I have to admit that I wasn’t really aware of the Oahu Council for Army Downsizing until I saw news of a Honolulu Ethics Commission opinion dismissing concerns over use of public resources to promote a Chamber of Commerce petition against any Army cuts.
The Oahu Council takes the view that the Army’s budget cutting offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hawaii to lessen the military’s control of scarce land and resources, providing a huge benefit to the general public.
From the group’s website:
The OCAD wants the people of Hawaii and Oahu to understand the goodness that can occur if the Army is downsized in the quantities proposed by DoD. The OCAD believes the cuts proposed should occur in the near term and that the following bases and geographic areas be returned to the State of Hawaii: Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, Makua Valley, Dillingham Military Reservation, and Kolekole pass with unimpeded access on Lualualei Naval Road.
The OCAD believes the DoD’s recommendation for cuts provides a ‘once–in–a–century’ opportunity for Hawaii Nei; if military forces on Oahu are not cut during this round of force structure cuts, then nothing will change on Oahu militarily — there will never be another round of cuts like this for Hawaii in any of our lifetimes.
Their website is also full of links to documents, those spelling out the Army’s planning process, and critical responses by the council and its members, along with a number of videos of presentations explaining the issues.
The council takes the position that without the political clout of the late Dan Inouye, Hawaii is going to have a hard time avoiding cuts. And if significant cuts are ahead, then we should be cutting the best deal that we can, one that involves the transfer of military lands and resources back to the local community.
Their point of view needs to get a lot more attention. This isn’t a new issue. The economic arguments in favor of the conversion of military facilities to civilian use have been around for decades, and many places on the mainland have gone through the process of conversion. It needs to at least be recognized as a legitimate option.
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If military land reverts to civilian use in Hawaii, that does not mean that it will be for locals. In fact, a diminished role played by the military in Hawaii’s economy could mean relative increased power for land developers (presuming the continued lack of economic diversification).
For decades the four pillars of the Hawaii economy were sugar, pineapple, tourism and military spending. For all practical purposes sugar and pineapple are gone. When the global or mainland economies sneeze, tourism catches cold. Hawaii is no longer an exotic island paradise. How long will the people keep coming if they have to spend hours in traffic in Kailua, Lanikai, North Shore and elsewhere? Tourism is an increasingly shaky pillar. Now people want to start chopping away at the military. I would like to here some cogent thoughts on what, exactly, will drive the Hawaii economy in the future if we succeed in driving out the military.
Hawaii has no natural resources except sun, sand and surf which are already dangerously over exploited. Manufacturing is out because of transportation costs. For more than forty years we have heard about attracting “knowledge industries” which can happen anywhere. This has not happened to any great extent because you still need people. But, the cost of living here is so high that “anywhere” can just as easily be India, the Philippines, or eastern Europe where it is much cheaper to live.
So, what is the plan folks? Seriously, what IS the plan? How are our children and grandchildren going to continue to live in Hawaii? Most schemes seem to be much like the proverbial (with apologies to Ian and all other cat lovers including myself) cat and rat farm. You raise rats and feed them to the cats. Then you slaughter the cats, feed the remains to the rats and then sell the cat skins for a profit.
So, I repeat, when we succeed in driving the military away and the tourist dollars begin to dry up, what is the plan?
The people of Hawaii aren’t in a position to make the US military forces go away, but if they’re asking for permission to leave, that should be a no-brainer.
Okinawa and the Philippines have also had a love-hate relationship with the U.S. armed forces. Military presence definitely brings economic benefits and generates jobs. Of course, it comes at a price. But honestly. Is there anyone here so naive as to think otherwise?
Combat training and military ops takes a toll on the environment. Legions of young GIs going to town in order to relieve their stress and boredom will inevitably result in some of them getting into trouble with the locals. That’s just how it is, and it is unlikely to ever change. It’s up to the host communities to decide if the price is worth the rewards. And for many, the answer has been….yes. Maybe a reluctant yes. But with all the headaches that comes with military bases, none of it is so great as to override concerns about how locals will put a roof over their heads and putting food on their table.
I advise you all to read this article by Ikaika Ramones, Sociology Department Faculty Member at Harvard University. http://hawaiiindependent.net/story/the-true-cost-of-hawaiis-militarization