Windward Oahu residents can reasonably expect the skies above Kaneohe to become busier as the Marine Corps proceeds, as it should, with plans for upgraded training capability at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.

Some residents are expected to voice their opinions tonight about what they expect to be an increase in aircraft noise — the most worrisome effect for neighbors of the base. The plans, disclosed in the draft environmental impact statement, have been rolled out to the community for comment in recent weeks, the final public session slated for 5:30-6:30 tonight at Castle High School cafeteria, followed by a two-hour open house.

The Marine Corps has been trying to reassure the neighbors anticipating a greater increase in noise than what’s really going to happen once the plan, which is to base three new aircraft squadrons in Hawaii, goes into effect. Complaints tend to center off the C-17 fixed-wing aircraft that perform about 48 landings at Kaneohe Bay per week, and that activity is not expected to increase, said Maj. Alan Crouch, director of the Marine base public affairs office.

There will be some effect on communities surrounding other locations to be used by the new squadrons, such as Bellows, Schofield’s East Range and training facilities at Pohakuloa on Hawaii Island, but it’s really Kaneohe that’s at the center of the issue.

Here are some of the particulars of the plan:

» Kaneohe would be the preferred location for basing and operation of up to two Marine Medium Tiltrotor squadrons, with 24 aircraft, and one Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadron, with 27 aircraft.

» The craft would be 18 P-8A Poseidon submarine-hunting jets; 24 MV-22 tilt-rotor Ospreys; 18 AH-1 Cobra and later, Viper, attack helicopters; and nine UH-1 Huey transports.

» The new basing also would triple "transient" large-jet operations by aircraft such as Air Force C-5 cargo carriers and Russian/ Ukrainian An-124s, the world’s largest cargo airplane, as logistical needs grow.

» Offsetting the increases, two squadrons of about 24 aging CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters and most of the Navy’s propeller-driven P-3C Orion sub hunters would be retired (one squadron of CH-53E Super Stallions would remain).

As much as possible, the Marines should consider residents’ noise concerns when plotting the training flights, in terms of the hours of operation and the flight paths. Communications about airfield hours and special activities currently involves alerts by newsletter emailed to elected officials and community members — and these should be maintained, even amplified (plans also are posted online: www.mcbh.usmc. mil/letter/aloha.htm).

Officials also said crews familiar with the base also know flight approaches that minimize noise intrusions, but added that some units come through to train on a transient basis, unaware of the sensitivities. Additional efforts to brief short-term users of the airfield would be appreciated by the densely populated community.

However, the proposal overall seems a reasonable means of boosting the readiness of Hawaii’s Marines, with superior, safer tactical craft and with activity that fits within the range of base operations conducted at Kaneohe for decades. The military always needs to make accommodations for residential neighbors, but part of that work must fall to the civilian community, too. Neighbors of military bases have to accept some measure of noise as the reality of moving in next to an airfield that, in most cases, was first on the scene.