Kane'ohe base may form new brigade
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
The Corps is considering re-establishing a Marine Expeditionary Brigade — a medium weight fighting force that incorporates Marine ground units, helicopters and fighter-attack aircraft — at Kane'ohe Bay.
Troops for the brigade would come from the base's existing 6,300 Marines plus the addition of a headquarters element of several hundred personnel, officials said.
Marine attack aircraft could be attached to the unit out of bases in California, and U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye's office has said he is working on bringing amphibious transport ships here.
Four MEBs have been established operating out of bases on the Mainland and in Okinawa. Hawai'i congressional sources said the Corps favors an MEB for Hawai'i.
Maj. Matt McLaughlin, a spokesman for Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, said on Friday the idea is being discussed at senior levels in Washington. No timeline was given for a possible decision.
Michael Pavkovic, coordinator of the diplomacy and military studies programs at Hawai'i Pacific University, said an MEB would draw together Kane'ohe Marines as "a self-contained force under a single commander, rather than parceling the assets we have now out to other groups."
Disbanded after the Gulf War because of cost concerns, MEBs were brought back in 1999 as a force structure that, like the Army's planned "Stryker" brigades, would be able to respond to trouble spots quickly and with increased firepower.
In the Gulf War, the Pentagon was frustrated by the five months it took to assemble tanks in the desert for an attack. In a post Cold War era, with fewer heavy tanks needed, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki's goal is to be able to put Stryker eight-wheeled armored vehicles on the ground in 96 hours.
Hawai'i has been selected for a Stryker brigade and training could begin in 2006.
Defense Daily said the MEB supports Marine doctrine like Operational Maneuver From the Sea, which calls for strike capability 220 miles inland with fast-moving and sustainable forces. The Marine Corps also believes that more wars are going to be fought in urban areas by the sea, and that it remains the best early-entry force.
Before the re-establishment of the MEB, the Marines had two kinds of expeditionary forces: the Marine Expeditionary Unit with about 2,000 Marines, and the Marine Expeditionary Force with 50,000 or more troops.
Marine Corps Base Hawai'i officials referred calls about the possibility of a Hawai'i-based MEB to Marine Forces Pacific at Camp Smith, which referred calls to Washington.
Pavkovic said if Hawai'i is selected for an MEB, it would have its own air group, but fighters could remain based in California. When the previous MEBs were eliminated, 36 Marine F/A-18 fighters based at Kane'ohe Bay were sent to Mainland bases. Four squadrons of CH-53 Sea Stallions, each with about 12 helicopters, are based at Kane'ohe Bay.
MEBs can be transported on ships, or marry up with maritime prepositioned forces — huge ships stocked with vehicles and supplies.
It was announced this year that the USS Frederick, Hawai'i's only amphibious transport, was headed for decommissioning. But Jennifer Goto Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff for Hawai'i, said in July that the senator "has had meetings with senior Navy officials with regard to bringing one — at least one — amphibious ship from the Atlantic to the Pacific to support the movement of troops, primarily Marines."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
