Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 6, 1 June 1995 — Bellows return [ARTICLE]

Bellows return

The Commander-in-Chief 's Pacific forum held at Waimānalo School on May 9 on his Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Bellows Air Force Station was an administrative farce. Belt Collins Hawai'i, the pnme contractor, had more than one year to prepare their thick Draft EIS using 20 sub-contrac-tors. But eaeh speaker had only five minutes to respond to the document. Impossible. All spoke against the Navy's retention of Bellows. The Draft EIS says hold the 500 homes for now. As for recreational needs, one speaker said the military's Hale Koa Hotel at Waiklkī serves over one million customers a year. With 262 more beach/volcano resort cottages throughout the state, CINCPAC is improperly in the tourist business, using state-owned lands tax-free at Hawai'i's expense. Strong defense? Yes! Exploitation? No!

Last, training. A speaker said the Navy ean use the Marines' Kāne'ohe Bay with its two miles of beach for amphibious training. Convert the adjacent golf course for shore training and you have an area bigger and better than Bellows. Give up a golf course? Yes, because the military controls one-fourth of them on O'ahu for only seven percent of the population. Our government officials need

to be involved (but) except for OHA, they did not speak at the meeting. Where were they? Who is representing all the people of Hawai'i in these land issues? Who is ensuring our federal laws are respected on the return of unneeded lands? Ad hoe committee of "01d Soldiers" John Ching, Col. USA, Ret.; Frederick Holek, Col. Aus„ Ret.; Peter Kama, Lt. Col„ USA, Ret.; Kalani Smith, Navy vet.