Army cuts flight noise near Mililani Mauka

By James Gonser
Advertiser Central Bureau

MILILANI MAUKA — After more than a year of community discussions, Army officials have agreed to make flight pattern changes in an attempt to reduce noise from the East Range Military Reservation near Mililani Mauka homes.

Residents have complained that low-flying helicopters, and machine-gun and artillery fire from the Army's East Range shake their windows and walls and wake them up at night.

Army officials say when the base was built it was in the middle of nowhere, and housing has steadily moved closer.

The Army says it needs the area to train its soldiers to be battle-ready, but that is getting harder to do in the Islands as they have steadily lost training areas over the years.

Live-fire training was stopped on the Navy's target island of Kaho'olawe in 1990 and the courts have temporarily barred training in Makua Valley on the Leeward Coast until environmental issues are settled.

The Army's flight path from Wheeler Army Airfield to the 5,154-acre East Range on Schofield has narrowed over the years, and a flight path over Mililani Memorial Park cemetery has also been lost because of nearby development, the military notes.

To try and find a compromise, City Councilwoman Rene Mansho helped create the Mililani Military Affairs Advisory Council last year. The group includes representatives from residents, military and housing developer Castle & Cooke, and has been meeting regularly.

"The military is looking at a different route for helicopters and the fixed-wing aircraft so that they will be away from the Mililani Mauka homes," Mansho said. "They have been flying directly over homes. Rather than blaming and scolding, we need to ask what we can do to help and they have come up with some interesting ideas."

Flight patterns altered

At the group's Aug. 23 meeting, the Army agreed to alter some of its flight patterns to help limit noise in residential areas including:

• During parachute drops in the East Range, military aircraft will follow a pattern to the north of Wahiawa, flying at least 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle, avoiding homes in Wahiawa and Mililani Mauka, then flying back over Wheeler Army Airfield.

• When traveling from Pearl Harbor to Schofield, military aircraft will use a route that flies west of the H-2ÊFreeway unless weather requires them to fly an emergency route almost directly over H-2.

• Fixed-wing traffic flying out of Wheeler will depart on a route east past the Ku Tree Reservoir before turning south, keeping planes from flying across the upper end of Mililani Mauka.

These self-imposed restrictions are not required by FAA regulations and cannot be enforced on civilian traffic, Col. Roy Waggoner said.

The Army has also updated its local noise abatement areas to cover the newer portions of Mililani Mauka, which were not covered on previous charts, Waggoner said.

Special situations

In emergency situations such as medical evacuations, fires or in-flight emergencies, pilots will take the most direct route to a safe landing, Waggoner said.

These procedural agreements went into affect for the Army Aug. 27.

"In this effort, both the Hawaii National Guard and the United States Marine Corps were key players in reaching an effective agreement among all of the parties involved," Waggoner said.

Rep. Marilyn Lee, D-38th (Waipi'o, Mililani), said many residents call her office complaining about the noise, and she is happy the Army has responded to the problem.

Lee said issues of machine-gun and artillery fire were not discussed in depth at the meeting, but will be looked into later.

"Most of the concerns are about helicopters that seem to fly right across the center of town," Lee said. "One thing I learned is the skies above Mililani are really uncontrolled air space."

Mililani resident Ron Torngren said he supports the Army training despite the noise.

"I think (the military) is going way out of their way to be helpful," Torngren said. They've got to have training. I've always recognized that we need to have a strong military, if we don't we are all in big trouble. That's is part of being a free country."

To report excessive noise during the day, call 655-2919. On weekends, holidays or after-duty hours call 655-2292 or 655-2291.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 988-1383.