Isle Marine forces could grow by 1,000

Hawaii’s military future could include another Navy cruiser and at least 1,000 more Marines if some forces are removed from Okinawa, the Star-Advertiser has learned.

The Pentagon outlined plans Thursday to cut $487 billion over the next 10 years, but Hawaii’s location makes it key in a new military strategy that emphasizes the Pacific, Asia and the Middle East. As such, Hawaii’s military forces are expected to grow in certain areas and stay about the same in others, such as Army strength, which will remain constant on Oahu, military officials said.

While the Marine Corps is making plans to drop to a force of 182,000 from 202,000, Hawaii’s Marine contingent could grow by 1,000 troops or more as the Pentagon looks at alternatives to moving Marines from Okinawa to Guam, a source familiar with the plans told the Star-Advertiser. Hawaii could get some of those reshuffled forces, said the source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the plans.

In May the U.S. Government Accountability Office said the cost estimate to move the 8,000 Marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam, and to relocate other Marines to another location on Okinawa, had ballooned to $29.1 billion from $10.3 billion.

The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act froze funding for the Guam move, with a congressional conference report calling for the secretary of defense to come up with a new “master plan” for basing there.

About 11,000 Marines are based at Kaneohe Bay, and about 700 others are part of Marine Forces Pacific headquarters at Camp Smith, a Corps spokeswoman said.

When asked about the reported plan to move at least 1,000 more Marines to Hawaii as the result of an Okinawa reduction, Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Defense Department spokeswoman, did not directly address the proposal.

Hull-Ryde said in an email that the “U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone of peace and stability in the region.”

The Pentagon remains “committed to the mutual fulfillment of the principles of the 2006 Realignment Roadmap,” which seeks to relocate some Marines to another location on Okinawa and move others to Guam, she said.

“The (Defense) Department also remains committed to establishing an operational Marine Corps presence on Guam and enhancing the alliance while significantly reducing the impact of U.S. bases on the Okinawan people,” Hull-Ryde said.

As part of the effort to strengthen a Pacific presence, another cruiser also might be moved to Hawaii, the source said.

Pearl Harbor is home to six destroyers, two frigates and three cruisers — the Chosin, Lake Erie and Port Royal.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor said in a statement, “We have no information about changes in ship assignments at this time.”

The fiscal 2013 defense budget request also seeks a new round of base closures, the early retirement of seven cruisers, elimination of six of 60 Air Force tactical air squadrons and “marginal reductions” in the Army Reserve and National Guard.

The Pentagon said in a budget paper that “the focus on the Asia-Pacific region places a renewed emphasis on air and naval forces while sustaining ground force presence.”

The Middle East, also an emphasis, is expected to “become increasingly mari­time” for a U.S. military presence.

The current bomber fleet will be maintained, as will the fleet of 11 aircraft carriers. Funds have been budgeted to base small, shore-hugging warships in Singapore and to develop a new “afloat forward staging base” for missions such as mine countermeasures.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a news briefing at the Pentagon that the military will be smaller and leaner, flexible and rapidly deployable.

The U.S. military will “rebalance our global posture and presence to emphasize where we think the potential problems will be in the world,” Panetta said. “And that means emphasizing Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.”

The budget “protects and in some cases increases our investments in these critical areas,” he said.

The Marines “will sustain their level of presence in the Pacific,” and the budget supports an enhanced presence and partnering opportunities with Australia and the Philippines, Panetta said.

The Army will keep its force level about the same in Asia and the Pacific as the service looks to make cuts elsewhere, Gen. Raymond Odi­erno, Army chief of staff, said during a stop in Hawaii last week.

In addition, it will rotate extra soldiers through the region from the mainland for training, engagement and deployments as needed, he said.

The Army maintains about 28,500 soldiers in South Korea, 23,000 in Hawaii, 2,700 in Japan and 13,000 in Alaska, according to U.S. Army Pacific.

“We wanted to maintain the strongest military in the world,” Panetta said of the new budget. “We committed ourselves not to hollow out the force, as has been done in the past in these kinds of drawdowns, to take a balanced approach to our budget by putting everything on the table and to not break faith with the troops and their families.”

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hana­busa, D-Hawaii, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the budget plan “is a reasonable response to our nation’s economic needs and the changing face of our military engagements. History has shown us that we too often ‘fight the last war,’ instead of planning for the challenges on the horizon.

“The secretary (Panetta) maintains our nation’s focus on Asia and the Pacific, which is vital to maintaining our primary role in this theater of the future.”