Military Profile Highlights

Please contact the Office of Insular Affairs at (202) 208-4736 or Tanya_Joshua@ios.doi.gov to share pictures of men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces from the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States.

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ieremia Masaga – American Samoa

(January 2009) U.S. Army Staff Sergeant (E-6) Ieremia Masaga, 27, hails from his hometown of Fagasa in American Samoa. His normal post is in Baumholder, Germany; however, he is currently on deployment in Iraq, Southwest of Baghdad, COP CARVER (Infantry). SSG Masaga enlisted in the United States Army from the “Little Rock” otherwise known as American Samoa. He has served for 4 years and 9 months and joined the military “for a better life”. SSG Masaga states that he has learned to accept things that come his way and not to judge people by who they appear to be but by what they can become. The Office of Insular Affairs is pleased to highlight the service of men and women from all the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States who serve in the United States Armed Forces.

U.S. Army Specialist Magnus K. Henry

U.S. Army Specialist Magnus K. Henry, 23, hails from Afao, American Samoa and is a UH-60 Blackhawk Maintainer/Crewchief assigned to OIF 2008-2009 with 2-10 Aviation Regiment Fort Drum, New York. He has been serving for four years. Specialist Henry states that he joined to experience life away from home and he very much enjoys being able to travel and help people.

Roy Lee Lowe, II, (center, holding red folder) hails from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.

BU3 (AW) Lowe, Roy Lee

Pictured: BU1 (SCW) OYLER and BU3 (AW) LOWE of NAVAL MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATALLION (NMCB) 7 DET KV getting frocked by the Secretary of the Navy (SecNav), Donald C. Winter, in Korean village, Iraq. (Pinned or frocked=promoted).

Roy Lee Lowe, II, (center, holding red folder) hails from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.

U.S. Army Sgt. Andolin Lucios

Sergeant Andolin Lucios hails originally from Metipw, Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. He joined the United States Army in 2004 and is currently stationed in Alaska. Sgt. Lucios has since acclimated to the cold weather and enjoys living in Alaska. More

Palau Vice President
Elias Camsek Chin

Palau Vice President Elias Camsek Chin

Vice President Elias Camsek Chin is a career military man with 23 years of distinguished service achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army before retiring. During his tour of duty, he was an Army officer serving in the Armor Corps and Aviation Corps, where he spent over 20 years as a U.S. Army combat aviator. Lieutenant Colonel Chin is rated in both fixed wing aircrafts and rotor wing (helicopter) aircrafts with over 3,000 flight hours. More

Maj. Gen. William McCoy, Commanding General US Army Maneuver Support and Ft. Leonard Wood presented one of the many awards that Command Sgt. maj. Ioakimo Falaniko and wife Maliana received during the retirement ceremony at Gammon Field, September 19, 2008. CSM Falaniko retires after 32 years of dedicated services to the US Army. CSM Falaniko is described by his commander as a master of his profession, passion of soldiers and embodied all the values and attributes of a soldiers creed.[Courtesy Photo]

Command Sgt. Maj. Ioakimo Falaniko retires after 32 years; Last 5 years dedicated to Son, Fallen in Operation Iraqi Freedom

Excerpted from SamoaNews.Com (By Major Laupola)

SamoaNews.com (September 26, 2008) – Thirty-two years of distinguished served in the United States Army was feted and celebrated when Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Ioakimo Falaniko, originally of American Samoa, retired on September 19, 2008. His service was recognized at a retirement/change of responsibility ceremony at Gammon Field, Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, in a ceremony presided by Major General William McCoy, Commanding General US Army Maneuver Support Center & Fort Leonard Wood. More PDF Format

New recruits from Pohnpei shown with family members and U.S. Ambassador to FSM

Twenty-nine Recruits from FSM Join the U.S. Army

Kolonia, Pohnpei (June 27, 2008) - On June 24 and 26, twenty-nine young Micronesians took their oath of enlistment in the U.S. Army during ceremonies at Oceanview Plaza in Pohnpei. All were sworn in by U.S. Army Captain Elizabeth Powers, Commander of the Military Entrance Processing Station in Honolulu. More

Local Samoan Boy Playing Key Role in Military Communications in Baghdad

Local boy U.S. Army Specialist Benjamin Taai of American Samoa is playing a key role in a complex system of military communications that includes information sharing for more than 12,000 soldiers, civilians, and foreign military forces as Multi-National Division Baghdad (MND-B) Webmaster. More

Sergeant Paul M. Murphy

Office of Insular Affairs (August 19, 2008): Sgt. Murphy, 26, from Saipan, served in the US Army for four years starting in 2003. He was at Fort Benning, GA and was with the 3rd Ranger Battalion. Serving in the US Armed Forces was Murphy's childhood dream and he cherishes the most the friendships he made while in the military.

OIA Intern Earns Commission into the United States Army

Washington D.C. (August 18, 2008): Former OIA Intern, Randy P. Mendoza of the CNMI, was recently commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. 2LT Mendoza also completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at George Mason University. OIA Staffer Randy Beffrey, a Reserve Army Officer, had the honor of administering the oath of office.

Mendoza was assisted by his sisters Raquel and Rhonda at his ROTC commissioning ceremony at George Mason University. Originally from Saipan, he is the son of Elizabeth & Alfredo Mendoza. His brother Ryan is currently serving in the Army in Iraq.

SGT. Cruz (standing), SPC. Quinata, SSG Barcinas and SPC Flores. Four Guam National Guardsmen pictured here in Afghanistan on a short break during construction work.

(August 2008): Sergeant Scott E. Cruz from Guam has deployed with the Guam National Guard to Afghanistan.
A group of about 180 Guam National Guardsmen have been deployed in Afghanistan since February 2008. They are the Alpha Company, 1-294th Infantry. Sgt. Cruz is married and has three children with his wife and an older son.

(May 2008): U.S. Army Sergeant Renster B. Joel, a human resources sergeant with 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR – Nightstalkers) in Fort Campbell, Kentucky was named NCO of the Year in a special competition held at Fort Campbell on May 8, 2008. He and a fellow Nightstalker will be representing the 160th SOAR in the 2008 U.S. Army Special Operations Command NCO and Soldier of the Year Competition at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Sergeant Joel hails from the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. More PDF Format


Forward Operations Base (FOB) Chapman, Afghanistan 2005 - Major Tim Ohno, U.S. Army Special Forces.
Name:	Eutemio (Tim) R. Ohno
Age:	45
Hometown:	Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
Rank:	Major (Retired), U.S. Army Special Forces
Assignment:	Assistant Professor of Military Science, Seattle University
Years in service:	1984-2005
Why did you join the U.S. Armed Forces?	For the challenge and opportunity.
What is your greatest experience being in the U.S. Armed Forces?	Traveling, making friends from all over the world, doing special missions.
Major (retired) Ohno intends to return to the FSM to continue encouraging the younger generation to always pursue their dreams and never stop learning. The future of all the islands and FSMers lie in the hands of the new generation. He says “we must always strive to set good examples and to show that even if you’re from a very small island, the limits of your accomplishments rest on your imagination and the effort you put in to make those dreams a reality.” Biography of Major (Retired) Tim Ohno

Specialist Stevick A. Edwin

USA and FSM flags Office of Insular Affairs (May 21, 2008): Specialist Edwin, 37, from Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, enlisted in the U.S. Army to help pay for college and to see the world. He was in the military from 1988-1992. Edwin attended basic training at Fort Jackson, SC and was stationed in Nuremberg, Germany and later in Utah. Mr. Edwin is an elected legislator in the Pohnpei State Legislature.