{"id":316998,"date":"2026-06-08T12:00:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=316998"},"modified":"2026-06-02T18:40:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:40:03","slug":"food-not-bombs-missiles-de-militarize-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/06\/food-not-bombs-missiles-de-militarize-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"Food NOT Bombs & Missiles! De-militarize Hawai\u2019i!"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Jun 2026\u00a0<\/em>– Each Javelin missile costs $350,000 on an island where 43% of the households are food insecure, and it\u2019s getting worse.\u00a0\u00a0 Our Peace organization, and farm, Malu \u2018Aina, has been helping people in need of food for 45 years, since before there was a Food Bank.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An anti-tank Javelin missile being fired at Pohakuloa<\/b><\/p>\n

Hawai\u2019i is one of the most militarized places in the world. It has a greater percentage of land controlled by the U.S. military than any state in the U.S. The largest military base in Hawai\u2019i is the Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), located in the center of Hawai\u2019i Island. It is 133,000 acres in size. That is nearly 5 times larger than Kaho\u2019olawe. Pohakuloa has been bombed and shelled for 80 years with millions of live rounds fired annually, everything from small arms, bunker-busting bombs, and nuclear weapon radioactive spotting rounds. Most of the land (Hawaii Crown and Government Hawaiian land) at Pohakuloa was simply seized in 1964 by a US presidential executive order at zero cost. In 1964, the military also leased 23,000 acres of land at Pohakuloa from the State at a total cost of $1 for 65 years. That\u2019s less than 2 cents per year for 23,000 acres. What a deal! That lease expires in 2029.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s time for an about face. Major changes are needed now! No new State leases at Pohakuloa and other sites! No cash deals to sell out the health and safety of future generations. Together, let\u2019s make the military shut down bases like Pohakuloa, clean up their toxic mess, and return the land to the Kanaka Maoli. We need to take care of the land, so the land will take care of us.<\/p>\n

The True Cost of the Military in Hawai\u02bbi \u2013 Institute for Policy Studies:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/ips-dc.org\/report-true-cost-of-u-s-military\u2026\/<\/a><\/p>\n

This report is an important read. It finds the federal government owes back rent of up to $133.7 billion in 2025 dollars, not including environmental cleanup costs. Decades of military use of PFAS (\u201cforever chemicals\u201d) have contaminated soil, groundwater, nearshore waters, fish and human blood far beyond installation boundaries.\u00a0Remediation at just three installations is conservatively estimated at $493 million There are many other military toxins in need of clean up, including Depleted uranium radiation at Pohakuloa and other sites.<\/p>\n

Hilo RIMPAC Protest: 11-1 on Sat. June 27, 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Pauahi St. Bayfront intersection<\/strong><\/h3>\n

DE-MILITARIZE HAWAI\u2019I!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First de-militarization resolution ever passed at the state level (2026 State Democratic Convention).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Don\u2019t tell me it means nothing because every choice has a ripple effect.<\/p>\n

This is quite remarkable thank you very much Democratic Party of Hawaii.<\/p>\n

Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian<\/a>\u00a0is with\u00a0Tina Holt<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Rebecca Shute-Villegas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We wrote and passed the same reso at the Hawaii County Democratic convention in April 2026, because Hawaii County Council reso 234-25 introduced by Rebecca Villegas, initially drafted by me and other kupuna, monumentally passed in 2025. Inspired by my family and community, including my opio and hundreds of community activists, I will not relent in my own persistence to urge jurassic institutions to pivot toward peace.<\/p>\n

DPH 2026-19<\/p>\n

The Hawaii Democrats passed this resolution yesterday at the state convention: Opposing Renewal of Military Leases on State and Crown Lands and Calling for the Return of P\u014dhakuloa to the Hawaiian People<\/p>\n

Whereas, In 1964, the state of Hawai\u02bbi leased approximately 22,700 acres to the U.S. Army for 65 years for just $1. These lands are a part of the P\u014dhakuloa Training Area (PTA), which spans more than 132,000 acres, making it the largest US Department of Defense installation in Hawaii; and<\/p>\n

Whereas, On May 9, 2025, the state\u2019s Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) voted to reject the U.S. Army\u2019s final environmental impact statement for its proposed retention of its state-owned land lease set to expire in 2029; and<\/p>\n

Whereas, The military has used the state lands within the training area for military exercise, despite the lands\u2019 designation as a conservation district, status as \u201cceded\u201d (lands acquired through the unlawful overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom) and cultural significance to Native Hawaiians; and<\/p>\n

Whereas, Pursuant to the Admission Act of 1959, Section 5(f), the military uses of these public lands are not one of the five trust purposes; and<\/p>\n

Whereas, The military\u2019s use of these public lands is in violation of the public trust and the Hawaii State Constitution, Article XII, Section 4; and<\/p>\n

Whereas, The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has included in its 2026 legislative package a constitutional amendment to prohibit live-fire military training on state lands, reflecting the broad demand of Kanaka Maoli for the return of these lands; now therefore, be it<\/p>\n

Resolved, That the Democratic Party of Hawai\u02bbi urge the Governor and the Board of Land and Natural Resources to refuse any renewal or extension of the Army\u2019s lease at P\u014dhakuloa when it expires in 2029 and to begin the process of returning these conservation lands to the public land trust for the benefit of Native Hawaiians and the people of Hawai\u02bbi; and be it further<\/p>\n

Resolved, That the Democratic Party of Hawai\u02bbi urge the Hawai\u02bbi State Legislature to support OHA\u2019s proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting live-fire military training on state lands, require full environmental remediation by the Army prior to any land return, and urge Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s Congressional Delegation to oppose any federal legislation that would circumvent the state\u2019s authority over its public trust lands or fast-track lease renewals without full community consent; and be it finally<\/p>\n

Ordered, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawai\u02bbi, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, all members of the Hawai\u02bbi State Legislature, all members of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s Congressional Delegation, and the leadership of the Democratic Party of Hawaii\ufffc.<\/p>\n

****************<\/p>\n

June <\/span><\/strong>12<\/span><\/strong>,<\/span><\/strong> 2026<\/span><\/strong>,<\/span><\/strong> H<\/span><\/strong>ilo<\/span><\/strong> Peace Vigil leaflet \u2013 week 12<\/span><\/strong>8<\/span><\/strong>9<\/span><\/strong>\u2013 Fridays 3:30-5 PM downtown Post Office<\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

_________________________________________<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jim Albertini is a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment<\/em><\/a>, a former Catholic School teacher, and long-time social justice activist since the US war on Vietnam. He has done research on the use of depleted uranium at Pohakuloa Military Training Area and is the author of <\/em>\u201cThe Dark Side of Paradise: Hawai\u2019i in a Nuclear World.\u201d Jim is the founder and director of\u00a0<\/em>Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action<\/a>, a spiritual community based on peace, justice and sustainable organic farming on Big Island, Hawai\u2019i – P.O. Box 489 Ola\u2019a (Kurtistown), Hawai’i 96760. Phone (+ 808) 966-7622 Email: <\/em>ja@malu-aina.org<\/em><\/a> – website: <\/em>malu-aina.org<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 malu-aina.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 Jun 2026\u00a0– Each Javelin missile costs $350,000 on an island where 43% of the households are food insecure, and it\u2019s getting worse.\u00a0\u00a0 Our Peace organization, and farm, Malu \u2018Aina, has been helping people in need of food for 45 years, since before there was a Food Bank.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":242054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1817,1149,1253,1309,450,95,70],"class_list":["post-316998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","tag-anti-militarism","tag-asia-and-the-pacific","tag-demilitarization","tag-hawaii","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-us-military","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":316999,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316998\/revisions\/316999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}