The U.S. Army will elevate the rank of the branch’s Pacific commander to a four-star general status, which Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said this morning had been a priority for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye.

In thanking Army Secretary John McHugh at a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, Hanabusa said it was important to Inouye to have the Pacific commander have the same rank as those commanding allied armies. “It was something of respect for the senator,” said Hanabusa, who is a member of the committee.

McHugh said, “We deeply mourn and miss the good senator…If this elevation honors him, that’s cherry on the cake.”

— Kery Murakami