KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — An airman first class was found dead in his base dormitory at about 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to an Air Force press release.

The airman, 21, was assigned to the 18th Civil Engineer Squadron.

The cause of death is under investigation.

Eighteenth Wing media affairs officials had not responded to an e-mailed request for further details as of Tuesday evening.

Two blood drives scheduled

CAMP LESTER, Okinawa — The Armed Services Blood Bank Center has scheduled two blood drives on Okinawa this week.

All published blood drives are open to servicemembers, Department of Defense civilians and family members 17 and older.

The first blood drive is to be from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday at Kadena Air Base’s Building 775. The second drive, also from 8 a.m. to noon, is scheduled at Camp Hansen’s Building 2814 on Friday.

Mission requirements may require canceling or rescheduling a blood drive, officials said, but donors may confirm a specific drive by visiting www.oki.med.navy.mil and clicking on “Info for Patients and Community,” then “Blood Donor Program,” or by calling the Armed Services Blood Bank Center at DSN 643-7737.

Call the center at DSN 643-7710 or 643-7737 for more information or to schedule a blood drive for your command.

Against relocation

SEOUL — A civic group opposed to relocating Yongsan Garrison says it will petition the South Korean Constitutional Court to block the impending base closure, officials said Tuesday.

The “Pyongtaek Solution Committee Against Expansion of U.S. Troops and Relocation” said it plans to present the petition March 10 and hopes to have at least 1,000 signatures.

Land issues and burden sharing of the move costs — now estimated by the South Korean government at $5.3 billion for all of the reshuffling plans — top the group’s concerns.

The group said it plans to gather many of the signatures from landowners whose property now stands on what will become an expanded U.S. base in Pyongtaek, where the commands at Yongsan Garrison are to be moved.

Counterfeiting up in South Korea

SEOUL — The number of counterfeit foreign bills circulating in South Korea has jumped by more than 20 percent since last year, government officials said Tuesday.

The most popular fake notes are the U.S. dollar and the euro, said South Korean Central Bank officials. Still, the problem is small in terms of actual worth of the currency: The bank said in the first two months of this year, it has confiscated $74,000 in fake dollars.

Area IV schedules town hall meeting

Area IV officials have scheduled a town hall meeting for single and unaccompanied soldiers at 6 p.m. on Monday at Camp Henry.

The meeting is to address the Better Opportunities for Single and Unaccompanied Soldiers, unaccompanied housing, and customer service at base organizations, among other issues.

Col. Donald Hendrix, Area IV commander, is scheduled to answer questions at the meeting.

For more information, call DSN 768-7604.

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