Big Isle airs out
Stryker grievancesCouncilman Bob Jacobsen
adds his protest at the meeting
HILO >> More than 200 people -- many anti-war protesters, environmentalists and Hawaiian activists -- jammed a hearing last night to protest deployment of 20-ton Stryker armored combat vehicles in Hawaii.
"There are over 50 sites in Hawaii that have unexploded ordnance and toxic chemicals, including sarin gas," said community activist Moanikeala Akaka, "and we just feel there should be a cleanup before they even consider an expansion. Their track record has been dismal and appalling."
At the hearing last night in the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, 74 people testified, including Hawaii County Councilman Bob Jacobsen, who opposed the project, also citing a concern for unexploded ordnance on the island.
It was the second hearing on the Big Island on the Army's proposed conversion of the Hawaii-based 2nd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division to a Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The Army hopes to acquire 23,000 acres on the Big Island and add 1,400 to the 27,000 acres Schofield Barracks occupies in Wahiawa to build new facilities to accommodate 310 new eight-wheeled Stryker combat vehicles.
About the same number of people attended Wednesday's hearing at the Marriott Waikoloa Hotel.
The proposed conversion is in line with the Pentagon's announced strategy to make its forces "faster and more mobile," according to Army spokesman Maj. John Williams.
Last week on Oahu, a total of seven protesters were arrested for carrying signs at the first two Army hearings on Stryker. The Army had banned protest signs from the meetings, which were held on private property.
The Army later backtracked and allowed signs in the last two Oahu meetings and for the Big Island hearings. They also allowed Big Island protesters to set up an anti-Stryker information table next to the military's display.
The Army had been criticized both for its handling of protesters on Oahu as well as the amount of time it allocated for public testimony. Army officials have since extended the time for public comment through Jan. 3.
