THE KWAJALEIN HOURGLASS Volume 42, Number 63 Friday, August 9, 2002 U.S
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Friday August 9, 2002 Kwajalein Hourglass THE KWAJALEIN HOURGLASS Volume 42, Number 63 Friday, August 9, 2002 U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands Fairlamb: Compact talks getting closer to economic deal By Peter Rejcek Associate Editor An agreement on one of the ma- jor provisions of the Compact of Free Association, parts of which are currently under negotiation be- tween the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, could be reached this month, ac- cording to a U.S. official involved in the talks. Dr. John Fairlamb, Foreign Af- fairs specialist, said during a visit here last week that the two sides are close to agreeing to changes to Title 2 of the Compact, which out- lines the economic assistance the (Photo by Peter Rejcek) U.S. will provide to the RMI. “It’s give and take,” Fairlamb said Pitching in of the negotiations, which “broke a Job Corps students Silanker Lokboj, left, and Wallace Jorju help clean up one of the lot of ground with the RMI” in De- traditional structures at the Marshallese Cultural Center Thursday morning. Job cember of last year and have con- Corps students normally volunteer three Thursdays out of every month to keep the sisted of three formal meetings and area tidy from leaves and debris. numerous working sessions. Fairlamb is the SMDC represen- tative to the U.S. State Department Program puts teachers into RMI schools team, led by Al Short, in charge of By Barbara Johnson Volunteers are also going to several the Compact negotiations with the Feature Writer other atolls: Ailinglaplap, Arno, Aur, RMI as well as the Federated States MAJURO, REPUBLIC OF THE Wotje, Jaluit, Maloelap, Ailuk, Ebon of Micronesia. He was at USAKA MARSHALL ISLANDS — Schools in and Ujae. last week in conjunction with the the Marshall Islands will start this “I’m thrilled we have so many visit by Lt. Gen. Joseph Cosumano year with something new — the skilled volunteers who can offer such Jr., commanding general of U.S. expertise, talent and skills of 26 a great variety of enriching activities Army Space and Missile Defense WorldTeach volunteers from the for the students and communities in Command, as well as a later site U.S. addition to their classroom teaching,” visit by a congressional delegation. The group, which arrived in said Helen Claire Sievers, World- The latest U.S. proposal is to ex- Majuro July 23, includes men and Teach executive director and former tend economic assistance for an- women ranging in age from 22 to 75, Kwaj resident. other 20 years, after which the RMI and their talents and expertise are On Sunday, Matt Schweickert will government would be on its own. plentiful and varied. be the first volunteer to leave the The U.S. is pledging $35.8 million “We have a Ph.D. in educational group to fly to a remote location. He per year in the base grant from 2004 leadership, an MBA, a tae kwon do heads to Aur Atoll and a different to 2023, adjusted for inflation. black belt, several fluent in other world from the one he left behind The funds are slated for grants languages, avid gardeners, a docu- last month in North Carolina. The that would target areas such as mentary film maker, musicians and 28-year-old investment banker with education, health care and infra- athletes,” said Alexis Miesen, field an MBA will teach in an elementary structure. Another $7 million is ear- director for the Marshalls program. school. He said he expects about 70 marked for a trust fund. Most volunteers are in their mid-20s, students. “The trust fund is key,” Fairlamb she said. “I’m ready to see what happens said of the latest U.S. proposal. All of the public schools on Majuro when I get out there where there’s Originally looking for a 15-year deal, will get at least one volunteer, and no English,” Schweickert said. (See TRUST, page 4) the high school will get two or three. (See WORLDTEACH, page 5) www.smdc.army.mil/KWAJ/Hourglass/hourglass.html Friday Page 2 Kwajalein Hourglass August 9, 2002 Editorial HNO: Purpose of column is to inspire debate In his letter to the editor, printed Aug. 2, to find possible solutions. who were generally representative of our Mr. Bischoff paid the Host Nation Office 2) The HNO would love to be able to community. Stereotypes usually evolve an offhand compliment. He also raises explain why U.S. goods are in such high out of some basis in truth, and if three important questions that I am happy demand and why exporting things from Beauregard and Latao are representative to have the opportunity to address. Kwaj to the rest of the RMI is bad for the of some personalities out here, and we 1) The Beauregard and Latao column RMI economy, but these answers arent dont like all they represent, perhaps we is not designed to answer questions but readily apparent to us. We tried to draw should embrace change. Change begins to inspire constructive dialogue. Our in- attention to the complexities of this seem- by recognizing a problem, and that is tent is to show that there are at least two ingly simple issue and the effect it has on another objective of the Beauregard and valid sides to every issue out here, and U.S./RMI relations by addressing it in the Latao column. the HNO goes to great lengths to bal- B&L column. We invite anyone with an- Thank you Mr. Bischoff for assisting the ance the comments, as opposed to swers to the inconsistencies identified in HNO to achieve our goals and stimulate spoon-feeding USAKA-correct answers. the column to notify the HNO ASAP! constructive dialogue. We recognize the sophisticated and di- 3) Beauregard and Latao perpetuate Very Respectfully, verse nature of Hourglass readers and stereotypes by design. The HNO went David S. Coffey are playing to this community strength to great lengths to design two characters Chief, Host Nation Office Ten Ten staff gets the job done in difficult situation I would like to commend the outstanding If anyone submitted a complaint, I be- tience standing in line and waiting, it was performance by the Ten Ten staff and man- lieve an apology to the staff and manage- worth it all. Ive been here almost 29 years; agement for the way they manually handled ment of Ten Ten is owed. Put yourself in therefore, I was in no hurry anyway! their retail operations on Aug. 4 due to the spot of a cashier for that one day and Management and staff of Ten Ten (to system outage to the cash registers. think of how you would have handled the include some Surfway floor runners), Ive worked at Ten Ten, and sometimes situation. For those cashiers to not know thank you for the prompt service provided the smallest thing could ruin your whole the price of every single item, yet to get to me and whoever else from our Kwaj day, but to see how calm and collected that info from the floor runners in a timely community that Sunday. the cashiers and floor runners were doing, manner, was outstanding! Sincerely, I can only commend them all. For myself and other customers of pa- Bernard Bard Ching Letters to the editor can be sent to [email protected], mailed Japan: Land of the Have some to P.O. Box 23 or brought to Bldg. 805. travel advice for our The Kwajalein Hourglass Rising Sun and yen readers? Commanding Officer.............Col. Jerry Brown We got some strange looks when we Submit your Public Affairs Officer..........LuAnne Fantasia announced we were traveling to Japan this trip news and Editor..........................................Jim Bennett summer, but we found that if you have a little tips to: Associate Editor...............................Peter Rejcek patience and interest its more than doable. prejcek@kls. Feature Writers....................Barbara Johnson usaka.smdc. KW Hillis We selected Japan because it seemed Graphics Designer ...........................Dan Adler to be a safe and modern Asian nation, army.mil. giving us the convenience and peace of mind we needed traveling with our 15- passes and sumo wrestling tournament The Hourglass is named for the insignia month-old daughter, but also offering the tickets. They made all hotel arrange- of the U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division, which mystique and excitement that comes ments and paid for the hotel stays in liberated the island from the forces of Impe- from throwing oneself into a foreign envi- advance so that all we had to do was rial Japan on Feb 4, 1944. ronment. We would not be disappointed. check in and out and cover any additional The Kwajalein Hourglass is an authorized publication for military personnel, federal em- Planning the trip is the hardest part, costs like phone calls or the great bottle ployees, contractor workers and their families and we recommend going through a travel of French wine we enjoyed in Kamakura. assigned to USAKA. Contents of the Hour- agent. You could do the research and They even wrote up an informational book- glass are not necessarily official views of, or pick where and when you want to go let that outlined exactly where we would endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Depart- places, but try calling a Japanese hotel be every day, local sights of interest, ment of Defense, Department of the Army or and making reservations, then converting some restaurant recommendations and USAKA. It is published Tuesdays and Fridays the cost to yen.