Army to keep Stryker brigade in Hawaii

Army to keep Stryker brigade in Hawaii
By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Apr 16, 2008 6:03:52 EDT

HONOLULU — The Army on Tuesday said it has made a final decision to base a Stryker brigade at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and to train the unit at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, citing strategic advantages provided by the islands.

The conclusion comes even though environmentalists have raised concerns about the unit’s 19-ton Stryker vehicles damaging Hawaii’s fragile environment and cultural sites.

The service first decided to base the brigade in Hawaii several years ago as part of an Army-wide effort to be ready for rapid deployment to hotspots around the world. In 2005, it started transforming a light infantry brigade at Schofield into a Stryker brigade, a unit of 4,000 soldiers and 310 eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles.

But the Army was forced to reconsider its decision in response to a federal appeals court order. The judges said the Army needed to prepare an environmental impact statement that thoroughly analyzed alternatives to basing the force in Hawaii before it reached a conclusion.

The Army study, which was completed in February, considered basing the brigade in Alaska or Colorado.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_strykerbrigade_041508/