Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
HONOLULU — An Army environmental study set to be released next week favors keeping a Hawaii-based Stryker brigade in the islands, the military said Friday.
The Army plans to release the study, which says the central Oahu Army base of Schofield Barracks is the “preferred alternative” to bases in Alaska and Colorado, next Friday. Army leadership will consult the report before making a final decision on where to put the brigade.
The Army initially hadn’t planned on carrying out the environmental study as it didn’t think it was necessary. But it did so after a federal appeals court sided with Native Hawaiian and environmentalist groups who sued demanding a study be conducted.
The groups alleged the brigade would hurt Hawaii’s fragile environment and desecrate cultural sites. They also said the Army failed to adequately consider alternative basing options.
Hawaii’s Democratic senators both welcomed the report’s findings.
Sen. Daniel Inouye said the study underscores Hawaii’s strategic importance.
“This asset is critical to protecting the lives of our soldiers who must be able to adequately train prior to their deployment to faraway and dangerous lands,” Inouye said in a statement.
Sen. Daniel Akaka said he was confident the Army carefully considered the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative location.
“I remain committed to protecting our environment in Hawaii and across our great country,” Akaka said. “I firmly believe we can preserve our state’s natural and cultural resources while meeting our military’s training and national security needs.”
David Henkin, a lawyer for Earthjustice who led the legal case against the Army, said he wouldn’t be able to provide an informed analysis of the study — and where the Army went wrong — until the military issues the report next week.
But he said the Army would need to explain why it didn’t consider more mainland alternatives for the brigade, including bases in Washington state, Texas and New Mexico.
Henkin said the brigade, and the 19-ton Stryker vehicles, would have a greater impact on the environment than the infantry brigade it is replacing.
“We want appropriate federal monies and projects flowing into the state,” Henkin said. “The Stryker brigade is not an appropriate one.”
The Army plans to release the study, which says the central Oahu Army base of Schofield Barracks is the “preferred alternative” to bases in Alaska and Colorado, next Friday. Army leadership will consult the report before making a final decision on where to put the brigade.
The Army initially hadn’t planned on carrying out the environmental study as it didn’t think it was necessary. But it did so after a federal appeals court sided with Native Hawaiian and environmentalist groups who sued demanding a study be conducted.
The groups alleged the brigade would hurt Hawaii’s fragile environment and desecrate cultural sites. They also said the Army failed to adequately consider alternative basing options.
Hawaii’s Democratic senators both welcomed the report’s findings.
Sen. Daniel Inouye said the study underscores Hawaii’s strategic importance.
“This asset is critical to protecting the lives of our soldiers who must be able to adequately train prior to their deployment to faraway and dangerous lands,” Inouye said in a statement.
Sen. Daniel Akaka said he was confident the Army carefully considered the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative location.
“I remain committed to protecting our environment in Hawaii and across our great country,” Akaka said. “I firmly believe we can preserve our state’s natural and cultural resources while meeting our military’s training and national security needs.”
David Henkin, a lawyer for Earthjustice who led the legal case against the Army, said he wouldn’t be able to provide an informed analysis of the study — and where the Army went wrong — until the military issues the report next week.
But he said the Army would need to explain why it didn’t consider more mainland alternatives for the brigade, including bases in Washington state, Texas and New Mexico.
Henkin said the brigade, and the 19-ton Stryker vehicles, would have a greater impact on the environment than the infantry brigade it is replacing.
“We want appropriate federal monies and projects flowing into the state,” Henkin said. “The Stryker brigade is not an appropriate one.”