On the island of Hawaii, nearly a mile-high on the natural plateau between two of the world’s largest dormant volcanoes, is the US Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), the largest military training area in the Pacific.

Described by a foreign army unit training there as; “the land beyond the moon”, its major terrain feature brings to mind a lunar desert, replete with volcanic cinder cones and lava flows hundreds of years old.

For two weeks in June, PTA was home to units of the Hawaii National Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade for their two weeks of annual training.

The Hawaii Committee for Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve (ESGR) conducted a ‘BossLift’, taking employers to PTA to visit with their Citizen Soldier employees, to witness first-hand the important roles they play in the defense of our nation.

Hawaii BossLift Coordinator and chief escort was Lt. Col. Martin Moerschell assisted by John Connelly from Hawaii Island ESGR.

Bosses participating included the Director of Cross Fit, Bryant Powers; General Manager for Aston Waikiki Beach Towers, Mike Tasaka; President of Domino’s Pizza Hawaii, Mike Rompel; Director of Emergency Services at Kaiser Permanente, Kitt Maggert; and in Emergency Services at Kaiser Permanente, Yvette Coleman.

All employers were greeted at the Hawaii National Guard aviation facility at Wheeler Army Airfield by Brig. Gen. Joseph Kim, Hawaii Deputy Adjutant General.  “Today you will visit with your employees in their field locations and learn about the important roles they fulfill as a member of the 29th Brigade team,” Kim said. “It is not only our Soldiers and their families that make sacrifices when it is time to deploy, but employers also make sacrifices.”

“Having to cope with the year-long absence of your employees during their deployment is not easy.  In many cases you will need to acquire and train a temporary hire during your employee’s absence or, other members of your company must shoulder the additional workload.  We are constantly mindful of that and appreciate very much all of your efforts on behalf of your employees who are members of the Guard and Reserve”, Kim added.

Following an ESGR orientation, an overview of the day’s activities and a flight safety briefing, bosses boarded the National Guard C-26 twin-engine turbo prop aircraft for the hour-long flight to Hilo Airport.

The bosses arrived at PTA after a 45-minute van ride up Saddle Road from Hilo Airport.  After a PTA safety briefing, employers were joined with their employees and taken to their individual work sites in the field in Army Guard HMMWVs. 
Kitt Maggert was reunited with her employee, SGT Steve Sili, who serves as a 29th Brigade medical specialist.  In his civilian job, Sili serves as an information specialist and “computer guru” for emergency medical technicians (EMT).

“Steve is one of my most valued employees and I am very grateful for the opportunity to see what he does when serving in the Guard,” Maggert said.

Maggert supervises approximately 200 personnel at Kaiser Permanente and oversees all emergency services in the medical center.  Sili is one of two of Maggert’s employees who are members of the Guard or Reserve.  Maggert intends to request a speaker from the HI ESGR Committee to familiarize USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) to all of her department supervisors.

CPT Wes Kawakami, Commander, Troop ‘C’, 1st Battalion, 299th Cavalry Regiment was reunited with his civilian boss, Mike Tasaka, general manager, Aston Waikiki Beach Tower Hotel.  Tasaka employs approximately 80 workers and Kawakami oversees all hotel operations in his capacity as Assistant General Manger. 

“Wes is responsible for all hotel operations and is my key ‘right-hand’ person,” Tasaka said.

In his role as Troop ‘C’ commander, Kawakami’s unit is responsible to acquire as much information about the enemy’s location, strength and capabilities, and to provide brigade forward security.

Tasaka received an orientation and inspected several of the intelligence acquisition tools in Kawakami’s unit that included the LRAS3 (Long Range Acquisition Scout Surveillance System) optical device, and the Raven SUAV (Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), both designed to detect and observe enemy forces far forward of their location safely and undetected.

“I am greatly impressed at the scope of Wes’ responsibilities and pleased to know that his Guard leadership experience translates well and complements his responsibilities at the hotel,” Tasaka said.

Clearly, one of the highlights of the day’s events was having an MRE (Meal-Ready-to-Eat) at field locations.

To learn more about USERRA, or are interested in becoming an ESGR volunteer, contact Sam Wong at (808) 672-1246.