY SPORTS & FITNESS

Pro Bowl festivities spill over to Kapiolani ParkMilitary, their families andkamaiana test their skills atpre-Pro Bowl challenges

Story and Photos by

JEREMY S. BUDDEMEIEREditor

WAIKIKI — Despite the recent trend ofrain showers and gusty winds, the weathercleared up Saturday and was perfect forbeachgoers again. However, many of thebeaches here remained relatively empty.That's because thousands of residents andtourists flocked across the street to KapiolaniPark for the Pro Bowl Football Festival.

The free festival resembled an NFL-themed carnival, where football-relatedgames replaced the midway rides, and mer-chants peddled jerseys and autographedcollectors' items instead of elephant earsand funhouse mirrors.

Legions of air blower machines kept thearmy of bounce houses and kicking andpassing games inflated as children of allages romped around, emulating their fa-vorite players from the gridiron.

“I was so close … did you see that spiral,Daddy?” a child asked his father while thepair hastened to the next game.

All day families breezed between games,long lines and booths where NFL playersand cheerleaders were signing autographs.However, these same stars stepped out ofthe booths from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for theYMCA Youth Football and Cheerleadingclinics.

Hawaii National Guardsman MichaelGeister of B Battery, 1st Battalion, 487thField Artillery Regiment, brought his 10-year-old son Kurt to the football clinic. Inaddition to meeting a few of the DallasCowboys himself, Geiter said he came towatch his son interact with and learn fromthe pros.

“That's what it's all about,” he said. Both Geisters planned to attend the Pro

Bowl the next day. “It's too bad [the Cowboys] choked in the

playoffs,” the elder Geister said, but con-ceded that at least they lost to the SuperBowl champion New York Giants.

Only a 40-yard dash from the clinics,the U.S. Army's solid black tents stoodout like a wide open receiver in the endzone. There, recruiters from stationsaround Oahu, and even the mainland, ranan Xbox 360 Madden '08 tournament andgave fans a chance to play quarterback at

one of two inflatable football tosses. The Madden tournament winner went

home with an Eli Manning Super Bowljersey, iPod Nano and a replica of themedallion used in the coin toss at thisyear's Super Bowl.

Though the festival's atmosphere wasone of fun and games, recruiters in thetent also encouraged participants to workfor their prizes.

Recruiters gave Army T-shirts and bagsto adults and children who could crankout 50 and 30 push ups, respectively. Seniorcitizens earned the same prizes by demon-strating one or two push ups with properform.

Maj. Omer Ozguc, a family practitioner atTripler Army Medical Center, encouragedhis 11-year-old son, Emre, as he eeked outhis last push up. Both also planned to at-

tend the Pro Bowl the following day.“How many did I do?“ the younger

Ozguc asked. Sgt. 1st Class Steve Thomas, Kapolei Re-

cruiting Station, smiled and said “30” as hehanded Ozguc his T-shirt and bag.

“[It's about] giving back to the commu-nity … and trying to spark an interest in theArmy,” Staff Sgt. Jake Aitaro, KapiolaniArmy Recruiting Station.

Above — Emre Ozguc, 11,cranks out one of 30 push ups asSgt. 1st Class Steve Thomas,Kapolei Recruiting Station, countsduring the Pro Bowl Festival inKapiolani Park, Saturday. Ozgucand his father, Maj. Omer Ozguc,a family practitioner at TriplerArmy Medical Center, attendedthe Pro Bowl the following day.

Left — Staff Sgt. David Armstrong,Kapiolani Recruiting Station, givesa fan another shot at playingquarterback behind the U.S. Armytent during the Pro Bowl Festival.

Video Messenger — Readingstories to children is important andSgt. Yano Library, Schofield Bar-racks, provides a video messengerservice so deploying Soldiers cantape DVD or VHS video record-ings for their children before theirunit deploys.

Interested in this service? Call655-8002 for more details.

HI-5 Recycling — Residents mayredeem their recyclable alu-minum/metal cans, plastic, andglass containers any Saturday from10 a.m.–4 p.m. (or any Tuesdayfrom 9 a.m.–1 p.m.) at the parkinglot of the Schofield Barracks com-missary.

Containers must be empty andclean, and state law prohibits milkor dairy product containers.

Alcoholics Anonymous — Allinterested personnel are welcometo attend Alcoholics Anonymous,a free program of recovery fordealing with alcoholism. Meetingsare held every Thursday morning,11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., at the Pe-tersen Child Development Center,Schofield Barracks, Room 223.

For details, contact J. PaulCampbell at 537-3406, or e-mailjpaulcampbell1218@yahoo.com.

Marriage Enrichment Semi-nar — Bring your significant oth-er to a Marriage Enrichment Sem-inar and learn the keys to buildinga strong, satisfying and lastingmarriage.

This seminar runs every thirdWednesday of the month, 9 a.m.–4p.m., at the Wheeler Army AirField Chapel. It’s designed for en-gaged couples, but all couples areinvited to enhance their commu-nication, manage conflict andlearn secrets to a more satisfyingrelationship.

A free lunch will be provided,and child care is available. CallStaff Sgt. Parker at 656-4481, or e-mail latonia.parker@us.army.mil,for more details.

Community Calendar

From B-2

HAWAII ARMY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 15, 2008 | B-7SPORTS & FITNESS

Military ohana throw punches, shape up at cardio kickboxing

Story and Photo by

MOLLY HAYDEN Staff Writer

TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CEN-TER — The beat of dance musicpiped from a radio as 14 pairs offists punched the air in rhythmicmotion at the Health and FitnessCenter, here, Friday.

Led by instructor Maj. KinseyMcFadden, surgery division, U.S.Army, Pacific, members of the mil-itary ohana demonstrated movesworked into swiftly executed com-binations, including a jab, uppercutand front kick. The class bobbed,weaved, and jumped amidst thepunches and kicks for the hour-long session.

“This workout develops thewhole body,” said McFadden. “Itstarts with the core, using abdomenmuscles, and enables the power tocome from within for each kick orpunch.”

Cardio kickboxing is a combi-nation of aerobics, boxing andmartial arts. It’s one of the mostpopular fitness trends to hit gym-nasiums in recent years. The in-tense, total-body workout can im-prove strength, aerobic fitness, flex-ibility, endurance, coordination andbalance, according to McFadden. Itcan also reduce body fat and stresslevels.

McFadden explained cardio kick-boxing uses and strengthens al-most every muscle in the body.Along with its cardiovascular ben-efits and body toning, cardio kick-boxing is a full body workout.

“We offer this class three times a

week,” said McFadden. “Some peo-ple come all three days for a com-plete workout, and others comeonce or twice week.”

“Participating in such an activ-ity for any number of days willaid in overall health,” he added.

Muscle and Fitness magazinerated cardio kickboxing as thenumber one calorie burner of allfitness activities, averaging 800calories burned per hour.

“This class gives me stamina toget through the day,” said familymember Cathy Rucker. “And it’s agreat stress reliever after work.”

Cardio kickboxing involves awide range of moves, combiningvarious techniques that add up toan impressive workout.

The class leaves participantsdrenched in sweat, stress-free andenergized.

All of the moves used in cardiokickboxing, when done correctly,will aid in making everyday tasksa little easier. Whether moving aheavy box, hauling children aroundor taking an Army physical fitnesstest, cardio kickboxing will pro-vide more strength to get the jobdone.

Cathy Rucker strengthens her muscles by throwing punches during acardio kickboxing class. Members of the military ohana attend TAMC’scardio kickboxing class for the overall health benefits and fun nature ofthe class.

Cardio Kicking boxing classesoffered:• Tripler Army Medical Center Mondays, Wednesdays andFridays, 4:30 p.m. Call 433-5772.• Schofield Barracks Health andFitness CenterTuesdays, 5 p.m. and Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Call 655-8007.