Rep. Mark Takai, a major in the Hawaii Army National Guard, will be activated next month to serve with the 29th Brigade Combat Team in Kuwait for six months.

Residents Worry About Rep Takai's Deployment

 

He will miss almost all of the upcoming session, some of his constituents from Aiea and Pearl City say he should be replaced to ensure they get adequate representation.

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  This is the second time Takai (D, Aiea-Pearl City) has been called to active duty during his 14-year legislative career. From May to November in 2005, he served six months of active duty in an administrative position while the National Guard brigade was deployed to Iraq. Although he did his active duty here, Takai missed a special legislative session.

This time, Takai will miss most of the 2009 session, which begins tomorrow - making him the first Hawaii legislator to be deployed during a regular session.

Takai, a civil affairs officer for the Hawaii Army National Guard, will be activated Feb. 4 and will be traveling to Fort Benning, Ga., on Feb. 6. He is expected to travel to Kuwait a week later.

Takai, 41, will join about 1,700 citizen soldiers with the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who have been there since November providing security and running U.S. military bases in Kuwait, as well as escorting convoys heading to Iraq.

He said the most difficult challenge of the upcoming deployment will be the separation from his family. Takai and his wife, Sami, are the parents of two school-age children.

Takai's legislative staff will continue to work on constituent requests and on community issues, such as traffic and transportation, he said.

In August 2004, former state Rep. Tulsi Tamayo was deployed with the Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team. Tamayo did not miss any House sessions, but she could not campaign for re-election in the 2004 primary election and lost.

Takai said 35 current state legislators across the country have been deployed to another country while still serving in their legislatures, according to the National Network of Legislators in the Military.