Malu 'Aina

To: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific
Attention: Project Manager, EV21.JZ
258 Makalapa Drive, Ste. 100
Pearl Harbor, HI 96860-3134
via email to NFPAC-Receive@navy.mil

Samuel Lemmo
Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands Administrator
Dept. of Land and Natural Resources
State of Hawai`i
1151 Punchbowl St., Room 131
Honolulu, HI 96813
via email to sam.i.lemmo@hawaii.gov

Meagan Ostrem
ManTech International Corporation
420 Stevens Ave., Suite 300
Sojana Beach, CA 92075
via email to Meagan.ostems@mantech.com

cc: Hawaii public officials, news media, etc.

RE: Draft Environmental Assessment  and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Naval Special Operations Training in the State of
Hawai`i; Various Locations, State of Hawai`i; TMK: Various Locations
(Upland and Submerged Lands of the State), published November 8, 2018

Here are my comments on behalf of our organization  for the proposed action titled above.

Your finding of No Significant Impacts is a lie.  This massive military intrusion into our coastal nearshore waters, public shorelines and public spaces has lots of significant impacts – cultural, environmental, etc., including the expansion and normalization of militarism in our communities. Hawaii is already one of the most militarized places on the planet with more than 100 military installations.  The cultural and environmental consequences of these installations along with more than 125 years of illegal US military occupation of Hawaii has been catastrophic.  On top of that now the military wants to conduct Special Operations (Special Ops) beyond its military installations.  On this basis alone the entire plan for Military Special Ops should be scrapped as military madness beyond the pale.

A specific point to invalidate the Draft EA and require a full EIS is that the draft EA is incomplete and does not cover all the Special Ops that have been planned.  I will cite one specific case below involving Navy Special Ops planned for Mauna Kea Recreation Area and the slopes of Mauna Kea that was not included in the Draft EA Special Ops.  Given this fact, there is reason to believe there may be additional Special Ops also planned for other areas that were also not included in the draft EA Special Ops.  Here is the link for the Navy Special Op planned for Mauna Kea Recreational Area. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BctJ9aw2rcJJQG3YNsM9SrqRGqWBnfiV/view?usp=sharing

This Special Op according to press reports of Nov. 28, 2018  (Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today front page articles) was cancelled due to community opposition.  But this was done after the Draft EA Special Ops was published.

Let’s face it. US military Special Ops (that include drone and sniper assassinations) are now desperate attempts on behalf of the US empire to maintain global domination for corporate interests.  According to a recently released Brown University study, the U.S. military is now in 80 countries and has spent nearly $6 TRILLION dollars since 9-11 in this effort.  It discusses the disastrous human, social, and economic toll war has on all parties involved.   See Updated Cost of War Data Shows U.S. Military Now in 80 Countries · Peace Science Digest

This Military Madness needs to stop.  Let it begin in Hawaii! No Military Special Ops.  The US needs to learn Hawaiian Ho’oponopono, a process of healing, making right instead of waging war.  The US military needs to begin to Live Aloha — clean up the massive mess it has made in Hawaii — unexploded ordinance, chemical and nuclear contamination, etc. and then demilitarize Hawaii and end its illegal occupation and restore Hawaii as it was –an independent nation of military neutrality.

Jim Albertini, President