Inouye hopeful on Strykers
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
After meeting with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said he feels more optimistic that a Stryker brigade will be financed for Hawai'i.
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Inouye, D-Hawai'i, sent a letter to Wolfowitz on Jan. 6 saying that the Pentagon violated the 2003 Defense Appropriations Act by deferring money for the fifth and sixth of the fast-response brigades slated for Hawai'i and Pennsylvania.
"We're in the process of discussing this, and those discussions are going along very well," U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said.
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, co-signed the letter. Inouye is the panel's ranking Democrat.
"At this early point, the committee hasn't met, so you can't say the money is there or not there (for the two brigades)," Inouye said yesterday. "But I, at this moment, feel much, much more confident than at the time I signed the letter."
Inouye said he could say no more about the meeting last week with Wolfowitz.
Asked how confident he was that Hawai'i will get a Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Inouye said, "I can't go by degrees out of 10 — 8 or something like that. We're in the process of discussing this, and those discussions are going along very well. I would say that this matter should be resolved shortly."
The $1.5 billion brigades, centered on eight-wheeled armored vehicles that the Army calls "Strykers" after two Medal of Honor recipients, are at the heart of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki's plan to bridge traditional light infantry and heavy tank units with a faster, more lethal force capable of responding to hotspots in 96 hours.
The Defense Department last month decided to provide money for a fourth Stryker Brigade Combat Team for Fort Polk, La., but deferred money for the fifth and sixth teams for Hawai'i and Pennsylvania.
Pentagon officials asked the Army to come back in July "and define with a little more specificity" plans for a remodeled Stryker with greater combat capability. After that, a decision would be made whether to finance the fifth and sixth brigades or use that money for improvements to the other units.
Inouye and Stevens said in their letter that the deferral was in "direct violation" of the Defense Appropriations Act directing the Pentagon to finance the six brigades.
An environmental impact statement review is under way for a Stryker brigade and the $693 million in construction projects needed for the 330 armored vehicles that would be used in training on O'ahu and the Big Island.
The Army said the planning process and timeline for Strykers in Hawai'i remain unchanged. The fiscal 2002 defense budget included $11.5 million in planning money for a Hawai'i brigade, while the 2003 budget includes $7 million.
A 45-day public comment period on the environmental impact statement is scheduled for April and May with the final EIS to be completed in August. The Army had planned on training with Strykers in Hawai'i in 2006.
Inouye said he expects a big increase for a Hawai'i Stryker brigade in the 2004 budget for "new equipment, new training programs and additional forces."
Inouye said he agrees that improvements can be made to the Stryker concept. Whether the Army can come back with those improvements by the summer is being discussed, he said.
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
