The U.S. will move more than 2,500 Marines from Japan to Hawaii — a more than 20 percent increase in the islands — as the Pentagon scales back a $21.1 billion blueprint for Guam, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye confirmed Tuesday.
"This troop movement will occur after extensive discussions with the leaders of Japan, and it highlights Hawaii’s importance as the focus of our national defense shifts to the Asia-Pacific region," Inouye said.
The Pentagon is expected to announce as soon as today that it intends to send about 4,700 U.S. Marines now stationed on Okinawa to Guam, as previously reported, as well as the contingent going to Hawaii, according to two people familiar with the plan, who spoke on condition of anonymity because not all of the plan has been made public.
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done (in Hawaii) to prepare for their arrival," Inouye said. "We must build more housing, secure more training areas and improve and expand infrastructure while working with the counties and the state to make certain the Marines transition easily into their new duty station in Hawaii. The one thing I am confident of is that the people of Hawaii will welcome these brave men and women and their families with aloha."
Marines also will rotate through Australia, and hundreds will be stationed on the U.S. mainland, probably on the West Coast, according to the new plan.
Under a 2006 agreement with Japan, 8,600 Marines and 9,000 dependents were to be transferred from Okinawa almost 1,500 miles south to Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, by 2014. Now the Obama administration is seeking a less costly plan in a time of defense spending cutbacks even as its strategy places added emphasis on projecting force in the Asia-Pacific region.
Hawaii was chosen because of its forward position in the Pacific, which puts it closer to potential flash points in Asia, officials said. It also has the necessary support for the additional Marines.
While the number of Marines going to Guam under the revised plan was previously reported, the numbers to be based in Hawaii and on the mainland hadn’t been resolved and are part of a still-evolving plan.
Inouye said in late February that due to continuing problems with the 2006 agreement, the plan had changed.
At the time, Inouye said he expected Hawaii to receive about 1,000 Marines from Okinawa. The number to be announced either this week or early next week is expected to top 2,500.
About 11,000 Marines are based at Kaneohe Bay, and about 700 others are part of Marine Forces Pacific headquarters at Camp Smith, the Marine Corps has said.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie said he anticipated the Marine move for some time.
"Since taking office, I have had discussions with officials from the U.S. Pacific Command in anticipation of a Marine transfer from Okinawa to Hawaii," Abercrombie said in a statement. "I also met with Okinawa Prefectural Governor Hirokazu Nakaima on this matter when I visited in October."
"As the Pentagon finalizes its plans, I believe the number of Marines moving to our state will increase and we are well prepared to receive them. While in Congress, I worked on key legislation that allowed for ample military housing. In my role as governor I am working to ensure that there is ongoing military and state cooperation to allow for a seamless and smooth transition for our servicemen and women and their families."
Where the additional Marines will be based in Hawaii still has to be figured out.
The Marines’ preference is to have most of their forces on Oahu at Kaneohe Bay, but plans already in the works, including proposals for Navy P-8A Poseidon jets, Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and new attack, utility and heavy transport helicopters — adding up to a 49 percent increase in airfield use by 2018 — might make it impossible to base all the Marines there.
An official said Pearl City Peninsula, where SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One has a compound, is among multiple sites on Oahu that might be looked at to house the extra Marines.
At a time when military communities across the country are fretting about defense cuts, the additional Marines and their families would mean millions for Hawaii’s economy.
There also will be concerns about the further "militarization" of the state.
Inouye previously said the Kona side of Hawaii island could be looked at to house more Marines.
State Rep. Cindy Evans (D, North Kona-South Kohala) said Abercrombie told her he envisioned Marine family housing on Hawaii island, but not as part of a new base.
New housing for the Marine families could be added in existing communities east or west of the military’s big Pohakuloa Training Area, she said.
"Do I think the community is accepting (of the military)? Absolutely," Evans said.
She also realizes some residents worry about too much military, or too many tourists, but that many see the military at Pohakuloa as "as a solid neighbor. They bring money in for education. They’ve been very supportive of the community."
About 60 percent of the Marines going to Guam will be based in the territory temporarily, known as "on rotation," rather than being permanently stationed there, according to one of the individuals familiar with the plan.
The Marines moved to Hawaii also could eventually be on rotational deployments across the Pacific, an official said.
About 200 Hawaii Marines landed in Australia in early April and are serving on the first of the U.S. rotational deployments to the country that are expected to grow to 2,500 Marines in coming years.
Okinawans have long called for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to be closed, citing crime and pollution. The Obama administration’s plans to move Marine Corps expeditionary forces out of Japan are no longer contingent on progress in building a new site at Kadena Air Base on the island for Marine aviation units.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta phoned Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka on Tuesday "to discuss the realignment of U.S. forces in Okinawa and Guam," according to Navy Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman.
"Panetta said he looked forward to an official announcement in the very near future outlining specifics of the mutually agreed-upon way forward," Kirby said in a statement posted on the Pentagon’s website.
The Pentagon’s proposal to move Marines from Japan to Hawaii, Guam and Australia must be approved by Congress, and lawmakers might reject any plan until the Defense Department submits an independent assessment of its strategic posture in the Asia-Pacific region, three U.S. senators said Tuesday in a letter to Panetta.
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Bloomberg News writer Roxana Tiron contributed to this report.
