624th RSG celebrates opening of new building

Kahu Kordell Kedoa, a pastor from Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, blesses a maile lei as part of a Hawaiian blessing ceremony commemorating the opening of a new building for the 624th Regional Support Group December 7, 2008 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The building represents the first structure build specifically for the 624th RSG on the base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)

624th RSG celebrates opening of new building

Kahu Kordell Kedoa, a pastor from Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, directs Senior Master Sgts. Ricarte Tadeo, Corina Seitz and Bob Prather, 624th Regional Support Group, to untie a maile lei as part of a Hawaiian blessing ceremony commemorating the opening of a new building for the 624th Regional Support Group December 7, 2008 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The building represents the first structure build specifically for the 624th RSG on the base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin

624th RSG opens new building with Hawaiian ceremony

Published Dec. 9, 2008
By Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin
624th Regional Support Group Public Affairs

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- More than 60 members of 624th Regional Support Group celebrated the opening of a new facility in a ceremony December 7 at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

The new building 4100 is the first building specifically built for the 624th RSG and will house the 624th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, the 624th Directorate of Personnel Management and other members of the 624th RSG staff.

Kahu Kordell Kekoa, a pastor at Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, performed a traditional Hawaiian blessing over the new facility.

Using the symbolic tools of water, a branch from a ti plant, and Hawaiian sea salt from the island of Kauai, Kekoa blessed the four corners and the doorways of the new building.

"In the Hawaiian way of thinking, everything has a spirit, including buildings, C-17s, and F-22s," Kekoa said. "We want to make sure the place is spiritually cleaned out and ready to do business."

For Master Sgt. Josephine Taitague, 624th DPM, ready to do business in the new building means a bigger and more productive workspace.

"It's very homey," said Sergeant Taitague said of her new office. Her old office barely allowed her room for two people and no testing facility, she said. Now Sergeant Taitague has a space that allows her to offer consultations in a comfortable setting or test several people at once.

For Major Tina Smith, 624th DPM, the building not only symbolizes an expansion of office space, but also an expansion of the 624th RSG.

"Having a building on base serves as a symbol of our presence on base to all who pass it," she said. "It lets us fit our surroundings, and it's a start to building up the organization."