CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 14 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: POCHEON, South Korea - As part of Freedom Shield 2024, the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division (2ID/RUCD) and the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division (CMID) of the Republic of Korea army, demonstrated combined combat capabilities through various joint maneuvers and gunnery exercises at Seung-Jin Range in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, M  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 11 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: ROCKINGHAM, Australia - USS Annapolis (SSN 760) arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia Sunday. This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nu  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: The Biden-Harris Administration today announced the U.S Department of Education (Department) is providing a Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) grant to the Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) to support recovery from wildfires that devastated the island of Maui in August 2023. HIDOE was awarded $2,199,146, one of the largest Project SERV grants awarded for a natur  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 15 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Western Regional Information Office issued the following report on March 14, 2024, entitled "Women's Earnings in Hawaii - 2022": * * * In 2022, Hawaii women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $963, or 84.8 percent of the $1,136 median usual weekly earnings of their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional   more

BALTIMORE, Maryland, March 12 -- The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command issued the following news release: By Thomas B. Hamilton III, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Zachary Chockley from the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Pacific Field Office, Schofield Barracks Hawaii, shared strategies and techniques to hundreds of federal law enforcement professionals during the 43rd Annual Hostage Negotiation Seminar in Baltimore, Marylan  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- The Commander of the Hawaii Navy Region issued the following news release: By Destiny Sibert, CNIC Public Affairs Commander, Navy Installations Command announced the 2023 Fire and Emergency Services Award winners late last month. "Our firefighters and emergency responders face difficult situations, put others ahead of themselves and are often touch people's lives each time they answer a call," said Carl B. Glover Jr, CNIC F&ES Director. "They deserve our gratitude and   more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Comptroller of the Currency posted the following joint news release on March 13, 2024, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board and the National Credit Union Administration: To help facilitate recovery efforts from wildfires in Hawaii last year, four federal financial institution regulatory agencies today temporarily paused certain appraisal requirements for real estate-related transactions in Maui Co  more

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii, March 14 -- The U.S. Army Contracting Command issued the following news: By George Sawyer When 1st Lt. Genesis Isaac was ready to separate from the Army a chance encounter with a lunchmate changed her future when asked: "Have you considered contracting?" Monica Napoleon, a retired Navy logistics chief and current employee of Regional Contracting Office-Hawaii, asked the lieutenant the question in a casual conversation between strangers waiting for lunch that turned into   more

LAHAINA, Hawaii, March 12 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on March 11, 2024: * * * This work will support the County of Maui's efforts to restore wastewater and drinking water impacted by the wildfires * * * Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed inspecting the sanitary sewer lines in Lahaina, Hawai'i. EPA cleared debris, such as sediment, rocks, rags, and grease from the lines. Once cleared, a robotic camera was used to   more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation posted the following joint news release on March 13, 2024, with Treasury Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve System and the National Credit Union Administration: To help facilitate recovery efforts from wildfires in Hawaii last year, four federal financial institution regulatory agencies today temporarily paused certain appraisal requirements for real estate-related transactions in Maui County. This te  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 11 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: RAYONG PROVINCE, THAILAND - This year's Cobra Gold, the paramount joint multinational military exercise in Southeast Asia, successfully concluded after two weeks of intensive training, humanitarian efforts and cultural exchanges. This 43rd iteration of Cobra Gold, co-hosted by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, brought together over 9,  more

HONOLULU, Hawaii, March 14 -- The U.S. Marine Corps Base Hawaii issued the following news release: Marine Corps Base Hawaii was recently named the recipient of the 2024 Secretary of the Navy Environmental Award for Natural Resource Conservation and Environmental Quality. Each award highlights the contributions of the Marines, sailors, and civilians that comprise MCBH and their excellence in environmental leadership. MCBH was previously recognized for the same awards in 2022 and 2020 - a testame  more

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, March 14 -- The National Credit Union Administration posted the following joint news release on March 13, 2024, with the Treasury Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: To help facilitate recovery efforts from wildfires in Hawaii last year, four federal financial institution regulatory agencies today temporarily paused certain appraisal requirements for real estate-related transactions in Maui Cou  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 13 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held a call today with Japan's Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru. The two officials welcomed ongoing and close coordination between the United States and Japan on the resumption of flight operations of V-22 Osprey aircraft by U.S. Forces Japan and the Japan Self-Def  more

WASHINGTON, March 14 -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued the following financial institution letter (No. FIL-09-2024) on March 13, 2024: The FDIC is providing flexibility relative to appraisal requirements for real estate-related transactions in Maui County due to the Hawaii wildfires. The flexibilities may be exercised by any institution underwriting a real estate-related transaction in Maui County. Statement of Applicability: The contents of, and material referenced in, this   more

SACRAMENTO, California, March 16 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release on March 15, 2024: Francisco Sanchez Jr., associate administrator for the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the Small Business Administration, announced today that SBA will close its Kahului Disaster Loan Outreach Center at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. "SBA opened the center to provide personalized assistance to Hawaii businesses and residents who  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: JINHAE, South Korea - Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade (2-2 CAB) conducted deck landings with U.S. Army UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters on prepositioning ship USNS Dahl (T-AKR 312), March 7. Six aircraft crews from Assault Helicopter Battalion 2-2 CAB practiced single-spot deck landings aboard USNS Dahl, about five mil  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: SANTA RITA, Guam - On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 (HSC-25) effectively evacuated a Coast Guard member from the USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10), 100 nautical miles south of Guam, in a joint effort. "We're incredibly grateful to HSC-25 for jumping in quickly and skillfully to help evacuate our crew member. Their   more

HONOLULU, Hawaii, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the following news release: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is designating critical habitat for 12 species, all found only on Hawai'i island. All 12 species are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The final rule incorporates changes from the March 29, 2023, proposed rule (Docket# FWS-R1-ES-2023-0017) based on information received during the 60-day public comment perio  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 10 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: SINGAPORE -- Adm. John C. Aquilino, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, visited Singapore on an overseas trip from March 6 to 10, to increase shared understanding of regional challenges and strengthen the expansive and enduring U.S.-Singapore relationship. During the visit, Aquilino met with Singapore Minister of Defence Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Chief of Defence Force Vice Adm. Aaron Ben  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 13 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: Manila, PHILIPPINES -- Adm. John C. Aquilino, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, visited the Philippines March 10-14, 2024, where he met with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., along with other senior government and military leaders. He also met with Philippine Secretary of National Defense  more

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii, March 15 -- The U.S. Space Force issued the following news: By Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Wilson, Pacific Air Forces U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific is taking a giant leap forward in multi-domain integration, leading U.S. space participation in joint exercise Cobra Gold 24 in Thailand, Feb. 27 - March 8. For the first time, over 33 nations worked and trained together in the space domain, as well as air and land, establishing a new standard for multinational spa  more

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii, March 16 -- The U.S. Pacific Air Forces issued the following news: By Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Wilson, Pacific Air Forces U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific is taking a giant leap forward in multi-domain integration, leading U.S. space participation in Joint Exercise Cobra Gold 24 in Thailand, Feb. 27 - Mar. 8. For the first time, over 33 nations worked and trained together in the space domain, as well as air and land, establishing a new standard for multination  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 14 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan - As dawn approached on the brisk morning of March 7, relentless winds echoed over the flightline of Yokota Air Base, Japan. The stage was set for Airborne 24, as nearly half of the 374th Airlift Wing's C-130J Super Hercules fleet, U.S. Army jumpmasters and approximately 300 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force paratroopers geared up to execute t  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: USS Annapolis (SSN 760) arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia Sunday. This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to  more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas, March 12 -- The U.S. Air Force Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (16th Air Force) issued the following news on March 11, 2024: FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii - The Women's Air Raid Defense, or WARD, stands as a testament to the resilience and dedication of women during World War II. Formed in response to the Pearl Harbor attack, WARD was a civilian organization comprised of women who played a crucial role in air defense. Volunteers for WARD, primarily military spous  more

CAMP SMITH, Hawaii, March 13 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Indo-Pacific Command issued the following news: CAMP WITHYCOMBE, Oregon - More than 450 security cooperation stakeholders and international partners gathered at Camp Withycombe, OR, for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's (USINDOPACOM) combined Capabilities Development Working Group (CDWG) and Security Cooperation Education and Training Working Group (SCETWG) from Feb. 26-March 1, 2024. Hosted by the USINDOPACOM J5 St  more