Hawaiians live longer

What Hawaiians Can Teach The Rest of America About Living Better

Posted: 08/04/2013 9:34 am EDT  |  Updated: 08/06/2013 5:09 pm EDT

Hawaii’s tropical island paradise isn’t the fountain of youth, but it’s close. Hawaiians not only live longer -- they’re less stressed and happier than residents of any other state.

Just how much longer are Hawaiians living? A 65-year-old in Hawaii will live another 16.2 years on average, as compared to another 10.6 years in Mississippi, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And in addition to living longer lives, Hawaiians are getting happier as time goes on. For the past four years, Hawaii has taken the top spot in Gallup-Healthways' statewide well-being poll.

So what are the Aloha State’s secrets to happiness and longevity?

Hawaiian Time

The slowed-down, low-stress island lifestyle gives Hawaiians a major health advantage. Less than one-third of Hawaiian residents say they're stressed out on any given day, making them the least-stressed state population in the country.

What does that slowed-down life look like? “It's what we call 'Hawaiian time and Hawaiian style,'" Rochelle Ballard, a Kauai surfer and founder of Surf Into Yoga retreats, tells the Huffington Post. "It's just enjoying time with friends and family stopping by, and taking that time to laugh and tell a story, even if you have a busy day. I think the reason we have that healthier, longer life in the islands is because of that laid-back lifestyle."

Sunshine and Fresh Air

Hawaii has pristine beaches, lush tropical greenery, and average temperatures in the 70s in Honolulu, so Hawaiians soak up plenty of sun -– and health benefits –- by spending so much of their lives outside.

"You get vitamin D from the sun when you're out, and it's easier to be physically active here -- you're not dealing with two feet of snow for a good chunk of the year," says Dr. Bradley Willcox, a longevity expert and professor in the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii.

Fresh Food and Exercise

"People tend to eat better here and exercise more,” says Willcox. More than 60 percentof Hawaiians exercise – second only to Alaska. And the Hawaiian diet, which is heavy on fresh fish, legumes, vegetables and fruits, also helps protect the body against diseases. "In Hawaii, you tend to have an east-west blend of eating habits," says Willcox, who adds that the Hawaiian diet has many of the benefits of the Japanese diet, in addition to being lower in salt.

Looking on the Bright Side

The optimism that is central to the Aloha spirit has proven health benefits. Hawaiians are optimistic that their cities are getting better, according to Gallup data.

A growing body of research is linking happiness with good health and longevity. People with a positive life outlook may enjoy better sleep quality, and Harvard researchers have found that happiness may boost immune system functioning and decrease the risk of heart disease.

Exemplary Health Care

Not all states are created equal when it comes to health and happiness, and Hawaii sets a high bar for the rest of the country. Hawaii's exemplary health care system mandates that employers provide care for any employees who work more than 20 hours a week. As a result, says Willcox, “people get good health care here.”

Strong Communities

Hawaiians are particularly good at prioritizing spending time with family and friends –- activities that affect stress levels, well-being and longevity. The community spirit has a way of rubbing off on individuals, creating a uniquely Hawaiian perspective on life. “You see more stress-resistant personalities,” says Willcox. "Every weekend, everyone's out on the beach for a cookout with family members all around.”

Like people in any state, Hawaiians have to deal with the reality of work and financial obligations. But the true secret to the Hawaiian lifestyle may be something that can’t be measured in any poll or study: perspective. Hawaiians are experts at living lives that are more about personal relationships and rich experiences and “less about money,” according to Ballard: "Even though people have to work, they make more time for things that have value to them -- that's family time. Whatever island you live on, it's a joyful experience to live the Hawaiian lifestyle."

A-10 Aircraft save the day in Bagram

Bagram pilots save 60 Soldiers during convoy ambush
                                                                     
Posted 8/6/2013   Updated 8/6/2013 

by Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade
455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Public Affairs

8/6/2013 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Two A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots assigned to the 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, provided close-air support to 60 U.S. Soldiers July 24.

The Soldiers were part of a routine clearance patrol that was ambushed after their lead vehicle in a convoy of 12 turned over during a patrol of an Afghanistan highway. The situation forced the Soldiers to establish an overnight base while they pulled the vehicle out of a ravine. As the sun rose, the unit began to receive heavy fire from a nearby tree line. The members were pinned behind their vehicles and three of the Soldiers suffered injuries. The unit was under fire and the wounded members needed a casualty evacuation so they called for close-air support.

However, there was one problem; the ground unit didn't have a way to confirm the enemy's position. The unit did have a joint fire observer who was able to communicate an estimated location to the A-10 pilots who arrived on scene shortly after receiving the call from a local base's joint terminal air controller responsible for coordinating aerial engagements.

"I flew over to provide a show of force while my wingman was looking for gunfire below," said the flight lead of the two-ship A-10 mission. "Our goal with the show of force was to break the contact and let the enemy know we were there, but they didn't stop. I think that day the enemy knew they were going to die, so they pushed even harder and began moving closer to our ground forces."

When the enemy combatants didn't flee after the show of force, the A-10 pilots decided to deliver air-to-surface munitions to protect the friendly ground forces.

"Even with all our (top-of-the-line) tools today, we still rely on visual references," said the lead pilot, who is on his first deployment from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. "Once we received general location of the enemy's position, I rolled in as lead aircraft and fired two rockets to mark the area with smoke. Then my wingman rolled in to shoot the enemy with his 30 millimeter rounds."

According to the pilots, that really stirred up the attacking force. The enemy moved even closer to the friendlies in an attempt to prevent the A-10 from attacking again. The ground forces were now taking on a large amount of fire from the trees and surrounding high terrain.

"We just kept putting down more 30 mm rounds," said the second A-10 pilot, also deployed from Moody AFB. "The bad guys were closing in and according to the muzzle flashes there were a lot of them, but because people were shooting all over the place, the JTAC didn't feel safe bringing in helicopters in to evacuate the wounded personnel."

The pilots said usually after the first or second pass, the enemy runs away, but this enemy force was large and willing to fight. The pilots continued to fire 30 mm rounds, but the enemy force refused to fall back. Now, the enemy force was close enough to engage the unit with grenades, so the convoy's commander approved the pilots to engage "danger-close." The term is meant to clearly communicate to the ground and air forces that the need for support is so grave the ground commander is willing to accept the potential risk to the friendly unit for the life-saving employment from the air.

"We train for this, but shooting danger-close is uncomfortable, because now the friendlies are at risk," the second A-10 pilot said. "We came in for a low-angle strafe, 75 feet above the enemy's position and used the 30-mm gun -- 50 meters parallel to ground forces -- ensuring our fire was accurate so we didn't hurt the friendlies.

The engagement lasted two hours that day, and in that time, the A-10s completed 15 gun passes, fired nearly all their 2,300, 30-mm rounds, and dropped three 500-pound bombs on the enemy force.

"That last gun runs must have made them give up," the two pilots agreed "because the firing stopped."

Shortly after the engagement was complete, an MC-12 aircraft specializing in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance arrived and began scanning the area for enemy forces that might be regrouping. Sometimes when close-air support leaves, enemy forces will attack again, so the A-10s remained on-station until all the Soldiers were safe.

"We wanted to make sure the area was safe because we had the pararescuemen from the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron coming to transport the injured to Bagram's hospital," said the second pilot. "The flight doctor assigned to our squadron treated the wounded in the emergency room. It was an example of a successful mission with contributions from all assets of our base."

After the pilots landed and debriefed, they went to the hospital to see the wounded Soldier.

"He was laying there and next to him was a picture of his high-school girlfriend," the lead pilot said. "We were glad knowing we helped get him home alive. He said, 'Thank you for shooting those bad guys'. Luckily we were only a few minutes away and all the friendlies made it out that day."

Providing close-air support is the squadron's main mission here, and is the specialty of the aircraft they fly, the A-10 Thunderbolt II nicknamed the "Warthog."

"This was one of the most intense sorties our squadron has come into contact with in the last four months in theater," the lead pilot said. "Afterward the Afghan National Army said they found 18 enemy dead, so I can only imagine how many were out there. This was close-air support and this is what we train for."

Cagayan de Oro City- Charges filed

Charges filed vs CDO blast suspects

By Froilan Gallardo on August 8 2013 8:43 am

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/08 August) – Police filed multiple and multiple murder charges on Wednesday against six suspects in the July 26 bombing in Cagayan de Oro City that killed eight people and wounded 46 others.
In their complaint, however, police named only one suspect, Usman Hapids alias Mam-man, while the five others which included a female were identified as John Does and Jane Doe.
The suspects are alleged members of Khilafa Islamiyah Mindanao, an obscure group linked to the al-Qaeda.
The filing of the case before the City Prosecutor’s Office was done hours before the Senate committee on public order chaired by Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares held a public hearing on the bombing.
The blast hit Kyla’s Bistro at the Limketkai Rosario Arcade. Many of the victims were physicians and medical representatives who attended the midyear convention of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians.
Senior Inspector Pepito Ilagan Reyes of the Cagayan de Oro police criminal investigation office who filed the complaint said the suspects were identified by at least five witnesses from the Philippine National Police (PNP) rogues photo gallery of alleged terrorists.
“Respondent Usman Hapids was positively identified as the one who left the bag on top of the chair where he was seated,” Reyes said in the two-page complaint.
City Prosecutor Fidel Macauyag said the police submitted an affidavit by witnesses that the six suspects went to the Limketkai Rosario Arcade around 5 p.m. on July 26 and ordered dinner at Gloria Maris Restaurant.
“The suspects including Hapids sat together. They had dinner together. Later on they separated. Hapid and one of the suspects were on one table talking while the four others were seated on another table,” Macauyag narrated the contents of the affidavits submitted by the police.
He said the affidavit also said that the suspects left together and was not seen by the witnesses until 11 p.m. when Hapids returned alone, ordered beer at Kyla’s Bistro and left, leaving a powerful bomb fashioned from an 81mm mortar.
An Army officer said the Khilafa Islamiyah Mindanao is a small terror group based in Southwestern Mindanao and was previously unknown until it came under the scrutiny of the PNP.
“Their members are few. Less than 20 in number but they are the result of the merger of the most hardcore members of Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters,” the army officer who is an expert in counter-terrorism said.
Philippine Independent Church Bishop Felixberto Calang, however, threw caution on the police allegation.
Calang said in 2003, police and the military also blamed terrorists as responsible for the series of bombings in Davao City and the rest of Mindanao.
“It turned out that the bombings were perpetuated by government agents themselves. It was part of a plot to perpetuate former President Gloria Arroyo,” the bishop said.
Macauyag said police did not provide a postal address of Hapids making it difficult for his office to deliver a subpoena that would require the suspect to answer the police allegations.
“What Hapids can do is to ask a reinvestigation when he gets to be arrested by the police. That is his right,” he said.
The prosecutor said that aside from the sworn statements of witnesses the police presented as evidence a machine-validated official receipt from the Gloria Maris Restaurant and the results of the post-blast investigation.
“Based on the evidence presented by the police, there is probable cause to indict them,” Macauyag said.
He said he had organized a special panel of prosecutors to handle this case and have scheduled a hearing with the witnesses on August 20.
He said warrants of arrests might be issued by the court before the Cagayan de Oro fiesta on August 28. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)