The Army taught retired Lt. Col. Bob Takao to train his soldiers like they fight, so he's preparing his student cadets for the cold weather of Washington, D.C., and their appearance in the presidential inaugural parade by marching them around Hawai'i's only ice rink.

Takao, the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps senior Army instructor at Punahou School, will escort 17 JROTC cadets and six Punahou cheerleaders to the Jan. 20 inaugural parade in honor of their Punahou alum, Barack Obama.

Some 25 years of experience as an Army officer in places such as Korea and Germany gave Takao an idea: Prepare his Hawai'i kids for the chilly Washington weather by putting them directly on the ice.

"We've never had a request like that," said Anita Owens, administrative assistant at the Ice Palace on Salt Lake Boulevard.

"We thought it was an interesting request and we also wanted to help the students."

The Ice Palace is donating one hour of ice time on Tuesday to let the students march around in the same clothes they will wear during the parade: Class A uniforms and military-issue, London Fog overcoats they rented from the Military HQ surplus store; and cheerleader uniforms and warm coats that the cheerleaders ordered from a Web site.

Temperatures in Washington reached a high of 41 degrees yesterday, dropping to the low 30s at night.

"I grew up in cold weather and served in cold weather," said Takao, who was born and raised in Ontario, Ore., the youngest of three boys who all served as Army officers.

Some of his students have experience skiing and spent time in cold Mainland climates. Others aren't prepared for what they're getting into.

Takao originally considered training his students in some sort of cold storage facility "like right out of Rocky." And then he remembered Ice Palace.

The conditions might not exactly duplicate January in Washington, where inauguration day could bring temperatures in the teens and even rain or snow.

Generations of Hawai'i families might not realize it, but the temperature inside the Ice Palace only falls to 55 degrees, Owens said.

But the slippery ice might simulate conditions along Pennsylvania Avenue.

"We walk on the ice with our shoes all the time," Owens said. "You can do it. You just have to be really careful."

Takao is falling back on his Army training to make sure the kids from Hawai'i comport themselves well in front of an international audience that will be tuning in to the inauguration day festivities.

"Prepare for the worst conditions you can face, and you'll be ready," Takao said. "That's what I've nurtured through my entire military career. We want them to be poised and proud and professional when they get to Washington. With cold feet and cold hands and cold noses, you won't be too prideful and too professional."

But Takao is not looking at the students' appearance in the parade as a military operation in front of America's 44th commander in chief.

"Our whole mission with our group is not some sort of recruiting ground for the military," Takao said. "Our curriculum is selfless serving. Our mission is to motivate our students to be better citizens. We emphasize history and civics, value and service. I term this trip as a perfect history lesson, democracy in action."