SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii--On the last leg of his visit to the Pacific area of operations, Secretary of the Army John McHugh visited the MA,,A kua Military Reservation, 25th Infantry Division and Schofield Barracks here May 6. After stops in Alaska, South Korea and Japan, McHugh visited U.S. Army, Pacific for the first time since being appointed as the 21st Secretary of the Army in September.

Following a morning tour of various facilities, McHugh, a former congressman, held a press conference where he voiced support for transitioning Makua to counter-roadside bomb training, unmanned aircraft operations and convoy exercises, referring to plans announced in January by USARPAC Commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon. McHugh was joined at the press conference by Lt. Gen. Mixon and Maj. Gen. Bernard S. Champoux.

Champoux will lead 800 25th Infantry Division Soldiers in a deployment to Iraq later this year, continuing the Army's high operational tempo of frequent and repeat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

McHugh said by the end of 2011, his goal is for 70 percent of active-duty Soldiers to have two years at home for every year of deployment.

McHugh also said the Army is in the "very early stages" of working with the defense secretary's office to set up a method for Soldiers to express their views about a possible repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the law that prohibits gays from openly serving in the U.S. military. President Obama has said he wants to repeal the law.