GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM Accountants Ernest Vidinha and Dianne Makahi are two of the 213 civilian workers who would be out of jobs if, as expected, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service closes its Ford Island operations within the next six years.

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Isle civilians in
closure cross hairs

The Pentagon's recommendations
could force many in Hawaii to relocate

Neither Dianne Makahi or Ernest Vidinha were at work last Friday when the Pentagon recommended that 33 major bases be closed in six years.

At a glance Statewide jobs affected by the recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission: NAVY » Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Gain: 111 civilians. Loss: 29 military personnel. » Human Resource Service Center Loss: 65 civilians. Close: Civilian personnel office. ARMY » 9th Regional Readiness Command (Army Reserve) Relocate: 118 soldiers. Close: Army Reserve Center in Hilo, but soldiers could be relocated to a new Hawaii Army National Guard-Army Reserve $80 million complex planned for Keaukaha Military Reservation near Hilo Airport. AIR FORCE » Hickam Air Force Base Loss: 152 military personnel and 110 civilians. Consolidate: Daily maintenance operations involved in upkeep of Pearl Harbor under a Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Relocate: Regional Supply Support Squadron to a new Air Force Logistics Support Center in Virginia. (Labor force there: 14 civilians, 199 enlisted airmen and officers.) Assign: Four KC-135 Stratotanker jet tankers from Grand Forks Air Force Base to the Hawaii Air Guard's 203rd Air Refueling Squadron. DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE Loss: 213 civilians, 29 military. Close: Ford Island operations.

They didn't learn until they reported to work on Monday that their jobs, along with 211 other civilians and 29 service members who work for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Hawaii, will likely be eliminated by 2011.

"I wasn't really educated in the entire base closure process," said Vidinha, who was vacationing in Florida last week. "I only looked at what major commands and bases were being closed."

He thought Hawaii had been spared since none of its 83 installations were mentioned as being on the chopping block.

Makahi, an accountant for the Navy for the past 20 years, added: "I was off on Friday. I didn't get the news until I returned to work on Monday. I was very surprised and very sad. The first thing that came to my mind was that I wouldn't have a job."

She is still paying for the home she bought seven years ago in Ewa Beach where she and her two daughters live.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld surprised some workers in Hawaii by recommending to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission that 21 regional military accounting sites, including the one at Ford Island, be closed and consolidated at three locations.

Another surprise was the recommendation to shut by 2011 the Human Resource Service Center Pacific at Pearl Harbor, which would mean a loss of 65 civilian jobs.

A total of 388 civilians in Hawaii, including 110 at Hickam Air Force Base, would be affected by the recommendations to the commission.

Vidinha, 24, a 1998 Waimea High School graduate on Kauai, wants to remain as a government accountant and hopes the federal government can find him a job that will keep him in the islands. He has been a Defense Finance and Accounting Service accountant for two years.

But Vidinha, who received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in business from Chaminade University, acknowledged that since he is single, without a mortgage or any other large debts, he could relocate to the mainland to one of the three consolidated finance centers in Denver, Columbus, Ohio, or Indianapolis.

Makahi, who is a widow, said: "Like Ernest, I will first try to find a job in Hawaii. But I have to think about my retirement. If I have to move, I will move."

Art Buck, who oversees the operations of Pearl Harbor's Human Resource Service Center from Washington, D.C., said similar job placement offers will be made to the 65 civilians in his Hawaii labor force. The operations of the Pearl Harbor agency will be absorbed by centers in Silverdale, Wash., and San Diego. The agency handles promotions, retirements and benefits issues for Navy civilian workers in Hawaii and the Pacific.

Makahi, a 1967 Aiea High School graduate, said, "There's nearly two dozen of us who have been here since this unit was activated in 1994.

"I think we are unique," Makahi added, "because we are the only regional site that supports all of the four military services. The other sites specialize in only one branch of the military."

Makahi said it will be couple of years before the BRAC commission recommendations take effect.

"By then my daughter, who will be a junior at BYU here this summer, will have graduated. She may look for work on the mainland and I could join her."

The commission has until Sept. 8 to submit its recommendations to President Bush. The president can only accept or reject this list in its entirety. There have been four base closing rounds in the past with previous commissions endorsing 85 percent of the recommendations.