Isle Army expansion
keeps eye on traffic

Military officials plan
$693 million in road and
facility upgrades

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

FORT POLK, La. >> As the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii begins turning into one of the Army's new medium weight combat brigades, officials are looking for ways to prevent traffic congestion on Oahu and the Big Island created by an increased number of vehicles and soldiers.

Maj. Gen. James Dubik, commander of the 25th Infantry Division, said among the possibilities now under consideration is taking military vehicles off Kamehameha Highway by upgrading Drum Road, which is now an unpaved dirt road used only for training. The Army now relies on Kamehameha Highway to move troops to the Kahuku Military Training area.

On the Big Island, Dubik is considering upgrading the Pohakuloa tank trail from Kawaihae Harbor to the training area at Pohakuloa to reduce traffic congestion on Saddle Road.

These are just two of the 32 military construction projects amounting to $693 million the Army is considering as it upgrades its firing and training ranges, roads and training facilities in Hawaii.

Dubik told reporters this weekend that he still believes the Army leadership will retain the 10 divisions it now maintains, but their compositions will greatly change. The Army general says transformation for the Tropic Lightning division will mean 480 new soldiers.

He said that the Army's transformation is "based on a new world structure" and that force that it once had was "good for the cold war, but now we are forced to react" and fight every kind of war, referring to recent conflicts and peacekeeping operations in Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

The goal is to have a fighting force deployed to anywhere in the world in 96 hours, equipped with its own vehicles and support systems, reconnaissance teams and heavy weapons able to support the spectrum of conflict from peacekeeping missions to traditional full theater warfare.

By 2004, the Army hopes to add 400 new eight-wheeled armored vehicles to Schofield Barracks' arsenal. These vehicles are supposed to give the division more armor than current infantry units, but also make it faster and mobile than tank brigades.

The training facilities at Schofield also would be improved and expanded with the possibility of buying land from Del Monte to create two new rifle and training ranges which eventually could replace Makua Military reservation -- the use of which has been opposed by some Leeward Oahu residents. The Army is now working a comprehensive environmental impact to justify the continued use of Makua.

"That would give us the option of doing something different at Makua," Dubik said. "I am not saying sell it or give it back, but we would then have options."

"We need to continue that training at Makua," he added, "while we build that new infrastructure."

Dubik said throughout the transformation process, the Army is still committed "to protect the environment and historical and cultural sites."

The general has been meeting community and political leaders to brief them on these proposed changes.

"We're putting these proposals on the table," Dubik told reporters from Hawaii. "We're doing the right environmental studies ... This is how democracy works."

He said that last year $15 million was invested in environmental studies, land purchases and design planning for Hawaii. He said another $10 million will be spent this year as part of this on-going process.

Last year the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis became the first of six brigades converted into the Army's new medium weight combat brigades. Last summer the Army announced that 2nd Brigade at Schofield Barracks would be one of six to make the conversion over the next decade. Dubik oversaw the transformation of the Fort Lewis units before coming to Schofield.

The transformation proposals Dubik briefed reporters on also include:

>> Building three new training facilities at Kahuku to include mockups of prison and military compounds, industrial complex and residential areas.

>> Expand the runways at Bradshaw Field at Pohakuloa and Wheeler Army Air Field to accommodate C-17 jet cargo planes.

>> Constructing virtual reality training simulators at Schofield using computer and laser guided weapons system. In some cases, Dubik said the training would involve weapons similar to those used by paintball enthusiasts.

>> Reconfiguring the fire ranges at Schofield so company level commanders could use all sorts of weapons, including missiles.

Dubik spent part of the week at the Joint Readiness Training Center viewing the training 1,900 of his soldiers are undergoing in preparation for a six-month tour in Bosnia as part of the nation's peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans.

The Tropic Lightning soldiers will be primarily responsible for patrols in the southern sector of the Multi National Division (North) area while in Bosnia. They will take charge of the area April 5 from a Virginia Army National Guard unit.