Tag: Makua

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Army trying to coopt Native Hawaiians

Yesterday, the last day of AFSC’s summer youth environmental justice training program Ka Makani Kaiaulu o Wai’anae,  we took the ten youth out to Makua to learn about the struggle to rescue the valley and to give ho’okupu back to the ‘aina – ti leaf plants that they had nurtured at home during the course of the program.  As we drove down the coast, past the growing blue and gray tarp cities of landless Kanaka Maoli, we saw two Chinook helicopters flying north towards Makua.

As we got to Makua, we saw that the helicopters had unloaded their passengers. It looked like a press junket.   I yelled “Stop the bombing!” and “Army out!” to try to get the attention of the press pool, but the Army quickly whisked the group away in waiting SUVs.

Unbeknownst to us, the group flown in by the Army included Native Hawaiian leaders.  The whole show was really a big public relations stunt by the Army to make it look like Native Hawaiians were supporting the return to training.  Some Native Hawaiian leaders are actively helping the Army to win support from the Hawaiian commmunity for military training in Makua.  As William Aila told our group of youth that day, the fact that so much money and energy is being spent by the military and the political establishment to try to win support for military training in Makua indicates that they are concerned.    Sadly, some good people who are opponents of military destruction of Hawaiian lands, attended the PR stunt and were used by the Army to make it look like they too supported the Army’s efforts.

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HonoluluAdvertiser.com

July 18, 2009

Army reaches out to Native Hawaiians on Makua Valley

Training, cultural needs can be balanced, it says

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

MAKUA VALLEY – The Army presented a different side of itself yesterday, one that’s attempting to reach out to Native Hawaiians as it seeks a return to live-fire training in the cultural resources-rich Wai’anae Coast valley, where legal action has prevented bullets from flying and bombs from exploding for the past five years.

The Army flew five Native Hawaiians, with varying constituencies, out to the valley in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to describe its efforts at balancing training needs with stewardship of a valley.

Makua has 121 archaeological sites and more than 50 endangered animal and plant species. Local media also were invited along.

“The Army is made up of folks who have the same type of values, the same type of beliefs, that you have,” Col. Matthew Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hawai’i, told the group.

Margotta admitted that the Army might have been heavy-handed in the past in dealing with cultural issues, but he said that is changing. Makua is a special place in the heart of Native Hawaiians and “the Army, all of us, recognize that,” Margotta said.

cultural adviser

Margotta brought on Annelle Amaral in February as a Native Hawaiian cultural adviser.

A Native Hawaiian Advisory Council was created within the garrison with the president of Kamehameha Schools among its members.

The Army has earmarked between $15 million and $16 million from $75 million in federal stimulus funding to go to Native Hawaiian businesses. “Were we doing this a few years ago? No,” Margotta said.

The Army’s new public-relations effort coincides with the completion of an eight-year environmental study required under a 2001 court settlement agreement.

Malama Makua, the community group that brought the suit, said it will fight on in court because the study is flawed.

No live fire has been allowed since 2004 in the 4,190-acre valley because the Army had not finished the study. This week, the approximately 6,000-page document was completed. Now, the Army is seeking a return to combined-arms live-fire exercises involving helicopters, artillery, mortars and 150 soldiers, as well as convoy live-fire training.

The Army would like to conduct up to 32 Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercises, or CALFEXes, a year, or up to 150 convoy exercises.

Margotta said those exercises won’t start any earlier than Aug. 31, which is the target for short-term fixes to internal roads that sustained storm damage in December. The Army received $6.9 million for road repairs.

Margotta also made a case for training in Makua by saying that without it, soldiers have to make it up at 133,000-acre Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island or on the Mainland – keeping them away from families for weeks or months more.

The required training takes about a week at Makua. When soldiers go to Pohakuloa, larger units usually are sent, and that requires the use of ships for equipment deliveries, air transport for troops, and more time overall.

‘Something is missing’

Margotta said the Army’s four main training areas in Hawai’i – Schofield, Makua, Pohakuloa and Kahuku Training Area – are like an interlocking puzzle.

Schofield is considered too small and would have training conflicts as a combined-arms training facility, the Army said. No live fire is allowed in Kahuku.

“You’ve got four pieces in the puzzle and you take Makua out, you’ve only got three pieces,” Margotta said. “Something is missing. What will end up being in that gap are soldiers and their families away from each other.”

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai’i, in 2007 strongly advocated that the Army give up Makua, saying the service had spent millions to unsuccessfully defend in court the use of a training range that could be replaced at Pohakuloa and was ill-suited in particular to training using eight-wheeled Stryker armored vehicles.

Margotta said the Army can balance training needs with cultural resource protection in Makua.

paying a visit

Last year, Schofield received $1 million to clear Makua sites of old unexploded ordnance for cultural access, and for next year it’s expected to receive the same amount.

The Army also said nearly $6 million is spent annually in Makua on natural and cultural resources management.

Kahu Kaleo Patterson, one of those who made the trip, said Makua is very special to his family, who had kuleana, or responsibility, in the valley in the old days.

“It’s very encouraging to see how much you folks have done as caretakers of the valley,” Patterson told Margotta.

Christopher Dawson, a Native Hawaiian business leader, and Leimomi Khan, with the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, also visited Makua.

But Wai’anae resident William Aila Jr., a member of a Hawaiian group that has butted heads with the Army before over training and access, said the group doesn’t have a thorough understanding of the issues faced in the valley.

His group, Hui Malama O Makua, was not invited yesterday.

“If we were able to give some historical context, the thought processes of those (invited) Hawaiians would be a lot more balanced,” Aila said.

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Army “scales back” plans for Makua?

The Army proposed an extraordinary expansion, then scaled back to a more “reasonable” level of training, which is still more than before.  In fact, they are way overdue to clean up and return the land.   What’s a more reasonable level of theft, assault, desecration?

Posted on: Friday, July 17, 2009

Army scales back plans for Makua

Earthjustice attorney not satisfied, calls latest move ‘a common trick’

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

Eight years after agreeing to do so, the Army yesterday completed an environmental examination of military training in Makua Valley by saying it wants to conduct up to 32 combined-arms live-fire exercises and 150 convoy live-fire exercises annually in the 4,190-acre Wai’anae Coast valley.

The “record of decision” by the Army scales back from the 50 combined arms and 200 convoy exercises the Army selected in June as a “preferred” alternative.

“This (Makua) environmental impact statement was a very thorough and publicly open process,” said Maj. Gen. Raymond V. Mason, commander of the Army in Hawai’i and the deciding official. “We’ve reached the best decision that allows our soldiers and small units to train locally and reduces their time away from families, all while ensuring the Army continues to protect the precious environment entrusted to us.”

To reduce the risk of range fires and threats to endangered species and cultural sites, the Army said it would not use tracer ammunition, TOW or Javelin missiles, anti-tank and 2.75-caliber rockets, or illumination rounds.

Additionally, the proposed use of added training lands at Ka’ena Point and what’s known as the “C-Ridge” in Makua are off the table, the Army said.

But Earthjustice attorney David Henkin, who has represented community group Malama Makua in a nearly nine-year lawsuit against the Army, said the level of training proposed still far exceeds anything conducted by the Army before 2004.

Under the terms of a 2001 settlement, live fire with helicopters, mortars, artillery and a company of about 150 soldiers was halted in 2004 because the Army hadn’t completed the agreed-upon environmental impact statement.

“This is a common trick, which is, let’s propose something totally horrendous … and then compromise with something that’s just awful, and people will be thankful, and that’s sort of the (Army’s) approach,” Henkin said of the Army’s record of decision issued yesterday.

Henkin said the Army proposes to do at Makua essentially the same training and use the types of weapons “that time and time again in the past have caused wildfires that have killed endangered species.”

A succession of fires from training in the valley was used as legal justification to seek the environmental study. More than 50 endangered plant and animal species, and more than 100 archaeological features, are in the valley area.

One of many delays to the study’s completion was a fire that was intentionally set by the Army in 2003 to manage grasses but got out of control and charred half the valley.

The approximately 6,000-page report follows numerous setbacks and court filings, and millions of dollars spent on studies and legal fees by the Army, which has seen the loss elsewhere of live-fire training ranges.

The Army discounted building a company combined-arms facility at roomier Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, saying it would cost an “exorbitant” $271 million, and keep soldiers away from families longer.

The Army wants 10 of the exercises annually at Makua for the 3,500-soldier 3rd Brigade, but Henkin said the brigade until now has been able to accomplish its training at Pohakuloa, on the Mainland or abroad.

“This is not additional training. This is not additional separation from the family,” Henkin said. “This is part of their normal training routine.”

Henkin said people should not think the Army will return to live fire in the valley anytime soon if for no other reason than the “burn index,” or grass dryness factor, is too conducive to fire over the summer. Henkin also said the Army failed to complete some agreed-upon studies, something the Army disputes.

“They didn’t do it, so we will see them back in court,” Henkin said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090717/NEWS08/907170327/Army+scales+back+plans+for+Makua

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Army to resume assault on Makua

Updated at 12:04 p.m., Thursday, July 16, 2009

Army to resume Makua Valley exercises, but restrict weapons

Advertiser Staff

The Army said today it will resume live-fire exercises in Makua Valley but reduce the number of drills and restrict use of certain munitions.

The Army said an environmental impact statement had suggested 50 company-sized combined arms live-fire exercises and 200 convoy live-fire exercises.

The Army said it will conduct 32 combined arms live-fire exercises 150 convoy live-fire exercises with minimal weapons restrictions.

The Army said the exercises would be conducted without use of tracer ammunition, TOW missiles, anti-tank and 2.75-caliber rockets, shoulder-launched Javelin missiles or illumination munitions of any kind.

The elimination of these weapon systems greatly reduces the risk of range fires and environmental threats to endangered species and cultural sites, yet allows Hawaii-based units to train locally without the costly burden of additional deployments, the Army said.

“This MMR Environmental Impact Statement was a very thorough and publicly open process,” said Maj. Gen. Raymond V. Mason, commander, Army Hawaii and the deciding official.

“We’ve reached the best decision that allows our soldiers and small units to train locally and reduces their time away from families, all while ensuring the Army continues to protect the precious environment entrusted to us.”

The Makua record of decision is available online at: http:/www.garrison.hawaii.army.mil/makuaeis

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090716/BREAKING01/90716059/-1/RSS01?source=rss_breaking

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Editorial: Army has not made case for Makua plan

Posted on: Sunday, June 14, 2009

Army has not made case for Makua plan

Forging a military operations plan that adequately balances training needs with environmental and community concerns is a difficult prospect even under ideal circumstances.

There’s no question: Our troops must be allowed to train and as a community, we need to do our part to support that.

Unfortunately, the history of the Army’s use of Makua Military Reservation has yielded circumstances that are anything but ideal, which complicates the matter of striking a balance immeasurably.

Having live-fire training so close to populated areas has drawn its own fire from residents who don’t like the intrusion of flyovers and explosion noise into their enjoyment of home and recreation areas. But in particular the wildfires produced by that weapons training – suspended since 2005 – is what has eroded any trust that existed between Wai’anae Coast residents and the Army.

Acres of vegetation, including endangered species, were destroyed. Indeed, incendiary devices in a region that is prone to brushfires anyway is worrisome for people who live in neighboring housing areas.

It’s in this context that the Army’s final environmental impact statement on Makua training seems to fall short. The analysis does not adequately make the case for the Army’s “preferred alternative,” one that would authorize the maximum use of the valley with the minimum restrictions on the weaponry to be used. Surely the training objectives can be achieved through less destructive proceedings.

The bottom line, according to the EIS, is that the Army needs to train in an area that can accommodate what are called “convoy live-fire training exercises” for an entire company of troops. Makua is one, but the training area at Pohakuloa on the Big Island is also big enough, as well as being more insulated from residential areas and less vulnerable to environmental damage.

The Army favors the most expansive Makua plan, one that would enable up to 50 company-level exercises per year and 200 convoy live-fire exercises annually, events that could involve tube-launched missiles, rockets and illumination munitions.

The rationale is that the Army needs large training sites on O’ahu because time between deployments can be short and moving everything to Pohakuloa would be costlier.

Opponents acknowledge that leaving O’ahu means less time with families, but they argue persuasively that this disadvantage is offset by what Big Island training offers: Packing and heading off to Pohakuloa is more realistic preparation for actual deployments.

Pohakuloa is still being built out for these operations, so the Army could make the case for using the O’ahu valley on a temporary basis. Even so, Makua isn’t quite ready, either; erosion has damaged the essential firefighting access roads, so repair work would push off when such operations could resume in Wai’anae.

And whatever temporary use might be necessary in Makua, there’s no compelling reason for taking the most environmentally damaging route possible.

Before making its final decision on training operations in the next month, Army officials need to carefully consider the concerns of the community and realize that this decision will surely impact that relationship going forward.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906140339

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Sound off on Army training in Makua

Posted on: Sunday, June 14, 2009

Army training in Makua

Advertiser Staff

The release last week of the Environmental Impact Statement regarding live-fire training in Makua Valley reignited the debate over the valley’s fate and raised some familiar questions. Should the Army be allowed to resume live-fire training in Makua, given its proximity to inhabited areas? Is Pöhakuloa on the Big Island a better option? Tell us what you think and share your views with key decisionmakers.

GET INVOLVED

Contact your elected officials to make your views known:

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye: Sen. Inouye has been a key supporter of allowing the Army to train in Makua Valley.

Reach him at: http://inouye.senate.gov – click on “contact me” or (202) 224-3934; Honolulu office: 541-2542.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie: Rep. Abercrombie thinks there are better alternatives for live-fire training than Makua Valley.

Reach him at: neil.abercrombie@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-2726; Honolulu office: 541-2570.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906190317

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Op Ed: Army doesn’t need Makua Valley for live-fire exercises

HonoluluAdvertiser.com

June 19, 2009

Army doesn’t need Makua Valley for live-fire exercises

Troops have trained elsewhere for years; other option needed

By David Henkin

“Let them train!” has been the rallying cry of Sen. Daniel Inouye and others who want the Army to resume live-fire exercises in Makua Valley.

It’s an emotionally compelling plea. Who would want to send our young men and women into battle without adequate preparation?

Unfortunately, it’s a highly charged, even deceptive, plea that serves to deflect attention from the real issue. It’s not whether the Army should train, but where.

Is a valley sacred to Hawaiians the best place to fire mortars and artillery – activities that have already damaged petroglyphs and other ancient cultural sites there?

Is the home to nearly 50 endangered and threatened species the best place to fire tracers and illumination rounds – the same weapons that have already sparked hundreds of fires, destroying the native forest and threatening rare plants and animals with extinction?

Is an area just three miles from Makaha’s homes and businesses, across the street from a public beach, the best place to stage a mock battle – using very real weapons and live ammunition?

Many don’t think so, which is why Malama Makua and Earthjustice have spent 11 years in court to compel the Army to give an honest accounting of the price we pay when soldiers train at Makua and to explore alternatives that would accomplish the Army’s mission without sacrificing Makua’s cultural and biological treasures.

The Army’s recently released environmental impact statement confirms Makua is not the only option. The Army admits it would be both feasible and reasonable to conduct its training at Pohakuloa on the Big Island, with much less risk of environmental damage. Indeed, the Army has already been using Pohakuloa to train troops for deployment and has emphasized the added benefit of giving soldiers based on O’ahu a realistic opportunity to practice deployment.

The Army has not trained at Makua since June 2004, and has conducted no live-fire training there in eight of the last 11 years. Yet even without Makua, it has successfully prepared its soldiers for battle.

How can Army officials, or Sen. Inouye, validly claim Makua is essential when the military’s own actions over the past decade have proven otherwise?

Quite simply, they can’t, because it isn’t.

Makua, which was pressed into service following the attack on Pearl Harbor, has had its day. As Congressman Neil Abercrombie has pointed out, based on his years of service on the Armed Services Committee, Makua is best suited for training soldiers for the trench warfare characteristic of WWI, not to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Makua was never intended to be a permanent training site. The Army promised to return it upon the cessation of hostilities with Japan, but 64 years later, the people of Hawai’i are still waiting.

Of the options identified under the EIS, Makua Valley and its resources are the most fragile, vulnerable and irreplaceable. Yet the Army has chosen Makua as its preferred alternative for the highest conceivable level of training, employing some of its most destructive weapons.

While we might expect this sort of environmental and cultural insensitivity from the Bush administration, it’s not a good fit with Hawai’i-born President Obama, who has a special understanding of the Islands.

But no matter who occupies the White House, using Makua Valley as a mock battleground doesn’t make sense. Not when Makua is unique – but its training opportunities are not.

Yes, let them train. But there’s no need to sacrifice Makua to do it.

David Henkin is a Honolulu-based Earthjustice attorney who has been involved with the Makua case since 1998. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.

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Why We Must Protect Makua Valley

Mahalo nui to Kehau Watson for this positive editorial calling for protection of Makua.

Why We Must Protect Makua Valley

June 14th, 2009 by Trisha Kehaulani Watson

“E mālama i ka makua, he mea laha ‘ole.”

Mary Kawena Pukui explained this ‘ōlelo no‘eau to mean “parents should be cared for, for when they are gone, there are none to replace them.” To Hawaiians, Mākua Valley in Wai‘anae represents our parents; Mākua is a kinolau or physical body form of the parents of all Hawaiians. A particularly sacred place, or wahi pana, the protection of Mākua remains as of vital import to Native Hawaiians as the protection and caring for our human parents. The occupation and desecration of Mākua is both a physical and spiritual offensive against the residing indigenous people of this land.

Mākua’s rich history extends back as many as thirty-five generations, as early as the 8th century. Mākua houses a rich spiritual history that reflects its deep significance to the Hawaiian people. Even today, as one stands in the valley, hō‘ailona appear regularly to those who help mālama Mākua. Whether in the form of clouds, timely and pointed winds (called makani, a Hawaiian word also meaning ghost or spirit), or images that appear in the mountains or valley floor, signs or hō‘ailona serve as telling reminders of the powerful spirituality of Mākua.

In 1977, renowned anthropologist Marion Kelly would lead a study on Mākua for the Bishop Museum that collected extensive interviews and documents on Mākua that served as one of the first studies to respectfully include the spiritual history of a place. Kelly’s study now serves as a vital repository for the cultural and social history of Mākua. In her study, she places strong emphasis upon folklore and spiritual knowledges.

References of this second and spiritual form of knowledge or being can be commonly found in certain parts of our language. Specifically, in concepts like ‘ike pāpālua, or second sight or knowledge. Mary Kawena Pukui defines this term as “To see double; to have the gift of second sight and commune with the spirits; supernatural knowedge.” This references the idea that knowledge or understanding for Hawaiians came in part from a spiritual realm or from akua, the gods. Another similar concept is ‘ike pāpālua, or second form. Pukui explains this term: “to have a dual form, as the demigod Kama-pua‘a, who could change from man to hog.” Mākua served as home to a similar figure, the mo‘o of Mākua.

In heavy rains, the mo‘o come down the stream from Ko‘iahi to meet her boyfriend, the shark from Kāneana Cave. When the stream flows strong, it breaks through the sand beach and flows into the sea. The mo‘o goes into the sea and goes on the big rock next to the blow hole at the Wai‘anae end of the beach. The rock is called Pōhaku-kū-la‘i-la‘i. On this rock, she would turn herself into a beautiful princess and call to him. The shark would come out of Kāneana Cave through the undersea channel and swim out to the blow-hole. He would then turn into a man, and he and the princess would make love. When they were ready they would go to live in the stream. And when the water is green the mo‘o is in the stream. When it is clear she is not. No swimming is allowed when the mo‘o is in the stream.

Another important part of Mākua was the cave, known to local residents as “Kaneana Cave.” One woman recollects: “And my father was there to oversee when they opened the cave. And my father said, ‘His human form of [Kaneana] is still up on that hill, and he watches for you when you go to the beach to go swimming, or to try and catch fish. He can change himself to a shark and come and get you and bring you in that cave and eat you.'” Mākua remains particularly alive with traditions that speak to the natural resource management of the area. Yet, mo`olelo were also used to teach proper behavior.

A resident recollects about the lessons she learned at the cave in Mākua.

The entrance of that cave is out by the long reef they call Papaloa. And she has an opening underneath. If you go way out to the end, and you just stand like that, you will see a big opening. And he enters through there, and he can have anyone that treats him mean. That is where he takes them, down below. If you ever entered that cave, you will see the water. Down below, there’s a pool. We were made to crawl into that cave, and we didn’t want to go. Just to teach us a lesson we went. And when we went, and the time he took his captives all in there, and then he killed them, the blood. And it [the cave] is a beautiful thing. And the only thing that got me scared was the sharks (sic) head. It was a big sharks (sic) head right on the stone. I don’t know if ______. [Dad said,] “Pretty soon you’ll be one of them, lady, because of your big mouth.” I have a bad temper, and in that cave I kept my mouth shut. Now you crawl out. That is how he gets out and changes into a man. Lot of the old folks and the children named him if we disobeyed. We were not as fussy then. No, no, we do it, we do it.

The lessons present in traditional folklore also contained social values and community norms. Mākua teaches us about our culture and our history, as a parent does its child.

Story-telling and cultural narratives speak to history, contemporary norms, resource management, essentially every aspect of life. When those narratives are silenced, entire histories can be effectively wiped away.

The military can no longer deny Mākua’s critical cultural and ecological importance. An alternative site for military activities and live-free training, which the Army is currently attempting to resume in the valley, must be found.

Source: http://hehawaiiau.honadvblogs.com/2009/06/14/why-we-must-protect-makua-valley/

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Main Charge Disruptor

This manual was posted on wikileaks. It explains procedures for disposing of unexploded ordnance using shaped charge Main Charge Disruptor that is designed to penetrate the ordnance and burn out the explosive material with minimal detonation. This means that they could use this method to minimize dispersal of contaminated soil or damage to sites. Are they using these methods in Makua, Pohakuloa, Vieques?

US Explosive Ordnance Disposal Procedures, Ordnance Low-Order Disruption Techniques; Main Charge Disruptor, TM 60A-2-1-73-5, 23 Jun 2000

For Official Use Only manual on how to use the main charge disruptor ordnance disposal tool. It is a continual disgrace that these manuals are keep secret, since they can be used to clean up failed bombs in Cambodia, Veitnam, Iraq and other conflict areas.

https://secure.wikileaks.org/wiki/US_Explosive_Ordnance_Disposal_Procedures%2C_Ordnance_Low-Order_Disruption_Techniques%3B_Main_Charge_Disruptor%2C_TM_60A-2-1-73-5%2C_23_Jun_2000

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Army lists 22 Makua cleanup areas

Posted on: Saturday, June 13, 2009

Army lists Makua cleanup areas

Ordnance removal at 22 cultural sites will increase access
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Army yesterday released a final list of 22 cultural sites on Makua Military Reservation deemed “high priority” for clearance of unexploded ordnance.

The purpose of removing potentially dangerous explosives from those sites is to increase access to those cultural areas, an Army media release said.

The action follows a lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago against the Army by Earthjustice in Hawai’i.

That suit resulted in an agreement in October 2001 that the Army would produce such a site list within one year.

After the Army failed to provide the list within the time period, the issue lingered in federal court for more than six years, until U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway clarified the original agreement this year and ordered the Army to comply.

David Henkin, attorney for Earthjustice, yesterday said Earthjustice is happy with the outcome, but said it should not have taken so long.

“It took almost seven years longer than it was supposed to, and it took going back to court twice, but the Army finally did come out with a list of of high-priority sites, and they did provide an opportunity for public input,” Henkin said. “And so we’re pleased.”

Henkin said Earthjustice would monitor the Army’s progress in clearing out the unexploded ordnance and in allowing access to the cultural sites.

The Army’s clearance procedure, made in accordance with a plan adopted by Mollway, requires the military to submit quarterly progress reports.

Copies of the Army’s list are available at the Hawai’i State Library, Wai’anae Public Library, Kapolei Public Library or at www.garrison.hawaii.army.mil/sitelistmmr.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090613/NEWS23/906130325/Army+lists+Makua+cleanup+areas

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Sen. Inouye weighs in on Makua

Predictably, Sen. Inouye has penned an editorial supporting the Army’s proposed expanded training in Makua valley. Let’s analyze his argument:

1. Army is a “good neighbor”.

The US military was the force that overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom and occupied Hawai’i. Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan to Teddy Roosevelt (1897): “take (Hawaii) first and solve (political questions) afterwards.” I wouldn’t consider anyone who covets and takes over his neighbor’s house a “good neighbor”.

2. Hawaii soldiers will be called to war; they need training.

What are the troops training for? The US is engaged in illegal, imperial wars to invade and occupy other peoples’ countries. Phiippines, Korea, Vietnam, and even WWII, the “good war”, was a struggle between two imperial camps. In the Pacific, Japan lost and the US took the spoils, creating an “American Lake”. Hawai’i’s sacred places should not be used to perpetuate empire.

3. The Army has trained in Makua for more than 60 years, virtually forever.

The US military illegally occupies lands of the Hawaiian Kingdom and seized private lands. The military evicted families from Makua and destroyed their community. They promised to return the lands after WWII, but lied.

4. The Army’s concern for the environment goes beyond Makua; they helped to pay for the purchase of lands to be placed in public land trusts.

Many people saw this coming: The use of military funds to help purchase and protect certain areas as “buffers” for military training would be used as part of the psychological operations to win the hearts and minds of, or at least neutralize resistance from the community, in this case environmentalists.

5. The Army is part of our ‘ohana.

The military is taking our ‘ohana to fight wars for the empire, much like the Romans enlisted subjugated peoples to fight in its legions. Military training in Hawai’i, going back to the earliest JROTC programs at Kamehameha Schools and McKinley High School in the early 1900s were intended to indoctrinate Hawaiian, Japanese and other Local youth into military/American identity and ideology. In 1924 General Charles P. Summerall, commander of the Hawaiian Department for the US Army and one of the more open-minded racists, wrote: “the Japanese students showed themselves to be capable of becoming very efficient military students. There is no better way of securing the loyalty of such people than to incorporate them in our military forces with the environment of obligation to duty that cannot fail to win their allegiance in most if not all cases. Such a course would also tend to remove the resentment that Japanese citizens now feel at the discrimination that is made against them.”  From Senator Inouye’s editorial, you might conclude that the military’s social engineering experiment worked.

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June 7, 2009

Let Army resume training at Makua

By Daniel K. Inouye

On Friday, the Army released the final environmental impact statement for military training activities at the Makua Military Reservation. Completion of this EIS culminates a seven-year effort that studied the effects of live-fire training on the cultural and natural resources of the valley. This includes an extensive marine resources study and a subsurface archaeological survey.

I encourage the people of Hawai’i to review all the information. In doing so, I hope you will come to the same conclusion: Let them train.

The Army is a good neighbor and longtime member of our community. It has taken its responsibility very seriously, and has come to the conclusion that it can sufficiently mitigate the risks inherent in conducting live-fire training exercises in the valley. Rather than continuing to nitpick at one thing or another, and force a return yet again to court, serving only to delay critical training that could provide the difference between life and death, I respectfully suggest that we, as a community, stand up and say, “We’ve had enough of these delay tactics – let them train.”

Today, there are about 6,200 Hawai’i Army, Marine and National Guard warriors deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. With an increased military presence planned for Afghanistan, we should expect continued deployments in the foreseeable future. North Korea’s irresponsible taunting, as evidenced by its recent missile launches and its provocative future launch plans, have heightened already soaring tensions in the Pacific region. No doubt if there were an incident, our Hawai’i-based units could be among the first to respond. They must be able to train.

Our warriors should not be penalized and placed in harm’s way in faraway places without receiving the training they need to protect themselves, get the job done and return home safely. We also should not extend their time away from their families by forcing them to train in another state. Keep in mind that less than 1 percent of Americans are willing to make the sacrifice to wear our nation’s uniform. They deserve our support, as they serve to preserve our way of life. Let them train.

Makua Valley is a critical training asset for the Army, Marines and National Guard. It has been used as a live-fire training area for more than 60 years. In 1998, training was halted as a result of a lawsuit. Training was then allowed on a negotiated, limited basis following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, while the EIS was being prepared. As the memory of Sept. 11 faded, training was again halted in the summer of 2004, pending completion of the EIS. So, here we are today, with the final EIS in front of us.

The Army has maintained Makua Valley as a training area, while at the same time steadfastly continuing its efforts to protect the endangered species and cultural sites, including removing ordnance to allow reasonable access for cultural practitioners. About $4 million annually is spent for this purpose. In addition, more than $6 million to date has been set aside for the removal of ordnance in Makua Valley, and in near-ocean waters opposite the valley.

More than 30 technically-trained field biologists manage the natural resources in Makua Valley. They have planted about 4,000 endangered plants, controlled the weeds, and built fences to protect endangered species. Another $1 million is spent annually to preserve archeological sites in the valley. To date, 121 sites have been identified for study and protection. I would venture that very few other entities have the resources and the commitment to take as good care of Makua Valley as the Army.

The Hawai’i Army’s environmental stewardship goes beyond the valley. It is a willing public partner in conserving special lands, and has invested more than $10 million in recent years alone to support the acquisition of Waimea Valley, Pupukea-Paumalu, Moanalua Valley and, very shortly, the Honouliuli preserve along the Wai’anae mountain range.

Each year, the Army spends about $365 million for its support in Hawai’i. Estimated spending for privatized Army housing construction and maintenance already tops $736 million. Add another $598 million for military construction provided just in the past two years including stimulus funds. All of this supports our economy during these difficult times.

Most important to me, however, the Hawai’i Army is a part of our ‘ohana. It’s not about “us and them,” but rather a much larger “we and our.” We volunteer together at the Food Bank and Special Olympics. Our children are learning side-by-side with one another. Our moms and dads are coaching young athletes together on the soccer and baseball fields.

Our soldiers deserve our support. They deserve the best training we can provide to prepare them for battle in faraway lands. The Army has done their part. It’s time to do ours – let them train.

Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090607/OPINION03/906070342/Let+Army+resume+training+at+Makua

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