Three Hawaiian groups are seeking a federal court halt to all Army Stryker activities until alternatives to basing the fast-strike unit in Hawai'i are examined.

The latest court clash comes as the commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, Lt. Gen. John M. Brown III, confirmed that the 3,900-soldier Stryker brigade, already well into training, is slated for an Iraq deployment.

Halting the training would be wrong, Brown said, and "not providing full training for these soldiers before sending them into combat would be irresponsible and criminal."

But in a 2-1 decision on Oct. 5, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Army violated environmental law in planning for the arrival of the armored vehicle unit, and that it must complete a supplementary environmental analysis to consider alternatives to basing a Stryker brigade in the Islands.

David Henkin, an Earthjustice attorney representing the Hawaiian groups, said Brown "is playing the emotion card."

"We're not talking about not training the soldiers. We're talking about where we're going to train the soldiers," Henkin said. "We've heard this time and time again in the Makua (Military Reservation) context where the court says, 'Hey, you know what? You've got a lot of other places where you can train these soldiers.' "

Although an Army official previously said the Stryker unit would deploy to Iraq next summer with its 19-ton, eight-wheeled vehicles, Brown said training is on schedule to culminate in November 2007.

The Stryker brigade "has been training hard for 12 months to attain combat readiness for a deployment into Iraq," Brown said in an opinion piece in the military newspaper Hawai'i Army Weekly. U.S. Army Pacific representatives could not be reached for comment late yesterday afternoon.

Three groups — Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition, Na 'Imi Pono and Kipuka — filed a lawsuit in 2004 charging that the massive Stryker project would damage Native Hawaiian cultural sites and harm endangered species and their habitats.

At the time the lawsuit was filed, the Army said it was going ahead with the Stryker brigade because it was "critical to achieving current and future national security objectives in U.S. Pacific Command's area of responsibility."

Brown noted that in April 2005, the federal District Court in Honolulu ruled that the Army's environmental impact statement for the Stryker brigade was satisfactory.

Based on that court's ruling, the Army proceeded with fielding, training and construction related to the $1.5 billion unit, Brown said. His opinion piece coincides with the filing request by the three Hawaiian groups late last week for an emergency motion in San Francisco halting the Stryker project.

The plaintiffs have asked the court to rule by Oct. 31. Henkin said the motion was sought after the Army said it planned to start construction Nov. 1 on a Battle Area Complex for Stryker driving and live-fire at Schofield Barracks.

Henkin said cultural monitors were "up in arms " because the Army failed to adequately survey the area to make sure cultural sites aren't destroyed.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs in late September said it was poised to take the Army to court if it failed to offer assurances that it would steer clear of sacred cultural sites. On July 22, an unexploded-ordnance crew bulldozed across a buffer protecting Hale'au'au heiau, according to cultural monitors hired by the Army.

OHA administrator Clyde Namu'o yesterday said the organization supports the action Earthjustice has taken, but it is waiting for a response back from the Army on cultural concerns.

The Army's Brown said the Army "can produce a supplemental environmental impact statement answering the court's requirements and is already preparing to do so."

He said that separating the Stryker soldiers from their families "for many months to train at an area outside Hawai'i and then deploying them for a year in combat would be cruel."

A total of 328 Strykers are expected on O'ahu. About 60 were on Island in July, with up to 50 arriving each month.

Henkin said he also plans to seek a follow-up permanent injunction in District Court in Ho-nolulu preventing the Army from proceeding with the Stryker brigade until the Army completes the supplemental assessment looking at alternative locations.

"What the law requires is they do an honest assessment of different places where they can put the brigade," Henkin said. "Then they make a decision."

Henkin said the Army's own studies showed they could get to some "hot spots" in the Pacific faster from Alaska or Washington state.

"Ultimately, they could decide to re-station the brigade at some place where they can accomplish their national security goals without destroying cultural sites and the environment, or, if there is an overriding reason to be in Hawai'i other than politics, they could decide to bring it here," Henkin said.

Brown said Stryker construction projects include mitigation measures and resources to protect the environment.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.