Local workers hired
for Stryker work
More than 20 local construction workers have been hired as the U.S. Army begins to carve the landscape at Schofield Barracks for its new Stryker Combat Brigade.
Marty Ray, vice president of ZapataEngineering, said the company will work on a nearly $5 million contract to clear 941 acres at Schofield Barracks for a new battle area complex for gunnery training and weapons qualifications.
The project was authorized last year by Congress, which allocated $19.4 million to enlarge the training area at Schofield Barracks' south range.
Overall, there are 28 construction projects, valued at $693 million, planned on Oahu and the Big Island to accommodate the additional 800 soldiers and 291 new, 19-ton combat Stryker vehicles.
Two other Stryker projects are on tap:
>> The acquisition of more than 1,400 acres next to Schofield Barracks from Campbell Estate.The Army will also begin negotiations to acquire 23,000 acres from Parker Ranch on the Big Island to enlarge the Pohakuloa Training Area to accommodate operations of the eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles.
>> The building of a road for the Strykers from Schofield Barracks to Helemano at a cost of $1.4 million.And construction is scheduled to start next year for vehicle maintenance and training facilities in Kahuku.
The 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade, now deployed to Iraq until next spring, will be converted by 2007 to a fighting unit designed to help the Army bridge the gap between its heavy armored and light infantry units. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Army found that it took too long to get its heavily armored troops to the Middle East.
ZapataEngineering's Ray said the clearance work is expected to be completed by March.
He said his company, which has its headquarters in North Carolina, has had a branch in Kailua since 2001 and expects to employ 60 people for the job, including the 20 workers from the islands.
When completed, the range will also support smaller platoon live-fire operations.
The Army said a total of $8.7 million has been appropriated for this project.
The range will have roads lined with 22 stationary armor targets, three moving armor targets, 167 stationary infantry targets and 27 moving infantry targets. There also will be 16 machine-gun observation bunkers, two grenade-breaching obstacles and three helicopter landing zones.
Once converted, Schofield Barracks' 2nd Brigade will have about 3,600 personnel and include three infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron, an artillery battalion, a support battalion, a military intelligence company, an engineer company, a signal company and an anti-tank company.