By lisa Asato<\/p>\n
Publications Editor<\/p>\n
The Army wrapped up five public hearings in Hawai\u2018i last month on its proposal to permanently base the Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Hawai\u2018i, Alaska or Colorado.<\/p>\n
The hearings were the result of a ruling last year by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that halted Stryker-related work until the Army made an environmental analysis of other possible sites besides Hawai\u2018i, which was the only site previously considered. Training resumed on a limited basis last December.<\/p>\n
During the course of the hearings, testimony was offered by Native Hawaiians on both sides of the issue. Activist and former gubernatorial candidate William Aila\u0308 was among those who testified that the draft Environmental Impact Statement still isn\u2019t sufficient. \u201cI think the process is being manipulated to arrive at the decision to stage the Stryker<\/p>\n
here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Aila\u0308 said the Army Chief of Staff and other decision-makers are not being presented with<\/p>\n
all the information they need to make an informed decision.<\/p>\n
Among the shortcomings, he said, is that a site-specific EIS was done for Hawai\u2018i but not for the two other sites under consideration at Fort Richardson, Alaska, and Fort Carlson,<\/p>\n
Colorado, nor was one done for an alternate interim combat team, which may replace the<\/p>\n
Stryker brigade.<\/p>\n
Aila\u0308 also said a new quality-of-life criterion, added after the original EIS in 2004, \u201cpredisposes Hawai\u2018i as the selection site\u201d because 99.5 percent of service members would choose Hawai\u2018i over Alaska or Colorado. \u201cThat automatically gives (Hawai\u2018i) a higher rating,\u201d he said. Critics of the plan also oppose the brigade\u2019s impact on endangered species and cultural sites, Aila\u0308 said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, William Prescott, a Native Hawaiian retired Army sergeant and Vietnam veteran, said the EIS is \u201cmore than adequate to satisfy the requirements that\u2019s been placed on (the Army).\u201d He also challenged the use of words like \u201csacred\u201d in the EIS, saying it<\/p>\n
should be deleted or referred to as \u201cformerly considered sacred\u201d if it refers to Hawaiian gods and religion, because King Kamehameha II abolished the Hawaiian religion in 1819.<\/p>\n
Prescott said soldiers need to train, and people should remember that they are here because our congressional delegation brings them here. \u201cIf (people) have any complaints, they should take it up with the people they elected, not on the men who are going to be committed to combat to defend our freedom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The planned Stryker brigade would comprise about 4,000 soldiers and 1,000 vehicles, including about 320 Stryker combat vehicles, which would be based at Schofield Barracks and trained at Ma\u0308kua, Kahuku, Kawailoa and Dillingham Transportation Area on O\u2018ahu and at Po\u0308hakuloa on Hawai\u2018i Island.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs filed a complaint alleging the Army had failed to comply with federal law in performing construction work in the Schofield region, as<\/p>\n
well as failure to comply with its own Programmatic Agreement of 2004, aimed at protecting cultural resources. OHA was a party to that agreement, and cultural monitors reported damage to Hale\u2018au\u2018au heiau by bulldozers, construction of a road over burial grounds and other violations. OHA is asking the courts to prohibit Stryker-related construction or training activity in that area until compliance is achieved.<\/p>\n
The draft EIS may be viewed online at www.sbct-seis.org.<\/p>\n
The public comment period ended Oct. 30. A video of the Stryker brigade EIS meeting<\/p>\n
at Na\u0308na\u0308kuli will air on \u2018O\u0308lelo channel 53 at 8 a.m. Nov. 9, 11:30 a.m. Nov. 10, 8 a.m. Nov. 16 and 12:30 p.m. Nov. 17.<\/p>\n
Source: www.oha.org\/pdf\/kwo07\/KWO0711.pdf<\/cite><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Drawing Battle Lines Hawaiians on both sides testify at Stryker hearings By lisa Asato Publications Editor The Army wrapped up five public hearings in Hawai\u2018i last month on its proposal to permanently base the Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Hawai\u2018i, Alaska or Colorado. The hearings were the result of a ruling last year by the … <\/p>\n