Fall 1999 Photos

1. More than 200 Special Operations officers and other guests from 22 countries attended the Pacific Area Special Operations Conference 1999 (PASOC 99) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Col. Jansaewoke Padetgarn of the Royal Thai Army Special Forces briefs PASOC attendees on Thai Special Operations.

2. Vietnam participated in PASOC for the first time. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Commander in Chief of U.S. Special Operations Command talks with Vietnamese Air Force Senior Col. Pham Tan and 1st Lt. Nguyen Duc Giang, while U.S. Marines Corps Lt. Col. Bascom Eaker, U.S. Naval Attaché to Vietnam, looks on.

3. Japan was also a first time PASOC participant. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker poses with Col. Ioka Hisashi and Maj. Watanabe Shingo of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

4. Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein, USAF, Commander of Special Operations Command, Pacific (conference host), presents a PASOC memento to Russian Army Col. Yevgenniy Tishin. (On the left, not seen, is Col. Aleksander Khayev).

5. Col. Yadmaa Choijamts and Lt. Col. Danjuur Batbaatar of the Mongolia Defense Force check out U.S. Special Operations Forces equipment at a display table.

6. Seminar groups examined subjects ranging from combined training to civil-military relations. Lt. Col. Weng Kee Noel Cheah of the Singapore Army addresses a group.

7. Maj. Gen. Ismael Mounibou of the Madagascar Army observes a discussion between Ms. June Perry of Madagascar and U.S. Marine LCpl. Ajax O'Neell.

8. Royal Thai Army Maj. Gen. Chavanit Kanchanatecha, Maj. Gen. Surapong Uthaichaya, and Col. Padetgarn Jansaewoke talk during a conference break.

9. Brig. Gen. Ismet Ahmed Chowdhury of Bangladesh presents a book to Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein, while Col. Ananta Kumar Kar looks on.

10. The Philippine delegates, Col. Armando Cunanan, Col. Peter Espadero and Brig. Gen. Julius Javier, present a memento to Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein.

11. Capt. Dhammike Samarawickrama of the Sri Lanka Navy presents some Sri Lankan tea to Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker.

12. Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein shakes hands with Brig. Gen. Chiniya Bahadur Basnyat of the Royal Nepalese Army. (Not seen is Lt. Col. Baldev Shamsher Thapa.)

13. Members of Singapore's delegation, Navy Capt. Kok Boon Patrick Foo, Army Maj. Tai Tiong Tan, and Air Force Maj. Tee Huat Koh, enjoy a conference break.

14. Royal Malaysian Navy Cmdr. Nasaruddin bin Othman and Army Col. Syed Khalid bin Syed Mahmood present plaques to Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein.

15. Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Senior Col. Chen Kai and Capt. Jin Luo, present plaques to Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker and Brig. Gen. Jack R. Holbein.

16. PASOC 99 successfully brought together Special Operations practitioners from all over the Asia-Pacific region to share information and build new friendships. U.S. Air Force Col. Jerry Folkerts, Royal New Zealand Army Col. Selwyn Heaton, and Australian Army Brig. Philip McNamara share some professional camaraderie during PASOC 99.

1. A Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) C-130 unloads humanitarian relief supplies for the Honduran people at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras.

2. Lt. Masakatsu Nakamura, copilot of a JASDF C-130, checks his en route chart for Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras where Japanese relief supplies will be unloaded.

3. An official of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency discusses offloading procedures with an officer of the Honduran Air Force, after landing in Honduras.

4. A JASDF loadmaster discusses the relief supplies with Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) officers on the flight line in Honduras. The JGSDF had 75 medical and support personnel operating in Japan Disaster Relief Teams in Honduras.

5. JASDF Tech. Sgt. Takayuki Sugaya assists in unloading Japanese relief supplies destined for thousands of Hondurans stricken by Hurricane Mitch. JASDF aircrews airlifted 28.2 metric tons of relief goods to Honduras in nine flights from Texas.

6. U.S. Air Force personnel supporting relief operations at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras assist in unloading the Japanese relief supplies. The JASDF staged their Honduran operations out of Kelly, a U.S. Air Force Base in Texas.

7. A Ground Self-Defense Force medical team in Honduras provides medical care for victims of Hurricane Mitch.

8. JGSDF medical personnel were able to treat children in Honduras as a result of the JASDF relief airlift.