Plans previously discussed by the Marine Corps called for the transfer of about 8,300 Marines from Okinawa to Guam as part of a $14 billion relocation by 2014.

Citizen resentment of the approximately 18,000 Marines on Okinawa has increased since the 1995 kidnap and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. service members, and was a factor in negotiations for the relocation.

At a Feb. 13 House subcommittee hearing on Marine Corps readiness, Lt. Gen. James Amos, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, said while plans for the relocation of Marines off Okinawa are not finalized, they do include Hawai'i.

"It appears that we've got a force layout in the Pacific now moving a big chunk of Marines and our sailors that are part of the Marine team off of Okinawa and some of them to Hawai'i, (with) a large percentage of them, roughly 10,000, to Guam," Amos said.

Abercrombie said Hawai'i's economy would receive a boost from the proposed Marine Corps projects.

"Funding for actual construction is expected in the future to build the necessary facilities related to the U.S. Department of Defense's plan to increase active-duty strength in the Army and the Marine Corps by 92,000 people over five years," Abercrombie said in a release.

Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter each may receive 1,000 or more soldiers in coming years as part of a reorganization of forces and increase in the size of the Army.

To meet war needs in Iraq and Afghanistan and other global requirements, the Army worldwide is expected to grow from 512,000 to 547,000 soldiers by 2010, and the Marine Corps is being expanded from 180,000 to 202,000.

The Navy and Air Force plan to reduce their forces.

Marine Forces Pacific headquartered at Camp Smith released a statement yesterday saying, "We are pleased Rep. Abercrombie has obtained funding for design and studies to support the U.S. Marine Corps' 'Grow the Force' initiatives in Hawai'i."

The headquarters also said the Marine Corps is studying the potential movement of ground and aviation elements to Hawai'i, but added it is too early to say exactly how many more Marines will be coming to Hawai'i.

"The Marine Corps continues to study options that support U.S. efforts to best posture forces to meet the strategic challenges of the 21st century in the Pacific. No final decisions have been made by the Department of Defense," the command said.

Officials also declined to elaborate on possible planning for Marines from Okinawa to be relocated to Hawai'i.

Lt. Gen. John Goodman, the Hawai'i-based commander of Marine Forces Pacific, earlier this year said Kane'ohe Bay possibly could receive one or two additional helicopter squadrons or an unmanned aerial vehicle squadron.

U.S. Pacific Command's force posture is undergoing what is perhaps the greatest transition since the early post-World War II era.

The U.S. military is reducing and relocating its presence in South Korea, and the Navy is shifting assets from the Atlantic to the Pacific.