ISLAND VOICES
Training grounds must be upkept

By Bob Nakata
State Senator

The U.S. Marine Corps plan to use 187 acres they own in Waikane Valley for training raises some interesting issues and questions. They plan to use the land for anti-terrorism jungle training activities in the Philippines without live fire, and for 100 or fewer troops at a given time.

They will use paintballs or blanks. Troops will march to the training site rather than being driven a mile up the narrow Waikane Valley dirt road.

For over 30 years, they used the land for training from the World War II era through 1976. They leased the property from the Kamaka family on condition that it would be returned in usable condition. However, when they stopped using it, they decided it was too costly to clean up unexploded ordnance, saying they would have to dig down several feet over the entire property to assure safety.

They then bought the property for $2 million and fenced it off, posting no trespassing signs. That fence has fallen into disrepair and has not been maintained, so people wandering onto the property are subject to injury.

Not maintaining the fence and now wanting to use it for training seem to indicate that the danger to humans is slight, so why wasn't it cleaned up and returned to the Kamaka family?

It would seem that $2 million was much cheaper then the clean up and the Kamakas could have been paid significantly more. This raises fairness questions.

Then, there are archaeological sites, which may be restorable if the danger is so slight that it can be used for training. Can they be made safe and usable?

There is a large land scar that erodes into Kane'ohe Bay, which suffers from this sediment. Can it be revegetated?

Having discussions with the community over these and other issues before cavalierly announcing they are coming in should be a part of their training in counterterrorism.

To offend the indigenous population, I think, would tend to foster ill feelings toward them, which would help the terrorists. It is now incumbent on the Marine Corps to immediately begin discussions with community residents and leaders to discuss the conditions under which their proposed training would be acceptable.