Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

HONOLULU — A federal judge said Monday he would likely allow an Army Stryker Brigade to continue setting up in Hawaii in preparation for deployment to Iraq next year, but would probably impose some restrictions to comply with environmental laws.

Hawaiian groups are suing to block the brigade, saying construction work and training for the unit desecrates cultural sites and harms the environment.

The Army counters it must be allowed to prepare the new Schofield Barracks brigade before it sends the troops to war as planned next November. Not being able to train the unit properly will jeopardize soldiers’ lives, the Army says.

U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra said he would rule on the issue as soon as possible.

“There are no absolutes in this case,” Ezra told a packed courtroom filled with about 40 soldiers in camouflage uniforms and roughly a dozen Hawaiian activists.

“There’s no question there will be some activities the Army won’t be permitted to engage in,” Ezra said. “But there’s no question there are some activities the Army will be allowed to engage in.”

Ezra’s consideration of the case comes after the 9th Circuit Court in October issued a temporary injunction against Stryker Brigade construction work and training in Hawaii.

The court said the Army violated federal environmental law by failing to consider locations other than the islands for the unit.

Ezra must determine the scope of the circuit court’s temporary injunction halting work on the brigade.

Emotions ran high on both sides after the hearing.

Col. Bob Brown, who commanded a Stryker Brigade in Iraq for one year, told reporters that Stryker vehicles saved soldiers’ lives.

“It just makes me sick that folks would argue that you don’t want to protect our soldiers,” Brown said. “That’s almost criminal.”

Vicky Holt Takamine, who heads one of the organizations suing the Army, told Brown it was “unacceptable” to accuse Hawaiian groups of not caring about soldiers’ lives.

“You need to comply with your own laws. You don’t comply, we’re there to catch you on it,” said Takamine, president of the Ilio’ulaokalani Coalition. “That’s what this case is about.”

Earthjustice lawyer David Henkin, who represents the three groups that filed the suit, told Ezra the Army’s plans for the Stryker brigade might cause more environmental damage than the 2nd Brigade Combat Team the Stryker unit is replacing.

He said the possibility of irreparable harm made the brigade’s establishment illegal under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The other two groups suing the Army are Na Imi Pono and Kipuka.

James Jett, a U.S. Justice Department lawyer arguing the case for the Army, said if the Schofield brigade couldn’t go to Iraq, another unit would have to stay longer, or some other brigade would have to deploy earlier than planned.

Either alternative would put inadequately rested and trained soldiers in the field, he said.

He rejected the idea of having the brigade train somewhere else, like Washington or Alaska, where the Army has already set up Stryker units.

Jett told Ezra the brigade would lose precious training time while it moved 4,000 soldiers and 2,000 pieces of equipment across the ocean.

Sending troops away from home during the year before their combat deployment would burden soldiers and their families, potentially leading to higher divorce and suicide rates, he added.

The Army aims to build the new brigade around 300 technologically advanced Stryker vehicles at the Oahu’s Schofield Barracks base. The unit would also train at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island.

Stryker vehicles are lighter than tanks and can be loaded on to airplanes for quick transportation to a war zone. They also come equipped with global positioning systems that help soldiers pinpoint where they and their comrades are on the battlefield.

Construction projects for setting up a Stryker Brigade in Hawaii are estimated to cost $700 million.