PMRF Range and Operations Center Named for Late Senator Daniel K. Inouye

The Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Range and Operations Center was officially named in honor of the late Senator from Hawaii, Daniel K. Inouye, during a naming ceremony held at PMRF on the 20th of July. The former building 105 on PMRF was officially named the “Daniel K. Inouye Range and Operations Center (DIROC)”.

The 33,522 square foot Range Operations Center was erected in 1963 and houses facilities for sustaining operations for the worlds largest instrumented multi-environment training and test range that encompasses 2.1 million square miles of sea, air and space and plays a vital role in ensuring current and future force readiness.

The event which was attended by family, friends and distinguished visitors from the civilian and military communities from all across Hawaii, included the Honorable Mazie Hirono, United States Senator, Mayor County of Kauai, the Honorable Bernard Carvalho, Rear Admiral John V. Fuller, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, wife of the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, Mrs. Irene Inouye, their son and daughter Ken and Jessica Inouye and many more.

The program featured comments from distinguished guests, a traditional Hawaiian christening ceremony and unveiling of the new name and logo.

In his speech to the group, Capt. Bruce W. Hay, Commanding Officer, PMRF commended the senator’s significant actions in removing PMRF from the Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure list and ensuring infrastructure improvement funding was allocated to help make PMRF the worlds premier test and training range and paving the way for a brighter future for the facility.
Hay also explained the significance of each part of the new DIROC logo which was chosen from a number of different design submissions. The winning logo was designed by Steve Rogers, a former employee of PMRF and depicts four horizontal color bands representing the four operational domains that the Daniel K. Inouye Range and Operations Center (DIROC) is capable of controlling simultaneously: subsurface, surface, air and space. The colors represent the natural tones of the Hawaiian sea, sky and space. Each band depicts a submarine, surface ship, airplane and space vehicle/missile representing the participants in each of these domains. A thin line trails each craft representing that the PMRF environment is not static, but dynamic and evokes the tracks displayed on the control screens during operations. The colors of yellow and black were the Senators favorite colors and the five white stars in the light blue field represent the Medal of Honor the Senator received for his heroism during World War II.

Mrs. Irene Inouye, wife of the late senator welcomed and expressed her gratitude for all in attendance, shared her joy in being back at PMRF and expressed her thanks for having the late senators name be part of the base.

To officially dedicate the building, Rear Admiral John Fuller, Captain Bruce Hay, Ms. Jennifer Goto-Sabas, Mr. Ken Inouye and Mrs. Irene Inouye drew the strings that unveiled the new signage and a new DIROC logo on the east wall of the building as Ms. Aletha Kaohi recited a Hawaiian christening prayer. After the unveiling of the new signage, guests joined hands and sang “Hawai’i Aloha” in unison.

The naming ceremony was followed by a tour of the DIROC and a social gathering at Shenanigans All Hands Club on PMRF.

About Daniel K. Inouye – Senator Daniel K. Inouye was a World War II veteran and Medal of Honor recipient who fought with the infamous 442nd Infantry regiment. He later served as a U.S. Senator from 1963-2012. His political career began with his election to the House of Representatives in 1959 followed by his election to the U.S. Senate. He was one of the longest
serving U.S. Senators in history and the first Japanese American to serve in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. He was later named President Pro Tempore. The late Senator Inouye had a profound influence on politics and was a strong supporter of Pacific Missile Range Facility which faced possible closure during the base realignment and closure era of the 1990’s. He was instrumental in ensuring that PMRF was removed from the list of potential closures and paved the way for the future of PMRF as the worlds premier test and training range.

Kekaha, HI (July 20, 2016) – The late Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s wife Irene Inouye talks with Daniel’s fellow Battalion mates of the 442nd regiment at his naming ceremony at Pacific Missile Range Facility on Wednesday July 20, 2016. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Omar Powell)