Hmmm, maybe Strykers not such a good fit for isles

Through most of the past decade, the Army insisted that the security of the nation would be at risk if it could not base 4,200 soldiers and 300 19-ton Stryker vehicles in the islands.

The brigade, the Army contended, would be the bridge between its past and its future.

"It’s a new way to fight," a deputy director for transformation said in 2003 when the military began to ramp up its forces to match the changing strategies of combat.

As it happens, new becomes old and old is revived and now the leader of the Army in the Pacific is questioning the relevance of Strykers in the world of war.

Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski, in an exit interview as he prepares to retire, said he believes the Army should reconsider the brigade’s status in Hawaii and perhaps return it to a light infantry unit.

Understanding that military tactics and game plans shift continually as enemies and threats evolve, the Pacific commander’s musings were still surprising.

After touching off court challenges, damaging the environment and cultural sites and provoking community discontent, it appears the Army might be realizing that Strykers in Hawaii are an ill fit after all.

Legal disputes began with a claim that the Army had violated environmental laws when it did not consider other locations besides Schofield Barracks for the brigade. A federal judge in 2005 ruled for the Army, but a year later, an appeals court sided with the plaintiffs and issued an injunction to stop construction work, training and other activities until additional environmental assessments were completed. The $1.5 billion endeavor, however, restart-ed after the case went back to lower court, which allowed the activities to go on for fear of sending untrained soldiers into combat.

Environmental and cultural advocates were frustrated because the court mostly disregarded the damage that construction and training exercises had done and the prospects of even further harm. They pointed to a heiau that had been nearly bulldozed, and said that monitors were not allowed to review cultural sites on Oahu.

On Hawaii island, work at Pohakuloa put at risk rare birds and plants as the massive Stryker vehicles trundled through the terrain between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Residents objected, distrusting the military because of its previous actions in Hawaii. Kahoolawe and Makua Valley were often brought up when the Army, in acknowledging there would be significant effects on biological and cultural resources, said it would mitigate those problems.

But momentum and the terrible, imprudent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan spoke louder, particularly when Hawaii’s political leaders talked about the money the project was flushing into the islands.

Land has always been a major complication for the brigade. Even with 23,000 acres bought from a land-rich, cash-poor ranch on hawaii island and 1,400 acres acquired from a property-shedding estate, Wiercinski conceded that space was still short for training.

Retiring officers have been known to deviate from the party line, so whether the Army will pull the plug on the brigade is uncertain. However, the acknowledgement that there are better places than these small islands to run Strykers is significant. Reason can prevail.

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Cynthia Oi can be reached at coi@staradvertiser.com.