[ OUR OPINION ]
Stryker review should
have been more thorough
|
It appears that it left a chink in its plans for the armored vehicle.
A lawsuit aimed at stopping the Army from converting a combat unit into a brigade has been filed on behalf of three native Hawaiian organizations that contend the Army did not consider locations other than Hawaii for the new force as it should have.
Unfulfilled obligations to restore damaged lands in the state and the continuing conflict over live-fire training at Makua Valley have predictably increased public opposition to further military expansion here.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a government report last week that said because of design problems, the Stryker brigades won't be able to meet the original goal of quick engagement in combat, raising legitimate questions about whether the program should go forward.
In its filing, the public interest law firm EarthJustice pointed to requirements that environmental assessments "rigorously explore and objectively evaluate all reasonable alternatives" when considering sites and that decisionmakers and the public be informed about options to "avoid or minimize adverse impacts" rather than justifying decisions already made.
EarthJustice contends that neither the drafts nor final impact statements weighed any alternatives even though mainland sites had been suggested.
The Hawaiian groups believe that their interests are threatened by the nearly 300 24-ton vehicles that would operate on expanded training grounds on Oahu and on the Big Island. Indeed, the EIS acknowledges that "transforming the 2nd Brigade in Hawaii would destroy native Hawaiian cultural sites, prevent the exercise of traditional practices and irreparably harm Hawaii's fragile and unique native ecosystem as well as the endangered plants and animals," EarthJustice says.
Although the state has been eager to reap some of the millions of dollars the expansion will bring in, the economic benefits must be weighed against cultural and environmental costs.
The Army promises it will spend $40 million to offset environmental damage, but thousands of acres previously used by the military remain spoiled. Even on Kahoolawe, where more than $400 million was spent on clearing ordnance, there are still thousands of bombs and bullets. It would be preferable for the Army to devise a plan for restoration and to lessen environmental damage before the Stryker's wheels run over Hawaiian soil.
The argument for locating the brigades in Hawaii was rapid deployment, the goal being to reach anywhere in the Pacific Rim within 96 hours. However, the Government Accountability Office reports that the weight of the Stryker -- refitted with additional armor because it was vulnerable to the type of rocket-propelled grenades used against soldiers in Iraq -- and its equipment and crew make it impossible under certain conditions for the planes carrying them to take off. The weight also cuts in half the 1,000-mile flight range originally required. If crew and gear are carried separately, unloading, outfitting armor and assembling troops consumes time and delays deployment.
