The options — based on an environmental review — were to go ahead with the project as planned; buy less land for the operation; or scrap the project.

The plan selected will bring 291 eight-wheeled armored vehicles to the state as part of a new fast-strike concept that would mean $693 million in construction projects, the acquisition of 1,400 acres on O'ahu and 23,000 acres on the Big Island, networks of private trails for the 20-ton Strykers, and significant effects on the environment and biological and cultural resources.

Lt. Gen. James L. Campbell, the commander of U.S. Army Pacific, announced the decision at Fort Shafter this morning.

Campbell said he was speaking to three different groups of citizens, those who appreciate the need for a Stryker brigade on O'ahu but have "genuine and very deep concerns about the impact on the environment," those who supported the brigade outright and those who oppose the concept based on a larger opposition to any Army or military presence in the Islands.

"And I sincerely respect your right to voice opposition to the Stryker brigade. I realize there is nothing I am going to say this morning that is going to change your mind," Campbell said.

"I would though ask you to reflect for just a moment on the thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard based here in Hawai'i who are putting their lives and their futures on the line around the globe this moment to protect your freedom and to ensure you have the right to voice your opposition."

In addition to the "preferred alternative" described above, the Army also examined creating a Stryker brigade with a reduced, 100-acre land acquisition adjacent to Schofield Barracks, and a "no action" alternative.

About 100 people opposed to the Stryker brigade, including the group DMZ Hawai'i Aloha Aina, yesterday delivered a 40-page-plus "Community Impact Statement" to congressional offices here, criticizing the Army plan and environmental impact statement.

"After reviewing the information contained in the Army's Stryker EIS and listening to the concerns of our community, we conclude that the Stryker brigade would be a disaster for the people and the environment of Hawai'i," the group's preamble states.

According to the group, the military controls 34 percent of the land in Hawai'i; its activities have resulted in significant pollution over the years, and a Stryker brigade would add to that.

If the Stryker brigade goes forward, said Ikaika Hussey, a DMZ Hawai'i spokesman, the group will continue to oppose it. "We're going to fight this thing," he said.

Campbell this morning said the Army has spent more than $50 million in the past five years in Hawai'i on environmental and cultural preservation. He said in the spirit of commitment to the environment the Army is prepared to spend up to $40 million over the next five years to mitigate any environmental impacts from the fielding and training of the Stryker brigade.

The Army will bring three Stryker vehicles to Hawai'i during the last week of July so the community can see and hear firsthand about the vehicles.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to examine environmental consequences of federal actions such as the Stryker plan.

The approximately 3,000-page environmental review states that 1,736 tons of dust would be generated from increased vehicle traffic, an increase of 81 percent over the "no action" alternative.

The plan calls for approximately 480 more soldiers to be added to the 2nd Brigade at Schofield Barracks and 400 additional vehicles, 291 of them Strykers.

Dust can be "reduced substantially" on military vehicle trails, the Army said, through a combination of mitigation measures, including the use of washed gravel for surfacing, road paving or the periodic application of chemical dust suppressants.

The Army also concluded there would be significant effects on cultural and biological resources, but mitigation efforts could reduce them.

Seven Stryker brigades are planned around the country as a middle ground between heavily armored, but slow to deploy, tank units and traditional light infantry with Humvees and trucks.

The Army said the Pacific Rim is an area "of critical interest" for the United States, and having a Stryker brigade in Hawai'i

"allows the president to rapidly respond to events in an area of increasing importance to national security."

Critics have charged that Congress authorized millions of dollars for a Hawai'i Stryker brigade before the environmental review was concluded.

But Mary Markovinovic, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Pacific, said initial funding for the Stryker brigade had proceeded because federal budget cycles require several years of lead time.