Mr. Okahara serves as the principal advisor to the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet on all matters relating to the over 140,000 military (active duty and reserve), government civilian and contractor personnel employed throughout the Pacific Fleet’s area of responsibility. Mr. Okahara was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in November 2023.

Mr. Okahara served as an Air Force officer from 1990 to 2022 in Command and Staff assignments, reaching the rank of Brigadier General. As a career Space and Cyberspace Operations Officer, he held squadron, group and higher headquarter command, culminating as Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard. His last staff assignment was as Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Space Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.

Simultaneous to his Air Force Reserve and National Guard career, Mr. Okahara spent 14 years in various executive Human Resources positions in the corporate sector, followed by 12 years as a federal civilian Field Office Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development overseeing Hawaii, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.

Mr. Okahara earned a Bachelor of Science in Math and Physics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Masters of Arts in Human Resource Management from Webster University. He is a graduate of NORTHCOM Dual Status and Joint Task Force Commanders Courses, Syracuse University’s National Security Studies Management Course, and University of North Carolina’s Enterprise Leadership Course. He also completed the Senior Executive Orientation Course at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

His key military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
 

Last Updated: 1 August 2024