Police, fire officials County fire and police departments plan to shift personnel and keep some on overtime to deal with staffing shortages that would occur in case military reservists and Hawaii National Guard members are called to active duty to fight a war against Iraq.
plan for staff deficit
in case of war
Marine reservists ordered to Persian Gulf
By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.comHowever, some departments will be harder hit than others.
The Honolulu Police Department has the highest number and highest percentage of officers who are military reservists or National Guard members among the four county police and fire departments.
The 174 officers who could be called to active duty represent 9 percent of the department's 1,916-person police force.
If any officers are called to active military duty, the department will shift staff from specialized units, such as Juvenile Services, Narcotics/Vice and Traffic, to fill possible shortages in patrol, said Maj. Dave Kajihiro, HPD Human Resources Division.
The Honolulu Fire Department plans to use overtime and move staff from desk operations to firefighting duties, said Capt. Richard Soo, HFD spokesman. Seventy-six of the department's 1,138 firefighters are military reservists or members of the National Guard.
HPD and HFD account for nearly three-fourths of all city employees in military reserve units or the Hawaii National Guard. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the city took a census of its employees and counted 350 reservists and National Guard members, said Carol Costa, city spokeswoman.
The departments also established contingency plans to replace employees who may be called to active military service. Those plans are still in place, and the departments are doing a new census to see whether the number of reservists and National Guard members has gone up or down, Costa said.
Only six of the Kauai Police Department's 124 uniformed officers are members of the Hawaii National Guard, but two are already on military duty and the department has 21 vacancies.
"Every time one leaves it hurts," said Kauai Police Chief George Freitas.
Fifteen of the Maui Police Department's 310 officers are military reservists or members of the National Guard. If they are called to active duty, MPD also plans to move officers from specialized assignments to fill any vacancies in patrol.
"If we absolutely have to, we would tap the plainclothes officers," said Kekuhaupio Akana, deputy police chief.
Only three of the Maui Fire Department's 255 firefighters could be called to active military service. Maui Fire Chief Richard Fernandez does not anticipate difficulty covering for them.
"What we'll do is call people back to meet the minimum requirement of four firefighters per shift per station," he said.
The Hawaii County Police Department has 372 officers on the police force. Fourteen are military reservists or National Guard members.
Numbers for the Big Island and Kauai fire departments were not available yesterday.
State Department of Defense
