When Ellen Noda walked into the FBI's Honolulu Division 40 years ago there was one telephone and 12 agents, all of whom looked like they walked out of a U.S. government-issue catalog.

The then 21-year-old graduate of Kaimuki High School watched the federal agents in their shirts and ties walking around the Dillingham Transportation Building and wondered how many bank robbers and Vietnam War draft dodgers could really be lurking in the Islands.

"We called everyone 'mister.' This was an office where a lot of people came before they retired," said Noda, 61, who has served 15 special-agents-in-charge during her tenure. "There were no local guys. They (the agents) stuck out like sore thumbs."

Fast-forward four decades and the Honolulu Division has approximately 200 employees who are special agents, professional support and specialty personnel, based in Honolulu, Maui, Hawai'i County, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.

Agents from the Islands and the Mainland investigate everything from public corruption to would-be terrorists and are now allowed to wear aloha attire.

In the past five years, Honolulu agents have arrested a Maui man accused of selling military secrets to the Chinese, a cadre of Honolulu police officers who were aiding and abetting drug dealers and cock-fighters, and a man who blackmailed Gov. Linda Lingle's former chief of staff.

The FBI is marking 100 years of law enforcement this year and the Honolulu Division is commemorating the centennial today with a reception featuring more than 200 current and former law enforcement officials.

"Honolulu, forever, has always been this crossroad port. Anything and everything that comes through (into the U.S.) passes through here," said Special Agent Arnold Laanui Jr., 40, a 13-year FBI veteran and graduate of Damien Memorial School and the William S. Richardson School of Law. "The worst of the worst, those are the types of cases that we will pursue. We'll take the ones that no other agency will take."

Laanui Jr., who has worked everything from international drug cases to cyber crimes, spearheads the office's community outreach efforts, often speaking to community groups and schoolchildren.

The Honolulu office is one of three FBI field offices responsible for overseas or extraterritorial investigations and responds to transnational crimes in 47 foreign countries in the Asia-Pacific Rim.

FBI Honolulu is currently addressing major investigations involving murder, kidnapping, and serious assaults committed against Americans and against U.S. interests in that region, according to the division.

Earl Asato, 43, most recently worked as a special agent with the San Francisco office before returning home. Asato said growing up in the Islands made him aware of the unique culture and "old boy network" present here.

"A lot of people feel we can be the voice of reason," said Asato. "The FBI now ... has a chance to offer solutions. I was always brought up with a sense of community and giving back."

Jacob Hale, 30, a St. George, Utah, native who joined the Honolulu Division six months ago after working for Toyota in Japan, had wanted to be in the FBI since he was a boy. After transitioning from the corporate world into civil service, Hale said he was amazed to find many educated, talented people who gave up lucrative careers to join the FBI.

"A lot of people were making tons of money (before joining the FBI). The type of people attracted to it are pretty impressive," said Hale.