A higher profile in Asia and the Pacific is in the works for Fort Shafter and within the ranks of the U.S. Army with a new 330,000-square-foot headquarters under way and an effort being made to upgrade the three-star command to four stars.

The Army, contractor Niking Corp. and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye took part in a groundbreaking Monday for the first phase of the $400 million to $500 million new command and control facility for U.S. Army Pacific.

The new operational headquarters, to be completed about 2018, will provide a state-of-the-art facility and consolidate functions of 12 pre-World War II buildings and trailers "into a more efficient, effective organization," the Army said.