Pacific Vortex: The Koolau Range and more EDITED

View of Koʻolau Range from the top. Kaneohe is visible on the right side
pg 6

The Koolau Range rose on his left...

Koʻolau Range is a name given to the fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single mountain called Koʻolau Volcano (koʻolau means "windward" in Hawaiian, cognate of the toponym Tokelau).

What remains of Koʻolau is the western half of the original volcano that was destroyed in prehistoric times when the entire eastern half—including much of the summit caldera—slid cataclysmically into the Pacific Ocean. Remains of this ancient volcano lie as massive fragments strewn nearly 100 miles (160 km) over the ocean floor to the northeast of Oʻahu.

The modern Koʻolau mountain forms Oʻahu's windward coast and rises behind the leeward coast city of Honolulu — on its leeward slopes and valleys are located most of Honolulu's residential neighborhoods.

The volcano is thought to have first erupted on the ocean floor more than 2.5 million years ago. It eventually reached sea level and continued to grow in elevation until about 1.7 million years ago, when the volcano became dormant. The volcano remained dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, during which time erosion ate away at the initially smooth slopes of the shield-shaped mountain; and the entire mass subsided considerably. The highest elevation perhaps exceeded 3,000 metres (9,800 ft); today, the summit of the tallest peak, Puʻu Konahuanui is only 3,100 feet.

After hundreds of thousands of years of dormancy, Koʻolau volcano began to erupt again. Some thirty eruptions over the past 500,000 years or so have created many of the landmarks around eastern Oʻahu, such as Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Koko Head, Punchbowl Crater, Tantalus, and Āliapaʻakai. Geologists do not always agree on the dates of these more recent eruptions, some dating them to around 32,000 years ago, others to as recently as 10,000 years ago. Geologists believe that there is at least a remote possibility that Koʻolau volcano will erupt again.

There are three roads that tunnel through the southern part of the Koʻolau Range, connecting Honolulu to the Windward Coast. From south to north:

* Hawaii Route 61 (Pali Highway)
* Hawaii Route 63 (Likelike Highway)
* Interstate H-3

Alongside of them the neat, green pineapple fields...

The Hawaiian Pineapple Company, was founded in 1901 by James Dole, who opened his first pineapple plantation in the central plateau of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Sanford Dole, the cousin of James, had been president of the Republic of Hawaii from 1894 after the overthrow - by American businessmen - of the Kingdom of Hawaii (her last monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani), and first governor of the Territory of Hawaii until 1903. The annexation of Hawaii to the United States made selling agricultural products to the mainland much more profitable, since they would never be subject to import tariffs.

In 1932 Castle & Cooke purchased a 21% interest in the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. In the 1960s Castle & Cooke acquired the remainder of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company and the Standard Fruit Company and renamed the company "The Dole Food Company, Inc" in 1991.

a seaman in the Navy summer white uniform

Seaman is the third enlisted rank from the bottom in the U.S Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other navies and coast guards. For the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard the rank and pay just above that of a Seaman Apprentice and below those of a Petty Officer Third Class. This naval rank was formerly called the Seaman First Class.

The actual title for an E-3 in the U.S. Navy varies based on the subset of the Navy to which the sailor, seaman, submariner, aviator, hospitalman, nurse, etc., has been assigned. Likewise, the color of his/her group rate mark also depends on his section of the navy.

* Those in the general deck and administrative community are "seamen". They wear white stripes on their navy blue uniforms, and navy blue (black) stripes on their white uniforms.
* Hospital Corpsmen are now called "hospitalmen." They possess the only rating in this area of duty. They wear white stripes on their navy blue uniforms, and navy blue stripes on their white uniforms.
* Those in the ship's engineering and hull maintenance area are called "firemen", and they wear red stripes on both their navy blue and white uniforms.
* Those in the aviation area of the Navy are called "airmen", and they wear green stripes on both their navy blue and white uniforms.
* Seabees are called "constructionmen", and they wear light blue stripes on both their navy blue and white uniforms.

No such stripes are authorized to be worn on the working uniforms - NWUs (Navy Working Uniform) [a new uniform introduced in 2006], coveralls, utility wear, flight suits, hospital and clinic garb, diving suits, etc. However, sailors with the rank of E-3 are permitted to wear silver-anodized collar devices on their Navy Service Uniforms.

In October 2005, the dental technician rating was merged into the hospital corpsman rating, eliminating the "dentalman" title. Those who once held the rank of "dentalman" have instead become "hospitalmen".

Sailors who have completed the requirements to be assigned a rating and have been accepted by the Bureau of Naval Personnel as holding that rating (a process called "striking") are called Designated Strikers, and are called by their full rate and rating in formal communications (i.e., Machinist's Mate Fireman, as opposed to simply Fireman), though the rating is often left off in informal communications. Those who have not officially been assigned to a rating are officially referred to as "undesignated" or "non-rates." In order to advance to the rate of Petty Officer Third Class, a Seaman would have to submit a request every 6 months. However, advancement is not guaranteed because of the vast amounts of Seamen competing for a promotion.

As with the Navy, the actual title for a E-3 in the U.S. Coast Guard varies based on their community. However, the smaller size of the Coast Guard limits the E-3s to only three options: seaman (white stripes), fireman (red stripes), and airman (green stripes). The Coast Guard does not possess its own medical corps, dental corps, pharmacy corps, or legal corps, but rather, it either draws the necessary services and experts from the U.S. Navy, Air Force, or Army, or it contracts for services by civilians. Likewise, the U.S. Marine Corps does not possess its own trained experts in these areas, but rather, it generally uses the corps of experts from the U.S. Navy, or else from the other two American Armed Forces (whichever one is available in the region) that have own corps of experts: e.g. medical, dental, legal, or nursing.