Army Adds Insult to Injury
Dear Ms. Graham
(National Environmental Policy Act )NEPA Program Manager
U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii ,
As you must know as someone involved in an Environmental Assessment of a “Cultural Resource Management Plan,” Hawaii is predominantly an oral culture, over a written word. I therefore respectfully request that if you truly value culture and public input, review the oral testimonies, not only mine, but all the others that took the time to come out to community meetings under very serious weather conditions to testify. It is added insult to injury to ask the injured parties to transcribe their oral comments. The Army, not the community, should have sponsored those community meetings and you should have had a stenographer there to transcribe the oral comments if that ‘s what you prefer. The Army was invited to the meetings and didn’t have the courtesy to attend. I personally talked with PTA Public Affairs Officer, Eric Hamilton, and requested the Army have such community meetings for public comment. His response was “The Army is not required by law to have community meetings for public comment and therefore we are not going to do so.”
Again, I request you make this email and my email below a part of the written record and also include not only my oral comments at the Nov. 30, 2017 Hilo Community meeting but the links I provided below of all the people’s oral testimony at that Nov. 30, 2018 Community meeting in Hilo and the Dec. 1 community meeting in Kona which I understand submitted a DVD of oral testimonies of the PTA Cultural resource management plan. Given the amount of money the Army spends bombing Hawaii, surely you can afford a stenographer to transcribe the oral comments if necessary of peoples opposition to that bombing. The meaning of Pohakuloa is “The Land of the Night of Long Prayer. Desecration, by bombing such an area is NOT an Hawaiian tradition.
With gratitude and aloha,
Jim Albertini
On 12/6/2017 4:10 PM, Graham, Lisa M CIV USARMY IMCOM PACIFIC (US) wrote:
Mr. Albertini,
This email confirms receipt of your comments on the proposed implementation of the Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plans. We greatly appreciate you taking time to review the documents and provide your feedback. We value the community’s input and will not make a final decision on the implementation of the plans until after reviewing public comments.
As a reminder, we are accepting written comments via email or mail during this public comment period. If you need additional time to transcribe the content of your video so that it may be submitted as written comment, please email it by close of business Monday, December 11, 2017 to usarmy.wheeler.id-pacific.list.community-relations@mail.mil.
Mahalo,
Lisa Graham
NEPA Program Manager
U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii—–Original Message—–
From: Jim Albertini [mailto:ja@malu-aina.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2017 8:48 PM
To: USARMY Wheeler AAF ID-Pacific List Community Relations <usarmy.wheeler.id-pacific.list.community-relations@mail.mil>
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] U.S. Army Garrison-Pohakuloa 2017 Draft Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan /CommentAll active links contained in this email were disabled. Please verify the identity of the sender, and confirm the authenticity of all links contained within the message prior to copying and pasting the address to a Web browser.
________________________________
Please include this for the record —– testimony calling for a full EIS, not simply an EA on U.S. Army Garrison-Pohakuloa 2017 Draft Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan.
Please initiate a Full Environmental Impact Statement on military impacts to Hawaiian Cultural resources at Pohakuloa.
Please include this video of my testimony at a People’s hearing on the issues.
Caution-http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2017/12/01/video-jim-albertini-testifies-about-pohakuloa-ea/ < Caution-http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2017/12/01/video-jim-albertini-testifies-about-pohakuloa-ea/ > Also include for the record the complete testimony of the people’s hearing on the issues.Testimony and Comments on The Integrated Cultural Resource Management Plan for Pohakuloa Training Ar < Caution-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEBdtyYchg&feature=youtu.be > In short you need to disclose how many and what kinds of live-rounds are fired annually at PTA, including if B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers still fly from Guam, Louisiana, and Missouri to bomb at Pohakuloa. List all the other kind of firing systems and the number and kinds of weapons used at PTA. Answer questions submitted in writing to LT Col. Marquez on Sept. 30, 2016 which to date I have not received any answers. Cover letter 9/30/16 of packet handed to Lt.Col. Marquez is below.
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
Christopher M. Marquez
LTC, FA
Commanding Officer
U.S. Army Garrison
Pohakuloa Training Area
P.O. Box 4607
Hilo, Hawaii 96720-0607 September 30, 2016
Aloha LTC Marquez,
Attached is a (26 page) packet of background material and questions presented to several former commanding officers of this command, some dating back to 2007 that have yet to be answered. I hope that finally you will provide answers. As citizens, we deserve answers.
The following three points represent a summary of deep concerns not only representing our organization but many others on Hawaii Island: A) We consider the Army’s occupation of PTA illegal and will continue to work toward returning the entire area back to Kanaka Maoli sovereignty; B) We also consider military continuing bombing and live fire at PTA desecration of the land, grotesque destruction of the environment, and violation of the trust agreement implicit in the lease with the DLNR; C) In the meantime, we demand and expect the Army to respect the 2008 County of Hawaii Resolution 639-08, especially the points regarding stopping live fire, setting up a transparent and high-tech permanent monitoring system and thorough cleanup of Depleted Uranium(DU) and other toxic chemicals already present…
Thank you for your assistance.
With gratitude and aloha,
Jim Albertini
President
P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 < tel:808-966-7622 > Email ja@malu-aina.org < Caution-mailto:ja@malu-aina.org > Caution-www.malu-aina.org < Caution-http://www.malu-aina.org >
Also on Sept. 30, 2016 I hand delivered to :t. Col. Marquez another letter with 3 requests, one requesting access for Makahiki ceremony to a cultural site –the ahu at Pu’u Kapele that I and others built years back. See below. To date that access has been denied.
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
Christopher M. Marquez
LTC, FA
Commanding Officer
U.S. Army Garrison
Pohakuloa Training Area
P.O. Box 4607
Hilo, Hawaii 967200607 September 30, 2016
Aloha LTC Marquez,
I read the Sunday, July 31, 2016 Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce (HICC) Activity Special Report, where there was a photo of a military drone and caption “Pohakuloa Advisory Council and MAC (Military Affairs Committee) members tour the Pohakuloa Training Area on page 13. Our organization would like to request a similar briefing and tour to that of the HICC. Among sites we would like to visit besides the drone field, and the launch pads for the Davy Crockett DU spotting rounds, is the ahu at the base of Pu’u Ka Pele to offer ho’okupu during Makahiki that I and many others, including the Kapele family from Kona and members of Royal Order of Kamehameha constructed quite a few years back. We would request a weekend visit during the month of November.
Mahalo for your assistance in this matter.
With gratitude and aloha,
Jim Albertini
President
P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown), Hawaii 96760
Phone 808-966-7622 Email ja@malu-aina.org < Caution-mailto:ja@malu-aina.org > Caution-www.malu-aina.org < Caution-http://www.malu-aina.org/ >
— Jim AlbertiniMalu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & ActionP.O. Box 489Kurtistown, Hawaii 96760Phone 808-966-7622email ja@malu-aina.org < Caution-mailto:ja@malu-aina.org > visit us on the web at Caution-www.malu-aina.org < Caution-http://www.malu-aina.org > sign up on our website to automatically receive our posts
