A typical day in the U.S. Army Reserve starts and ends within the broad geographic footprint of the “Pride of the Pacific,” with the sun rising in Saipan and setting in American Samoa.

The 9th Mission Support Command is the only Army Reserve command assigned directly to an Army Service Combatant Command, U.S. Army-Pacific.

As 2014 began, the 9th MSC senior leadership gathered to map out a campaign strategy plan for the organization’s long-term objectives; leaders leveraged the power of corporate intellect to design the way ahead for the organization and its subordinate commands.

For the third year, the 9th MSC partnered with the NFL during Pro Bowl Week. Soldiers joined students to plant trees at a local elementary school. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton showed up to help beautify the campus and share in the camaraderie of community work.

In February, Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander, USARPAC, was the guest speaker for the 9th MSC’s annual Pacific Army Reserve Banquet. At the banquet, the 9th honored World War II veteran Ronald Oba from the 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The month concluded with a combined Reserve/Guard Best Warrior Competition at Bellows Air Force Station to minimize redundancies and use good fiscal stewardship of limited resources, enabling a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the two components.

In March, Hilton invited 9th MSC leaders to an Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve Statement of Support signing at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as part Operation: Opportunity, Hilton’s worldwide plan to hire 10,000 veterans and members of the military reserves.

For the past seven years in April, 9th MSC volunteers have cleaned up one of the dirtiest streams on Oahu during the “Mauka to Makai” annual stream clean up. Volunteers pulled shopping carts, bicycles and even television sets from a local stream, helping to preserve the spirit of aloha.

The highlight of May was a first-ever Asian-Pacific Heritage Month Observance at the Army Reserve Center on Guam. Melissa Benavente Savares, mayor of Dededo, Guam, was the guest speaker.

In June, the latest batch of General Staff Officer Course graduates completed their class at the 4960th Multifunctional Training Brigade. The class included Pacific Region and mainland Reserve, Guard and active duty Soldiers.

The 9th Mission Support Command is the only Army Reserve command assigned directly to an Army Service Combatant Command, U.S. Army-Pacific.

As 2014 began, the 9th MSC senior leadership gathered to map out a campaign strategy plan for the organization’s long-term objectives; leaders leveraged the power of corporate intellect to design the way ahead for the organization and its subordinate commands.

For the third year, the 9th MSC partnered with the NFL during Pro Bowl Week. Soldiers joined students to plant trees at a local elementary school. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton showed up to help beautify the campus and share in the camaraderie of community work.

In February, Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander, USARPAC, was the guest speaker for the 9th MSC’s annual Pacific Army Reserve Banquet. At the banquet, the 9th honored World War II veteran Ronald Oba from the 100th Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The month concluded with a combined Reserve/Guard Best Warrior Competition at Bellows Air Force Station to minimize redundancies and use good fiscal stewardship of limited resources, enabling a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the two components.

In March, Hilton invited 9th MSC leaders to an Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve Statement of Support signing at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as part Operation: Opportunity, Hilton’s worldwide plan to hire 10,000 veterans and members of the military reserves.

For the past seven years in April, 9th MSC volunteers have cleaned up one of the dirtiest streams on Oahu during the “Mauka to Makai” annual stream clean up. Volunteers pulled shopping carts, bicycles and even television sets from a local stream, helping to preserve the spirit of aloha.

The highlight of May was a first-ever Asian-Pacific Heritage Month Observance at the Army Reserve Center on Guam. Melissa Benavente Savares, mayor of Dededo, Guam, was the guest speaker.

In June, the latest batch of General Staff Officer Course graduates completed their class at the 4960th Multifunctional Training Brigade. The class included Pacific Region and mainland Reserve, Guard and active duty Soldiers.

July began with a very proud moment as surviving World War II veterans from the 100th Bn., 442nd Inf. Regt., the Legion of Honor, the highest decoration in France, were awarded for their noble service by a French admiral during RIMPAC.

Also in July, a British Army officer and noncommissioned officer spent two weeks at the 9th MSC and the 303rd Maneuver Enhancement Bde, respectively, as part of the Military Reserve Exchange Program. The two Reserve Soldiers who hosted them later went to Britain for two weeks.

In August, a team of medical professionals from the 1984th U.S. Army Hospital traveled to Samoa to support the Small Island Development States conference, and they taught 125 local Red Cross volunteers the Army’s Medical First Responder’s Course.

While the medical team was in Samoa, Soldiers from the 100th Bn., 422nd Inf. Regt. spent 38 days at East Range, Schofield Barracks from Aug. 4 to Sept. 7. Soldiers came in from Guam, Saipan and American Samoa to train in this austere jungle environment.

Every year in September, 9th MSC Soldiers travel to Malaysia to train with their Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) counterparts.

The 9th MSC has been involved in Keris Strike since 1994. One of the participants this year, Lt. Col. John McGowan, first trained with MAF at Keris Strike in 1995 as a young captain.

Read more at Hawaii Army Weekly