Mahalo nui loa to the many Kānaka who stood firmly and spoke courageously against the U.S. Army’s proposed Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Army Training Land Retention at the Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawaiʻi Island, dated April 2025. Their testimonies made it clear: the Army has failed to comply with the Hawaiʻi Environmental Policy Act (HEPA), as outlined in Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343.
The Army is seeking to extend its lease – or potentially gain lands in fee simple – to continue its use of Pōhakuloa for military training. As part of that process, they are required to submit a Final Environmental Impact Statement. However, the FEIS, as it stands, is incomplete, dismissive of cultural concerns, and silent on key issues like environmental restoration and cleanup.
I was both proud and deeply moved to hear our people – educated, passionate, grounded in ʻike kūpuna – testify with strength and clarity. Their voices centered the concerns that matter most: the desecration of iwi kūpuna through years of live-fire training, the lack of transparency about the discovery of moepū (burial items), and the unanswered questions about whether lineal descendants are being properly notified and consulted.
Their words echoed the unity and mana we felt during the protection of Maunakea. That time reminded us of our strength when we stand side by side for what is sacred. Pōhakuloa, which stretches across the base of Maunakea, is no less sacred. It is ʻāina kapu, rich with history, spirit, and the bones of our ancestors. And just like Maunakea, it calls us to protect it.
The military’s legacy in Hawaiʻi is long and deeply complex. I served eight years on the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission and witnessed firsthand the scars left behind by decades of bombing. When the Navy finally ceased bombing Kahoʻolawe in 1990, they returned the island to the state, but the cleanup was far from complete. Funds were limited, and when they ran out, the responsibility for full restoration was abandoned. To this day, large parts of Kahoʻolawe remain unsafe and unrecovered.
That experience serves as a stark warning for Pōhakuloa. The FEIS submitted by the Army contains no plan for cleanup, no commitment to restore the ʻāina after 65 years of use. How can the Army continue to request more time, more land, without taking accountability for the damage already done?
And this is only the beginning. Soon, we will be asked to consider EIS approvals for Mākua, Kahuku, and Kawailoa-Poamoho. The leases for acres of state land currently used by the military are set to expire in August 2029. These lands were leased in 1964 for just $1 a year. As renewal negotiations begin, we must ask: what have we gained, and what have we lost?
We must remain vigilant. We must remember the lessons of Kahoʻolawe and Maunakea. And we must continue to show up – educated, united, and grounded in our kuleana – to speak for the ʻāina and for the generations yet to come.
This is not just about Pōhakuloa. This is about how we choose to protect all that is sacred.
 for Army Training Land Retention at the Pōhakuloa Training Area on Hawaiʻi Island, dated April 2025.){kind=link}