Army Re-alignment could have staggering effect on Hawaii

[Tiger Beer]

Interesting. Is it just pure speculation though?

Like another poster mentioned, it certainly temporary alleviates some of the housing issues. But would certainly add to traffic issues, if people starting commuting from there.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

So, if the military closes Hawaii, what are they going to use for mid-Pacific bases? Or do we now have planes that can fly to China or North Korea, fly a mission, and get back to the mainland without refueling?

[Pretzelogik]

Where is that 'ol Punahou graduate when you need him? Oh i forgot..he is busy throwing peeps under the bus.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

So, if the military closes Hawaii, what are they going to use for mid-Pacific bases?

I was thinking the same thing..

[hawaiian by heart]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

I was thinking the same thing..

I doubt they are closing all the bases in Hawaii. Just kinda my point all along. Its time to start thinking about achieveing a substainable lifestyle on the islands and the just keep raising prices will not cut it anymore.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

So, if the military closes Hawaii, what are they going to use for mid-Pacific bases? Or do we now have planes that can fly to China or North Korea, fly a mission, and get back to the mainland without refueling?

They're not talking about closing Hawai'i, more like cutting down the troop deployment. Naval support will likely stay strong, but with the land war in Afghanistan winding down and other troop reductions in cinflict zones, Army staffing can and will be reduced, whether or not base closures hit.

[JoDan]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

So, if the military closes Hawaii, what are they going to use for mid-Pacific bases? Or do we now have planes that can fly to China or North Korea, fly a mission, and get back to the mainland without refueling?

The discussion of possible closures deals with Ft. Shafter and Scofield Barracks. Doesn't sound like AF and Navy are involved. Army is downsizing to around 435K.

[Tuck's Dad]

Guam is getting a lot of AF and some Navy functions stationed there, but overall I would not see significant cuts for the Navy and AF in HI. The Army is a different story. The Big Island is the major training site, but Oahu is the stationing for most Army assets (there are some ranges on Schofield, but the activities and use times are pretty restrictive). Transportation costs for training are astronomical, and there are a lot of environmental and endangered species limitations in the training areas the Army does have.

HI is EXPENSIVE, and the Army response time for deploying from the West coast could be as little as an additional 5-8 hours for a small contingent via airlift, to an additional week or slightly less for a large scale deployment with medium and heavy units by ship. Advantage for the Army is West Coast Army bases have a significantly lower operational cost, larger training areas, easier access to training, and in most cases a local population less hostile to the Army and its training requirements. Given the Army is reducing to 435K, they may opt to just eliminate some amount of force structure from HI, and assign the mission sets to other units in the inventory - probably at Ft Lewis.

South Korea is on track to take over full responsibility for military (read that as ground forces) defense of the penn over the next couple of years, so we will have some forces there, but most of our role (US) will transition to support, intel, and comms in support of South Korea. The US AF will still have a significant role in Korea, so again I wouldn't look for cuts to AF units stationed in Korea.

I was in Germany just after 1AD left, and it almost destroyed the economy of the state they were garrisoned in. The Germans were in favor of US Army units leaving at the time, but they did not anticipate the significant effects of soldiers spending money in stores, theaters, brothels, car purchases, rents, etc. etc., not to mention the funds transfered to the state for base leases, shool support, etc. Also, the civilian support jobs went away with the Army, and those jobs generally paid significantly more than the local prevailing wages. I would expect simular, but not quite as devastating, impacts to Oahu if they lost the Division, but a more likely scenario is the Division HQ stays along with 1-2 brigades. It will slow things down economically, but I don't see a 10 year economic slump like what happened in Germany.

[Squidley]

I am glad that I had the opportunity to live and be stationed here. I will miss it and hopefully the military tradition will continue to carry on, so others who could not normally afford to visit or live in Hawaii will have that chance.

[Kawena]

Water.... as much as there are too many people here there is not enough water. I was watching some... show on olelo where some OLDER LADY said how she helped close a base in CA. and everything went fine... lol Was soo funny listening to her. she said how easy of a transition it would be.

Man power... has it going on right now. RIF...

what of other bases in other countries? hmm.... budgets too tight? as much as they say its going to ruin the economy... what about ruining the country? there is no sign of deficit reduction. Yes you shut down Hawaii but how is that going to help as far as reducing the federal deficit?