General from Hawaii is named Fort Bragg’s senior commander

Maj. Gen. Clarence K.K. Chinn, whose parents are from Hawaii, has been chosen to be the next senior commander for Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Chinn is in Afghanistan and has been deputy commander of Regional Command-East, a component of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, since November. Regional Command-East covers 14 provinces and about 43,000 square miles, roughly the size of Ohio, and shares 450 miles of border with Pakistan.

He received his second star in April.

The Army said Chinn will be the senior general officer at Fort Bragg whose job is the care of soldiers, families and civilians. The post is home to several commands, including the XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command.

Chinn’s father, Dr. Clarence Y.L. Chinn, is a former Army officer and was a dentist for many years in Aiea, where he still lives.

Chinn, who was raised on Oahu, lived with his grandparents on Kauai in 1969 while his father served in Vietnam.

Chinn’s wife, Val, graduated from Mid-Pacific Institute in 1980. His wife’s parents, Isamu "Lucky" and Gladys Uehara, owned New Liberty Grill, which operated in downtown Hono­lulu for more than 40 years.