Free Republic

2/8/2010 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) -- The Pacific Air Forces commander presented a medal to a member of the "Greatest Generation" during a ceremony here Feb. 5. Doris Avery accepted the Noncommissioned Officers' Association World War II Veterans Medallion for her service as a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II in the PACAF Courtyard of Heroes from Gen. Gary North. The medallion recognizes World War II veterans who displayed valor, sacrifice and fidelity during service. Lieutenant Avery received her commission into the Army Nurses Corps in 1943. After completing air evacuation school, she...

As the United States moves 8,000 marines from Okinawa to Guam, the air defenses of that American island are being improved. There will now be three different air defense systems. There will be a THAAD battery (24 missiles, three launchers and a fire control communications system). This will include an X-Band radar. The gear for each battery costs $310 million. The 18 foot long THAAD missiles weigh 1,400 pounds. This is about the same size as the Patriot anti-aircraft missile, but twice the weight of the anti-missile version of the Patriot. The range of THAAD is 200 kilometers, max altitude...

Lt. Gen. Gary North was to assume command Wednesday of Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Before the ceremony, he was to be promoted to the rank of general, according to a news release. North succeeds Gen. Howie Chandler, who took command in November 2007. Chandler is heading to the Pentagon to be the vice chief of staff of the Air Force. North commanded the 9th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central, at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. There, he ran air campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the release said.

A new survey of the Pacific Air Forces found serious flaws in the handling of sexual assault reports, including victim services, but no evidence that commanders went easy on offenders. The findings, released Thursday to The Gazette, are the first disclosed for an entire Air Force command and already are serving as a road map for assessments of all Air Force commands. The assessment is the most far-reaching undertaken by Air Force Headquarters since it conducted a similar review of suicide policies and prevention programs in 1996. Pacific commander Gen. William Begert called his five-month study, which found 106 accused...