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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:55 p.m., Thursday, July 24, 2008

Hawaii's Army population may increase by 2,000

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Hawai'i's active Army population of 20,000 could grow by 10 percent between this year and 2013, it was announced today in a study released by the Department of the Army.

The preferred alternative of final supplemental programmatic environmental impact statement would station 1,700 new soldiers at Schofield Barracks and 300 at Fort Shafter. Stationing action would involve primarily engineers, military police, headquarter units, and other types of support units, and not artillery or aviation assets, the study said.

The analysis also recommends that 587 soldiers in a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade that had been scheduled for stationing at Schofield be redirected to Fort Drum, N.Y.

The study analyzed stationing locations capable of supporting mission requirements across the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

The Army is expected to make a final decision in about a month after commanders review the environmental report.

Most of the Army's growth will be in Texas, Georgia and Colorado, states that are getting new combat brigades.