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Kaniela Ing Only Hawaii Legislator Who Welcomes Oahu Army Downsizing

Maui Time

By Anthony Pignataro

February 5, 2015

The U.S. military and Hawaii have a long and complex history. The 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom happened in part because U.S. Marines came ashore to assist the white coup leaders. Hawaii eventually became a U.S. territory during the Spanish-American War because of Pearl Harbor’s value to the U.S. Navy as a coaling station.

At the same time, huge numbers of Hawaii-born men and women have served in all branches of the U.S. military–probably the most famous being Daniel Inouye, who as a U.S. Army lieutenant won the Medal of Honor in Italy during World War II and eventually became a powerful U.S. Senator. Maui’s U.S. Congressional representative, Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, is herself a member of the Hawaii National Guard and an Iraq War veteran.

The American military’s presence in Hawaii is immense, though nowhere more so than Oahu, where it controls about a quarter of the island’s land. But now, budget cuts and changing technological and strategic priorities have the Pentagon–and the U.S. Army in particular–rethinking its footprint in Hawaii. And this has state officials (well, except for Maui Rep. Kaniela Ing, who we’ll get to in a moment) screaming.

Read more . . .

Link:

Oahu Army Downsizing [Hawaii Political Info] (collection of articles & videos)