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~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii 
Naval Station Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base held a ceremony to unveil Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam January 31, 2010. The ceremony was held to mark the beginning of the transition period, called initial operational capability.
"It is truly an honor as we stand here and bring these two historic bases together today," said Capt. Richard Kitchens, commander, JBPHH. "The Navy and Air Force share the same goals with passion and pride, and with the joining of forces today, we will be able to further our partnership between the two services."
Col. Giovanni Tuck, 15th Airlift Wing commander, expressed the significance of joining the two bases together.
"With the combining of forces, we will bring unity along with excellence into the future. I look forward to seeing a strong partnership prosper when we merge bases together today," Tuck said. "Just because we are creating something new here today, the history of Hickam Air Force Base and Naval Station Pearl Harbor will never be forgotten." 
In 1934, the Army Air Corps saw the need for another airfield in Hawaii and assigned the Quartermaster Corps the job of constructing a modern airdrome from tangled brush and sugar cane fields adjacent to Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. The site consisted of 2,200 acres of ancient coral reef, covered by a thin layer of soil. Located between Oahu's Waianae and Koolau mountain ranges, with the Pearl Harbor channel and naval reservation marking its western and northern boundaries, John Rodgers Airport to the east, and Fort Kamehameha on the south, the new airfield was dedicated May 31, 1935 and named in honor of Lt. Col. Horace Meek Hickam, a distinguished aviation pioneer killed Nov. 5, 1934, at Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas. 
While construction was still in progress, the first contingent of twelve men and four aircraft under the command of 1st Lt. Robert Warren moved from Luke Field on Ford Island to Hickam on Sept. 1, 1937. Hickam Field, as it was then known, was completed and officially activated on Sept. 15, 1938. It was the principal army airfield in Hawaii and the only one large enough to accommodate the B-17 bomber. In connection with defense plans for the Pacific, aircraft were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 to prepare for potential hostilities. Learn More About The History Of Hickam Air Force Base HERE!
The new joint base structure will directly affect more than 600 military and nearly 1,200 civilians on Hickam; most coming from the 15th Mission Support Group and selected portions of the 15th Airlift Wing Staff, as they merge into the new Joint Base organization. 
Currently, functional working groups, Joint Base departments and special staffs are completing implementation plans and standard operating procedures, moving toward phased function activations on February 1 and June 1, and Full Operational Capability on October 1. 
At Pearl Harbor-Hickam the 15th Airlift Wing retains essentially unchanged missions for the 15th AW operations, maintenance and medical groups -- along with its core mission functions of Airfield Operations and Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Also unaffected are the many other supported units and tenants on the joint base -- Pacific Air Forces, Air Mobility Command, 13th Air Force and our Total Force partners in the Hawaii Air National Guard. 
While most segments of the joint installation's support forces will be merging, the shift should be barely noticeable to operational units and families residing on the base. Most important, service levels for the joint base should actually improve as the new common output levels marry the best practices and delivery standards across all services, and provide additional manpower and resources to meet those standards. Learn More About Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam HERE!
Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on historic Ford Island occupies World War II-era hangars that still bear the scars of our nation's first aviation battlefield. It's the newest attraction among the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites and a must visit for aviation and history enthusiasts. 
Ford Island, now a National Historic Landmark, is quiet today but it still shows the scars of war. In developing the master plan in the 1990s, the Navy consulted with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Hawaii Foundation. The Navy agreed to protect several historic buildings and nearby grounds. However, preserving these artifacts is outside the Navy's primary mission, so an innovative method for adaptive reuse and preservation was required. Perhaps serendipitously, a group of concerned Hawaii citizens stepped forward with a solution and a plan to create a world class aviation museum in the historic hangars that survived the attack that initiated the US effort in World War II. Visit The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor HERE!
FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.
Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun! We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity. We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon. We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way. God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always |
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
