Stories

Joint Task Force – Red Hill Airmen’s Enduring Commitment to Service
September 18, 2023 — Today, as the Air Force celebrates its 76th birthday, the 78 Airmen with Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) honor the valor and sacrifice of the Airmen who came before them. For 70 of those 78, who are members of the Hawaii Air National Guard (HIANG), the mission to defuel and close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RFBFSF) has personal significance... MORE

Joint Task Force Red-Hill (JTF-RH) Planning Directorate Action Officer, U.S. Air National Guard Major Jeremy Wong, JTF-RH Access Control Point, U.S. Air National Guard Airman First Class Kaeden Kairua, and JTF-RH Air Force Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Steven J. Kau stand outside of JTF-RH Headquarters on Ford Island, Hawaii, Aug. 15, 2023. JTF-RH is in phase four of its five-phase defueling plan. The primary focus of phase four is achieving final coordination between the Hawaii Department of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Defense before beginning gravity defueling. (DoD photo by U.S. Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Brown)

A Soldier’s Experience with Motherhood
May 11, 2023 — The second Sunday of May is dedicated to honoring mothers who have given birth, raised, and made numerous sacrifices for their children. For mothers in uniform like Col. Dominique Cummings, Training Director at Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH), she’s no stranger to the sacrifices made by mothers when they deploy... MORE

Col. Dominique Cummings (3rd from left) and her family. (Photo courtesy of the Cummings family)

JTF-RH’s 'Embedded Historian' has a part in creating history
May 8, 2023 — Legacy has a funny way of cementing itself, while history has a knack of repeating. A historian by trade, legislative affairs chief by demand and a mediator by nature, Rana Lynn Kennedy understands this statement all too well. The Kaua’i native finds herself in the midst of a challenging past and the hope for a promising future for everyone living on O’ahu... MORE

Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) Chief of Legislative Affairs, Rana Lynn Kennedy, poses for a photo at JTF-RH Headquarters on Ford Island, Hawaii, May 3, 2023. JTF-RH is in phase three of its five-phase defueling plan. Personnel are focused on completing repairs, quality control tasks, training, response preparation, the National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment, regulatory approvals and operational planning for all major milestones. This extensive preparatory work will help ensure the safe and expeditious defueling of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Mackintosh)

Joint Task Force-Red Hill Holds Patching Ceremony
May 2, 2023 — The Secretary of Defense established the task force on September 30, 2022 to ensure the safe and expeditious defueling of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility... MORE

A U.S. Army Soldier assigned Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) attaches a unit patch to her uniform at a patching ceremony at task force headquarters on Ford Island, Hawaii, April 28, 2023.

Joint Task Force-Red Hill Recognizes the Month of the Military Child
April 27, 2023 — FORD ISLAND, HAWAII - Military children are often compared to the dandelion because it can put down roots almost anywhere and it’s almost impossible to destroy. A poem by an unknown author describes military children as being “able to bloom everywhere the winds carry them.”... MORE

Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) Operations Officer, Capt. Jakada Haymon, prepares a conference room for a senior leader meeting on Ford Island, Hawaii April 13, 2023.

Hawaii Airman’s Childhood Experiences Drives Environmental Mission
April 22, 2023 — U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Greg Otake had always respected the environment and its connection with the human condition. Growing up in Hilo, Hawaii, helped galvanize that view... MORE

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Greg Otake, a bioenvironmental engineering specialist assigned to Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH), reviews Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility repair contracts, March 28, 2023, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

Joint Task Force-Red Hill Soldier in the Spotlight
March 31, 2023 — Red Hill (JTF-RH) Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS), U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jillian Bourque, has 16 years of military service and numerous notable achievements. Outside of serving in the Army and joint force at the tactical and strategic level, Bourque was a four-year collegiate basketball player and a graduate from the United States Military Academy. She balances her duties as an army officer and a dual-military spouse while being a mother of two small children. She attributes her achievements to having a tremendous support system at home, and having great role models to look up to throughout her career... MORE

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jill Bourque, Deputy Chief of Staff of Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH), poses in front of the JTF-RH Headquarters on Ford Island, Hawaii March 21, 2023. JTF-RH is in phase three of its five-phase defueling plan. Personnel are focused on completing repairs, quality control tasks, training, response preparation, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment (EA), regulatory approvals and operational planning for such things as dewatering, repacking, and defueling. This extensive preparatory work will help ensure the safe and expeditious defueling of the RHBFSF. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Allayah Klein)

Joint Task Force-Red Hill feature of the week
March 17, 2023 — U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Raposa, a Damage Controlman (DC) and native of Taunton, MA, is assigned to Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) as a military escort for civilian contractors working at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF). This facility, built more than 80 years ago, is under 100-feet of volcanic rock with 20 vertical fuel tanks, 14 of which are filled with 104 million gallons of fuel. As a military escort, Raposa provides over-watch for the daily maintenance and repairs inside the historic facility. ... MORE

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Raposa, a Damage Controlman currently assigned to Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH), poses for a photo at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF), Halawa, Hawaii, Mar. 3, 2023. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sarah Stegall)

Joint Task Force-Red Hill celebrates Engineer Week, recognizes important role engineers play in executing mission
February 24, 2023 — In recognition of Engineer roles in defueling the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF), Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH), the recently established military organization tasked with defueling, joined the engineering community and its cohorts in celebrating National Engineers Week, Feb. 19 to 25. Celebrated every year since being initiated by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 1951, the week of recognition is held to highlight the important role Engineers play in society... MORE

U.S. Army Maj. Stephen Buck, an engineering officer assigned to Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) reviews his notes inside the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF) at Halawa, Hawaii, Feb. 22, 2023. Buck is one of approximately 60 engineers working to defuel the RHBFSF. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Orlando Corpuz)

JTF-Red Hill Hosts Tabletop Communication Exercise
February 24, 2023 — Joint Task Force Red Hill (JTF-RH) held a planning meeting, Feb. 9, in advance of a spill response exercise scheduled later this year here. Officials held the meeting to work out final details of an exercise to test and enhance first responder effectiveness. ... MORE

U.S. Navy Capt. Michael O’Beirne, Joint Task Force Red-Hill response directorate, briefs members during a spill response planning exercise brief at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Feb. 9, 2023. The exercise is designed to enhance first responder effectiveness and will involve approximately 200 people. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sarah Stegall)