{"id":116,"date":"2026-05-17T10:07:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T10:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=116"},"modified":"2026-05-17T10:07:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T10:07:18","slug":"military-leaders-meet-in-waikiki-as-land-leases-remain-in-limbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=116","title":{"rendered":"Military leaders meet in Waikiki as land leases remain in limbo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Military leaders in Hawaii have increasingly used the islands as a training and weapons-testing ground for their troops and those of their allies as they prepare forces for a potential showdown with China in Taiwan and the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

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At this week\u2019s Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium, or LANPAC, in Waikiki, military leaders continued to make the case for continuing to use state land for that training.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur efforts to protect the homeland, which is our responsibility, really starts here,\u201d U.S. Army Pacific Commander Gen. Ronald Clark told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to be able to train in Hawaii is paramount for the readiness of not just the United States Army but the joint force.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Army, Navy and Air Force all have leases on state lands that have been used for multinational training exercises and weapons testing. <\/p>\n

The leases are set to expire between 2029 and 2031. Leases on lands the Army holds will be the first to expire in 2029.<\/p>\n

The Army obtained its decades-long leases in 1964 for $1. The leases are on former Hawaiian crown lands, also known as ceded lands, that were seized after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and became part of the public land trust when Congress passed the 1959 Admission Act that established statehood for Hawaii.<\/p>\n

Last month during a hearing of the House Armed Serv\u00adices Committee, Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) pressed Adm. Samuel Pa\u00adparo, who leads all U.S. forces in the Pacific from Camp Smith, on whether Native Hawaiian groups and organizations such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have \u201chad a seat at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paparo responded, \u201cI think we can work harder at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark said he believes both the Army and Gov. Josh Green\u2019s office \u201chave put the right people together to have these discussions, but to Adm. Paparo\u2019s point, to be able to honor the opinions and voices of the Native Hawaiian communities is also very important. \u2026 I think to have the Native Hawaiian groups represented, to have their voices heard in this process, is exceptionally important, and we welcome that at every turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the Army announced it is planning to renew its lease at Pohakuloa Training Area on Big Island, one of the U.S. military\u2019s largest live-fire training areas in the Pacific, but on Oahu to lease only 450 acres at Kahuku, vacating the rest of the state-owned parcels.<\/p>\n

The state parcel at PTA, roughly 22,750 acres, sits between two federally owned tracts of land, collectively making up 132,000 acres. Army officials call the leased land \u201cthe connective tissue\u201d of PTA.<\/p>\n

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But the state now considers its parcel at Pohakuloa to be a conservation district, and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources has concluded that military use of the land is \u201cnot consistent\u201d with that designation. With its rugged lava fields and volcanic soil, Poha\u00adkuloa is habitat for Hawaii\u2019s state bird, the nene, as well as the hoary bat and several species that exist nowhere else on the planet.<\/p>\n

The Board of Land and Natural Resources last summer rejected the Army\u2019s environmental impact statements on lease renewals. <\/p>\n

Soon after that decision, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said he hoped to expedite the process, and Green said Pentagon officials told his staff they were considering using eminent domain to take the land.<\/p>\n

A bipartisan congressional conference committee last year struck language in the Senate version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act that would have permitted the military to take possession of \u201cmission critical\u201d lands in Hawaii from the state, and further urged the Pentagon to engage in negotiations with local officials and community members. The committee contended the Army lacked the authority to use eminent domain without first exhausting all options.<\/p>\n

As LANPAC kicked off Tuesday in Waikiki, Driscoll was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) grilled Driscoll, telling him \u201cat your confirmation hearing, and again at last year\u2019s posture hearing, you committed to negotiating in good faith with the state and the community. So it was concerning that instead of what I would consider open communication and transparency, the Army last year pursued unilateral condemnation language, as shown by your attempt to add last-minute (legislative provisions) to support condemnation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driscoll said he was committed to negotiations but added, \u201cWhat we\u2019ve tried to do is balance out fairness to the local population with this idea and this commitment from me that we, the United States Army, must maintain this land. We need it for our training, we need it to be ready for the Indo-Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirono told Driscoll, \u201cI hope this isn\u2019t the case, that the Army is trying to run the clock and leave unilateral condemnation as the only viable course of action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark, who was born into a military family and said he has moved around for his entire life, told reporters at LANPAC, \u201cI\u2019ve spent more time here (in Hawaii) than any other state. So my personal stake in this is that we want to be good neighbors, we want to be good partners, and we want to ensure that we train responsibly and safely, while again, being good partners with the local Hawaiian community here because it\u2019s our responsibility to do that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

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Military leaders meet in Waikiki as land leases remain in limbo – Hawaii News | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMilitary leaders meet in Waikiki as land leases remain in limbo - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=116\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Military leaders meet in Waikiki as land leases remain in limbo - Moving to Hawaii Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Military leaders meet in Waikiki as land leases remain in limbo - 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