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Stryker brigade, Makua key, Mixon says

Jan-29-2008 » Filed Under: 2/25 SBCT

By William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser

The next commander of the U.S. Army in the Pacific said it's strategically important to have a Stryker brigade in Hawai'i, and that Makua Valley is needed for company-size live-fire exercises.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. "Randy" Mixon will gain a third star in the move Friday from commander of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks to head of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter.

Both the Hawai'i-based Stryker brigade and training at Makua Military Reservation have been challenged by lawsuits, and no live-fire practice has been conducted in 4,190-acre Makua Valley since 2004.

"We do think it's strategically important to have a Stryker brigade combat team here in Hawai'i, but we'll have to wait to see what the (environmental impact statement) says," Mixon said.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Army violated federal environmental law by not adequately considering alternative locations for the $1.5 billion Stryker brigade outside Hawai'i, and ordered the Army to complete the study.

Lt. Gen. John M. Brown III, who is passing command to Mixon at Fort Shafter, recently said the Stryker examination and a Makua environmental impact statement are completed. Both are at Army headquarters for review before being released.

The Stryker study will determine if 4,000 soldiers now deployed to Iraq will return to Hawai'i or be repositioned to Colorado or Alaska. Most believe the Army will conclude Hawai'i remains the best place for the armored vehicle brigade.

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