Department of Defense

Major General Arthur U. Ishimoto serves as the State Adjutant General. In his position, he is Director of the Hawaii Department of Defense and a member of the Governor’s cabinet, Commander of the Hawaii Army and Air National Guard, and Director of Civil Defense. 

General Ishimoto was appointed to his post by the Governor, effective 1 February 1982. He was federally recognized as major general on 18 June 1982. 

General Ishimoto began his military career in January 1944 when he volunteered and enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to Military Intelligence School in Camp Savage, Minnesota. In May 1945, he participated in the Philip- pines Campaign while attached to the Allied Interrogation and Translation Section, G-2, in General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters. 

In May 1948, he joined the 442nd Army Reserve and received a direct commission as a second lieutenant. In June 1948, he served a short tour of active duty as Company Executive Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Schofield Barracks. He returned to the 442nd Infantry Reserve and served as platoon leader. 

In April 1949, he transferred to the three-year old Hawaii Air National Guard and was assigned to the 199th Air Service Group as an Adjutant. In 1950, he was assigned to the newly activated 109th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron serving initially as the Adjutant and subsequently as Communications Officer. In 1955 he was assigned to Headquarters, Hawaii Air National Guard, as Electronics Officer. In 1956, he worked for the 7th Air Force as project engineer for engineering and installation of heavy ground radar and air/ground radio equipment. Subsequently, he served as the detachment commander of the GCI station–the first Air National Guard unit to be assigned a full time air defense mission operating 24 hours a day, seven days per week. 

In February 1959, he again was selected as project engineer to design the permanent Hawaiian Air Defense System to include engineering and installing two ground controlled intercept stations which consisted of heavy ground radar, air/ground radios, point-to-point radio system, and intra-site telephone system. In July 1965, he served as Director of Communications -Electronics. 

In January 1968, he was appointed as Director of Logistics. In August 1974, he served as Acting Chief of Staff and in April 1976 he was appointed as Assistant Adjutant General (Air) and Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard. He was federally recognized as brigadier general on 4 February 1977. 

Under his command, units of the Hawaii Air National Guard have been cited for outstanding performance on several occasions. The largest unit, the 154th Composite Group, received a U.S. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award in 1979. The 154th Composite Group, which has the responsibility for providing Hawaii’s total air defense network, has also participated in deployments and exercises on Guam, the Philippines, and Japan. The 1980 Japan exercise, entitled Cope North, involved Japanese military aircraft, and was the first time a Hawaii reserve unit had trained and flown with a foreign air force on that air force’s territory. 

General Ishimoto’s awards and decorations include: the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, Philippine Independence Ribbon, Hawaii National Guard Medal for Merit, Hawaii National Guard Service Medal, and U.S. Department of Defense Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Nation’s Defense. 

His schooling includes: Military Intelligence School, 1944; National Radio School (Electronics), 1951; Communications Officers Course, 1953; Communications-Electronics Staff Officers Course, 1954; Reserve Officers Orientation Course AC&SC, 1968; Institute of Aerospace Safety and Management, University of Southern California, 1969; and Air War College, 1975. 

General Ishimoto was born in Honolulu on 30 March 1923. He and his wife, Mitsue, reside in Honolulu.  General Ishimoto retired on 30 March 1983.