Inouye promises Stryker brigade
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
WAHIAWA — A Pentagon decision to bring a much-anticipated fast-strike unit of wheeled armored vehicles to Schofield Barracks may come by next month, Sen. Daniel Inouye said yesterday.
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"An official decision will be made in July, but I am assured personally that Hawai'i will get its Stryker brigade," Inouye said at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Mililani.
"The Stryker Brigade alone is anticipated to bring about $750 million over the next decade," Sen. Daniel Inouye said.
"For additional assurance, about $16 million will be included in this year's military construction budget to begin the process."
Each eight-wheeled Stryker can carry a crew of two and a nine-person infantry squad. It can be fitted with weapons ranging from machine guns to a cannon.
Six brigades of about 300 Stryker vehicles and 3,600 soldiers are planned as a transitional step for the Army as it prepares to respond to multiple unconventional threats around the globe.
Inouye, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said a Schofield Stryker brigade would mean the addition of eight C-17 transport planes to Hickam Air Force Base. The C-17s are expected in 2005; Strykers could arrive in 2006.
"To prepare for this new detachment, a sizable infrastructure investment is going to be made, probably about $65 million this budget year alone," he said.
Other changes to Hawai'i's military include private management of Army and Navy housing, redevelopment of Ford Island in the next decade and a $150 million Pacific Command headquarters that will open next year, Inouye said.
Under the housing initiative, private companies will be awarded 50-year leases to renovate, remodel and maintain military housing. The military will pay the companies rent for its military residents at set occupancy levels, Inouye said.
"This new initiative provides a higher quality of housing for military families, and in doing so I hope fosters a greater sense of community, both on and off base," he said.
The Ford Island redevelopment will include creating 600 family housing units and 1,000 bachelor quarters, a conferencing center, shops, restaurants and a museum.
"With each of these new initiatives will come a substantial infusion of funds into our economy," Inouye said. "The Stryker Brigade alone is anticipated to bring about $750 million over the next decade."
The senator also addressed briefly the state's crystal methamphetamine problem, commending grassroots efforts in communities statewide, including Mililani and Hale'iwa, to combat the problem.
He said a follow up to last year's National Crystal Meth Summit in Kona by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's would be held in August.
"(Big Island) Mayor (Harry) Kim and I will convene Summit II — a year in review — to chart our progress and to unveil initiatives that will be undertaken utilizing federal, state, county and private funds," Inouye said. "About $5 million in federal dollars alone will go to help make a difference."
Reach Zenaida Serrano Espanol at zespanol@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.
