Arrested Hawaii soldier studied Islam during deployment, father says

The father of Schofield Barracks soldier Ikaika E. Kang said he was “stunned” to learn today that the FBI arrested his son over the weekend for alleged ties to the terrorist group Islamic State.

“Nobody told me anything. This is the first time I heard about” it, said Clifford Kang when reached by telephone by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser this afternoon. “I’m kind of stunned to tell you the truth.”

“I never heard of him being with ISIS,” Kang said.

Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang, an air traffic control operator, has been stationed at Schofield Barracks for almost three years. He entered the Army right after graduating from Kaiser High School in 2001. He served two tours, the first in Iraq and the second in Afghanistan.

The senior Kang said his son started studying the Islamic faith a couple of years ago during one of his deployments.

He last saw his son about two weeks ago when Ikaika visited him at his Kailua home for a barbecue. A Vietnam veteran, the father recalled that he told his son how proud he was of being a parent of an Army soldier.

Ikaika Kang was born and raised in Waimanalo. During his youth, he loved surfing at Makapuu and playing baseball and football, according to his father.

In his adulthood, Kang became involved in mixed martial arts. He competed in a couple of tournaments when he was stationed in Kansas City.

Kang has lived in an apartment in Royal Kunia for the last couple of years.