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Major General Vern T. Miyagi

January 21, 2025
Categories: 
HING History, People
  • Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi
  • Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi
  • Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi, Headquarters, State Area Command, won first place in the expert class at the 1992 Hawaii Pacific Regional High Power Rifle Championship, Feb. 22-23.
  • Maj. Vern T. Miyagi
  • HOW WE DO BUSINESS — Maj. Gen. Vern T. Miyagi, mobilization assistant to the commander, U.S. Pacific Command, makes a point during a briefing to Republic of Korea officials visiting State Civil Defense
  • Practice, preparation for worst case scenario Col. Vern T. Miyagi observes the proceedings from the command post of the weapons of mass destruction chemical field exercise held at Aloha Stadium in May. The exercise was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Soldier Biological Command and Oahu Civil Defense. Sgt. 1st Class Stephen M. Lum photo

Maj. Gen. Vern T. Miyagi assumed duties as the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command in February 2006. As the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Miyagi is the principle advisor to the Commander regarding reserve component readiness and operations and facilitates Homeland Security activities between state, National Guard, active military and Federal agencies.

Miyagi is a 1971 distinguished military graduate of the University of Hawaii ROTC program. During the Hurricane lniki relief operations on Kauai in 1992, Miyagi served as the operations officer for the deployed Hawaii Army National Guard Joint Task Force. In 2000, he served as Hawaii Army National Guard Joint Task Force commander for the Asian Development Bank civil disturbance contingency operation. More recently, the General’s primary focus was on the deployment of Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers in support of Operations Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Iraqi Freedom. From 2003 to 2006, Miyagi also served in a dual hat position as the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Operations, U.S. Pacific Command.

EDUCATION

  • 1971 University of Hawaii – BBA Degree – Accounting
  • 1972 University of Hawaii – MBA Degree – Accounting
  • 1986 U. S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College
  • 1996 Army War College Fellowship – Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, University of Pittsburgh

ASSIGNMENTS

  1. January 71 – August 72, U.S. Army Reserve Control Group
  2. August 72 – January 73, Student, U. S. Army Armor School, Ft. Knox, Ky.
  3. January 73 – August 73, U.S. Army Reserve Control Group
  4. August 73 – December 74, Administrative Officer, 322d Civil Affairs Group, Honolulu, Hawaii
  5. December 74 – July 77, Redeye Platoon Leader, 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry, Honolulu, Hawaii
  6. July 77 – January 79, Battalion Communications-Electronics Officer, 100th Battalion, 442d Infantry, Honolulu, Hawaii
  7. January 79 – August 81 , U. S. Army Reserve Control Group
  8. August 81 – October 82, Assistant Comptroller, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  9. October 82 – August 85, Comptroller, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  10. August 85 – June 86, Student, U. S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va.
  11. June 86 – October 92, Comptroller, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  12. October 92 – November 94, Chief Plans Officer, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  13. November 94 – July 95, Commander, 2d Battalion, 299th Infantry, Hilo, Hawaii
  14. July 95 – August 96, Student, U.S. Army War College Fellowship, Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.
  15. August 96 – November 97, Chief Plans Officer, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  16. November 97 – June 99, G2, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  17. June 99 – February 00, G3, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  18. February 00 – May 03, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  19. May 03 – January 06, Assistant Adjutant General/Commander – Army, Headquarters, State Area Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, Honolulu, Hawaii
  20. June 03 – January 06, Dual Hat Position, Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Operations, Headquarters, U. S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Honolulu, Hawaii
  21. February 06 – Present, Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • Legion of Merit
  • Meritorious Service Medal (with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters)
  • Army Commendation Medal
  • Army Achievement Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
  • Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)
  • National Defense Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Service Star)
  • Humanitarian Service Meda
  • Armed Forces Service Medal (with Silver Hourglass Device)
  • Army Service Ribbon
  • Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon
  • Air Assault Badge
  • U. S. Army Excellence in Competition Badge Service Rifle – Bronze

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

General Miyagi is the author of two articles:

January 1987 “7.62mm Versus 5.56 – Does NATO Really Need Two Standard Rifle Calibers?”, Marine Corps Gazette

June 1996 “The Nation Guard in Disaster Relief Operations – Hurricane lniki -A Case Study”, Ridgway Viewpoints

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTIONS

  • 2nd Lieutenant USAR 6 January 71
  • 1st Lieutenant USAR 5 January 74
  • Captain USAR 4 January 78
  • Major ARNG 6 May 83
  • Lieutenant Colonel ARNG 20 June 87
  • Colonel ARNG 26 March 97
  • Brigadier General ARNG 1 April 03
  • Major General ARNG 22 June 06

Last updated October 2007

Maj. Vern T. Miyagi
Maj. Vern T. Miyagi
Command changes for four major units page 6
Command changes for four major units page 6
(Pictures from the 1986 July – September Pūpūkahi)

Maj. Vern T. Miyagi, HQ STARC (Det. I), Hawaii Army National Guard (HARNG), financial manager in the comptroller section at USPFO, returned after graduating from the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College in June.

Maj. Miyagi is the first HARNG individual to graduate from the Marine College. The 10-month resident course in Virginia is academically comparable to the command and general staff colleges of the Army.

Miyagi also won second place in the ’86 Colonel Bevan G. Cass Award. He received a plaque and $400 for his paper comparing the relative merits of small arms ammunition. The plaque and cash awards are given annually to the students of the college who write the best papers on a professional subject.

– 1986 July – September Pūpūkahi pp. 10
Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi
Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi
(Picture from the 1994 September – October Pūpūkahi)

Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi took charge of the Big Island of Hawaii’s 2nd Battalion. 299th Infantry, from Lt. Col. Wayne T. Nishijima, at ceremoniesheldat Wheeler Army Airfield flightline, Nov. 6.

Miyagi serves full-time as the Hawaii Army Guard’sPlans, Operations, and Military Support Officer (POMSO-G3). Nishijima, commander of the battalion since Aug. 1991, works as plant pathologist at the University of Hawaii’s Hilo campus.

– 1994 September – October Pūpūkahi pp. 6

Miyagi Attends U.S. Army War College

Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi
Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi
(Pictures from the 1995 July – September Pūpūkahi)

Lt. Col. Vern T. Miyagi, who took command of the 2nd Battalion last November, left the battalion to complete war college in a one-year U.S. Army Fellowship Program at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the first Hawaii Army Guard officer to be selected for this fellowship.

The lieutenant colonel was the only Guard officer in his U.S. Marine Command and General Staff College class in 1986.

Miyagi earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1971 and 1972. The distinguished military graduate of the 1971 Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program also earned his Certified Public Accountant certificate in 1974. He joined the Hawaii Guard in 1981, after a tour of duty with the U.S. Army Reserve’s 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, and a two-year break in service.

Joining the colonel at the university is his wife, Gail, who will be working toward a master’s degree in education. She is taking leave from her elementary teaching duties at Hawaii Baptist Academy.

Staying back in Hawaii to continue school are daughter, Lorien, 19, a sophomore at UH, and son, Brent, 15, a sophomore at Hawaii Baptist.

– 1995 July – September Pūpūkahi pp. 10