HONOLULU -- The U.S. Army announced Wednesday that it will establish a Stryker Brigade Combat Team in Hawaii. The move means the Army will be expanding at Schofield Barracks and at the Pohakuloa Training Center on the Big Island.
Nearly 300 of the Stryker Armored Vehicles will be arriving in Hawaii soon.
The Stryker Armored Vehicles are fast-moving combat vehicles used by the Army in Iraq.
Environmentalists and others concerned about the impact the heavy vehicles will have on Army training areas in Hawaii have opposed the brigade.
"Can we answer every concern? Can we mitigate to the point where there is no impact? I would say 'No. We can't.' But what we can do is we can minimize those impacts, and that's what we're going to do," U.S. Army Pacific Commander Lt. Gen. James Campbell said.
Campbell said the Army is prepared to spend up to $40 million over the next five years to minimize environmental impacts of the Stryker brigade training, set for the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, and also at the Kahuku training area on Oahu.
It will not be used inside Makua Valley. At least, not right now, officials said.
Wednesday's announcement to bring a Stryker Brigade to Hawaii was greeted by protesters outside Fort Shafter.
Native Hawaiians and environmentalists said the combat vehicles will damage training areas.
They are also skeptical about the Army's promises to minimize the impact the training will have.
"In their environmental impact statement they are talking about and informing us in advance of all the potential destruction that will take place. So, of course we're very concerned," Terri Keko Olani of DMZ Hawaii, said.
Protesters said they will continue efforts to block the Army's plans for a Hawaii Stryker Brigade.
Campbell and others spent a major portion of an Army press conference Wednesday to address environmental concerns about the Stryker vehicle.
"It's probably as easy on the environment as you can have. This is a transport vehicle, it's not like some people have, a tracked vehicle that's going to kind of run around and bust up the aina (land)," U.S. Army civilian advisor Bill Paty said.
Campbell said the decision to bring a Stryker brigade to Hawaii was a hard one when it came to the environment. However, he said it was an easy decision when it came to the needs of U.S. soldiers.
"We owe them the best possible training, the best possible equipment, and the best possible technology to not only do their job for their country but to protect their lives," Campbell said.
If the Army's timetable holds true, it's expected the first Stryker vehicles will arrive in Hawaii in May 2006.
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