Merchants brace for troops' departure

By Mike Leidemann and Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writers

The sad, sour expression on Minho Yang's face said it all.

Justin Watts takes his uniforms to El'Gant Alterations in Wahiawa. Jenny Porteous says 90 percent of the firm's clientele is military. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

The deployment of 8,000 Army troops from Schofield Barracks to Iraq and Afghanistan could wind up costing the local economy $310 million, according to estimates from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

In Wahiawa yesterday, you didn't need an economist to tell you that things are going to get worse before they get better. All you had to do was step inside any of the small, weather-beaten storefronts to feel the human impact of the upcoming move.

"The troops are our bread and butter. If they're gone, it's going to be a disaster. You better call FEMA. Every merchant in town is going to cry," said Yang, who owns Avocado Pawn, the first business you see as you roll into the O'ahu town that for more than 60 years has been the one most visibly and intricately tied to the military.

Whether it was at the M*A*S*H, Inc. auto dealer, the venerable Top Hat bar or the $ Advance Til Payday check-cashing store, business people all said that the loss of the troops and their families was going to hurt economically and emotionally.

"We've had deployments and cutbacks before, but nothing like this one," said Les Brinkley, who runs the Clip & Dip dog grooming business on Olive Avenue, where about 40 percent of the clientele is military.

"This is going to be spooky. If it really lasts a year, it will be devastating," Brinkley said.

Some, however, said they had been anticipating the move and feel the community's efforts at diversification have made it better prepared to survive such situations than in the past.

Molly Walker, owner of Molly's Smokehouse, said she expects a 30 percent drop in business, but it could have been worse; in the past few years, she's been aiming her advertising at more permanent residents.

"After Sept. 11, things have been like this continuously. You have been been getting big peaks and valleys with the military," she said. "It's not that they (soldiers) aren't my focus — I still cater to them — but I do twice as much advertising to the community at large."

Jim Tollefson, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i, said local businesses can prepare for possible declines next year by saving money and going after more civilian business.

Many remember the difficulty Windward-area businesses faced during a deployment of about 7,500 Marines from the Marine Corps base at Kane'ohe in the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.

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EITING

"Back in '91 when we went into the Gulf War, the state was really starting to slip into a long-term stagnant economy. This period is different in that we're stronger and we have the potential for some meaningful growth in the state," Tollefson said.

A pickup in military construction also could help offset the loss of business associated with the deployment, he said.

Still, the worry was everywhere around Wahiawa yesterday.

"Eight-thousand troops means 8,000 less customers," said Rosie King, a teller at the check-cashing store on California Avenue, who admitted that she was exaggerating only a little bit. "On military payday, they're lined up out the door to renew their advances."

Merchants on the margin of staying in business could be at risk of shutting down, said economist Leroy Laney, a Hawai'i Pacific University professor.

"The military in Hawai'i is a two-edged sword," Laney said. "I think Hawai'i as a state has just got to take the bitter with the sweet. ... At times like this, I think we ought not to forget some of the pluses of having the military here."

John Penny, the sales manager at M*A*S*H (Military Auto Sales Hawaii), said local businesses have learned to take the good with the bad.

"With the military here, you don't get all the ups and downs that you do in some areas," Penny said. "There's always new people coming and going, so business stays pretty steady, but when you have a major deployment like this, people are bound to suffer."

Others were concerned about the stresses on families left behind and wondered whether some spouses and children may leave for the Mainland to be closer to family members.

"Crazy things can happen when families are apart that long," said Jeff Eckford, a former Schofield Barracks soldier who lives in Mililani. "A lot of families can get broken in that time."

Jack Smith, president of the Wahiawa Community and Business Association, said the group will try to help military families.

That could involve anything from providing emotional support to keep up morale to helping spouses left behind with new responsibilities for family finances.

The group also is discussing "trying to encourage the state and county to step forward with help for these young families" through programs such as the federal WIC program, Smith said.

Several residents said the town has been through such problems before and has always comes back strong.

"The business has been slowing down for years," said John Eiting, owner of the Top Hat bar, where during World War II, soldiers were rationed to three drinks and then had to get in a long line outside to come back for more.

"With all the training the troops go on these days, it's not like they're here all the time anyway," said Eiting, standing inside the nearly empty bar that opened on Dec. 1, 1941, and had its sign shot off a few days later by Japanese pilots strafing nearby Schofield Barracks.

"I guess if we survived World War II, we can survive this, too," Eiting said.

Advertiser staff writer William Cole contributed to this report. Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.