"No!" to American Militarism

SUBHEAD: Living in Hawaii we are increasingly feeling the brunt of American worldwide imperialism.

By Juan Wilson on 11 April 2017 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2017/04/no-to-american-militarism.html)


Image above:  Map of the area around Hanapepe Bay noting the National Guard facility, Salt Pond Store, the Poulo Point Runway, and Hanapepe River where military personell have been recently seen. map created by Juan Wilson with GoogleEarth. Click to enlarge.

Back in late 2015, in a comment on an article Ea O Ka Aina: Navy's "Illegal" War Games by Dahr Jamal,  I wrote:

"Keep in mind this navel war is coming to Hawaii in 2016 in the form of RIMPAC 2016. Just like last year the US Navy and its Pacific Rim allies (and others) will come to Hawaii, and especially to Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai. Just last week I witnessed what appeared to be platoon of US Marines checking out the boat landing just north of the 1911 One Lane Bridge on the Hanapepe River. Will there be a US Marine landing of special op zodiacs in my neighborhood this coming summer?"

Well, 

For the last few months we have been seeing the increase of American military activity here on Kauai, Hawaii. There have been more active duty troops present in the Hanapepe area than I have ever seen. I mean by that armed platoon squads in combat gear out and about in residential areas.

Hanapepe does provide a home for Army National Guard facility, but most of the time meetings and activities are on the grounds of National Guard facility.

I am sensitive to this issue because live in Hanapepe Valley. It's fairly rural and surrounding communities of Elelele and Hanapepe Heights are suburbs of single family dwellings. The Hanapepe River and its banks, as well as the area of Puolo Point and Salt Pond Beach Park are recreational areas for families, adults and children.

On two occasions on the last two months I've run across camo-uniformed teams of US soldiers carrying weapons at-the-ready along the shorelines of town.

The first time was a bit after a Marine MV-22 Osprey flew over the swimming area of Salt Pond Beach Park to make a loud and disturbing landing and take off at the Puolo Point runway. My wife and I were driving east on Lele Road, coming from the Salt Ponds going parallel to the Puolo Point runway. As we approached Hanapepe Bay where the road turns north a platoon of uniformed soldiers wearing full packs were trotting together with semi-automatic weapons drawn. I think they were marines. We were a bit startled. The area they were coming from is primarily used for recreation. Walkers, fishermen, bicyclists and those who just want to park and watch the sunset are who use the point.  

The second time was this last week when I was driving along the shore of Hanapepe Bay heading east by the tennis courts. A group of soldiers, maybe five, were coming out of a private driveway right on the shore where the Hanapepe River meets the Hanapepe Bay. These soldiers were also dressed in camo and had what appeared to be automatic weapons, in their hands (not slung over their shoulders). Their faces were painted to be camouflaged as well. They appeared to be a special forces unit. It was obvious they had come from some practice on the Hanapepe River. Again this is an area used mostly for recreation. Paddlers, kids exploring, fishermen use the area. I do not like the idea of this area of Hanapepe being used by the military for "practice".

 Things are definitely "gearing up" for the military on Kauai. The State of Hawaii is about to start construction a complete rebuild of the main bridge over the Hanapepe River. Many are of the opinion that this is being attended to because of the necessity of heavy trucks going to the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the west end of the island as it expands to include Airforce, Marine and Naval military presence.

There is plenty of action in and around the National Guard facility. Salt Pond Country Store is across the street. When there are military personnel at the facility, the store gets their action. Yesterday I was at the store and the guy ahead of me at the cash register caught my curiosity. He was trim with khaki shorts and a maroon t-shirt the read on the back "University of Wake Island - Noledge". As he turned I could see he was a serious looking, trim-bearded millennial.



Image above: A Chevy Tahoe model like the one I saw parked in front of Salt Pond Store opposite the National Guard facility in Hanapepe. From (http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/the-official-blacked-out-tahoe-yukon-picture-thread.1052/). For more images of this kind of "civilian" presence on Kauai see Ea O Ka Aina: Hands Across the Sand Westside.

This didn't look like a guy on vacation. I followed him out of the store. As I passed him he was getting into the shotgun seat of an new seven-seat  black Chevy Tahoe Yukon SUV with dark tinted windows.  The sun back-lighted the vehicle so I could see the seats were fully occupied by more guys.

These were not tourists. My take was they were either military intelligence or ballistic missile technicians - at least one of whom had recently come from a tour on Wake Island. By the way, Wake Island is the home of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site.  The Island is administered by the United States Air Force, under an agreement with the Department of the Interior. Nice fit with the PMRF. See more at (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/03files/Wake_Island_01.html)


Video above: "Honest Government Advert - Visit Hawaii". The US Government just released this tourism ad for Hawaii and it's surprisingly honest and informative. From (https://www.facebook.com/juicerapnews/videos/10155918517468452/) and (https://youtu.be/MfAiB2ZoRhM).

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Military buildup at PMRF 2/22/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Air Force plans to bomb whales 2/6/17
Ea O Ka Aina: MV-22 Osprey landing at Salt Pond 2/5/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai and Niihau endangered 9/24/16
Ea O Ka Aina: DLNR responsibility on RIMPAC 7/5/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Oceans4Peace Pacific Pivot Panel 6/18/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Ocean 4 Peace Events 6/11/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Prepare for RIMPAC 2016 War in Hawaii 5/22/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy to "take" millions of mammals 5/17/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Fuck the PMRF's Aegis plan! 1/23/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy's illegal War Games 11/16/15
Ea O Ka Aina: US court RIMPAC Impact decision 4/3/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai's PMRF is bang out of sight 6/28/14
Ea O Ka Aina: The Pacific Pivot 6/28/14
Ea O Ka Aina: RIMPAC IMPACT 6/8/14
Ea O Ka Aina: RIMPAC Then and Now 5/16/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Earthday TPP Fukushima RIMPAC 4/22/14
Ea O Ka Aina: The Asian Pivot - An ugly dance 12/5/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Help save Mariana Islands 11/13/13
Ea O Ka Aina: End RimPac destruction of Pacific 11/1/13 
Ea O Ka Aina: Moana Nui Confereence 11/1/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy to conquer Marianas again  9/3/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Pagan Island beauty threatened 10/26/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Sleepwalking through destruction 7/16/12
Ea O Ka Aina: PMRF Aegis missile test 5/11/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy Next-War-Itis 4/13/12
Ea O Ka Aina: America bullies Koreans 4/13/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Despoiling Jeju island coast begins 3/7/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Jeju Islanders protests Navy Base 2/29/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Hawaii - Start of American Empire 2/26/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Korean Island of Peace 2/26/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Land based Aegis on Kauai 9/2/11  
Ea O Ka Aina: Military schmoozes Guam & Hawaii 3/17/11
Ea O Ka Aina: In Search of Real Security - One 8/31/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Peace for the Blue Continent 8/10/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Shift in Pacific Power Balance 8/5/10
Ea O Ka Aina: RimPac to expand activities 6/29/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Hands Across the Sands Westside 6/27/10
Ea O Ka Aina: RIMPAC War Games here in July 6/20/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Pacific Resistance to U.S. Military 5/24/10

Ea O Ka Aina: De-colonizing the Pacific 5/21/10 

Ea O Ka Aina: PMRF expansion comment period 5/9/10 

Ea O Ka Aina: RIMPAC to Return in 2010 5/2/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Living at the Tip of the Spear 4/5/10

Ea O Ka Aina: Living at the Tip of the Spear 4/15/10

Ea O Ka Aina: Guam Land Grab 11/30/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam as a modern Bikini Atoll 12/25/09
Ea O Ka Aina: GUAM - Another Strategic Island 11/8/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Diego Garcia - Another stolen island 11/6/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Polihale Clean Up 4/6/09
Ea O Ka Aina: DARPA & Super-Cavitation on Kauai 3/24/09 
Ea O Ka Aina: Polihale access to be restored 3/11/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Polihale access denied! 2/25/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Residents want beach access 1/5/09
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 - Navy fired up in Hawaii 7/2/08
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 uses destructive sonar 4/22/08
Island Breath: Navy Plans for the Pacific 9/3/07
Island Breath: Judge restricts sonar off California 08/07/07
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 sonar compromise 7/9/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 - Impact on Ocean 5/23/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2004 - Whale strandings on Kauai 9/2/04
Island Breath: PMRF Land Grab 3/15/04.

Background on "The Afterburn"

SUBHEAD: Movie about the continuing American legacy of war in Okinawa since World War Two.

By Jon Letman on 5 April 2017 for Civil Beat -
(http://www.civilbeat.org/2017/04/okinawa-documentary-portrays-the-legacy-of-war/)


Image above: Photo of Okinawa: The Afterburn" speaking to movie audience. Fromoriginal article.

Director John Junkerman wants people to know what is going on in Okinawa and the military experience that looms over the island.

Exactly 72 years to the week after U.S. forces launched one of World War II’s bloodiest chapters — the Battle of Okinawa — Tokyo-based director John Junkerman is premiering his documentary film “Okinawa: The Afterburn” in Hawaii.

First completed in 2015, the award-winning film has been shown across Okinawa, Japan and North America. Now audiences on Kauai and Oahu have the chance to watch a newly updated version of the film and meet Junkerman at the island premiere on Kauai on Saturday and in Honolulu on Sunday.

Subtitled in English and Japanese, “Okinawa: The Afterburn” has been called the most comprehensive film of its kind and praised for its even-handed examination of the legacy of war, discrimination and sacrifice as it sheds light on the complex history shared by Okinawans, Japanese and Americans.

The two-hour film begins with rarely seen archival footage of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa in which some 240,000 people lost their lives, including one-quarter to one-third of Okinawa’s civilian population.

Through clips of propaganda films and first-hand recollections of the women and men who fought and died on all sides of the conflict, the narrative leads viewers through seven decades of history from post-war U.S. occupation and Okinawa’s 1972 reversion to Japan to the ongoing struggle for justice.

The film closely examines the impacts of land seizures that led to a network of more than 30 U.S. bases that still occupy over 15 percent of an island almost 20 percent smaller than Kauai.
One of the most powerful scenes in the film is when Junkerman interviews one of the three U.S. marines convicted of gang raping a 12-year-old Okinawan girl in 1995, an outrage that reignited fury against the U.S. bases that continues to the present.

That anger poured fuel on longstanding frustrations over Okinawa’s outsized burden of hosting U.S. bases and troops (roughly half of more than 50,000 Japan-based U.S. forces occupy less than one percent of Japanese territory), and remains a major factor behind the ongoing protests against new U.S. military facilities being built by force today.

The film also pays tribute to the Okinawan people’s unwavering commitment to fostering international peace and the relentless struggle to preserve their culture, environment and values that center around the concept nuchi du takara, or “life is a treasure.”

Junkerman hopes the film’s Hawaii premiere will attract local Okinawan, Japanese and military/veteran communities, as well as general viewers. By watching the film together and being part of the post-screening discussion with its director, he says various communities that have experienced and understand Okinawa differently, can increase understanding and create a new dialogue in which alternative solutions can be considered.

Junkerman answered questions about his film below. His comments were edited for length and clarity.

Jon Letman: How did you decide to bring your film to Hawaii?

John Junkerman:  When I first started working on this film I had the broader idea of triangulating Hawaii, Guam and Okinawa … because the three island groups face similar situations with heavy concentrations with the U.S. military as well as indigenous populations who have faced discrimination over the decades … There’s a strong solidarity movement among those three areas. That was one of the motivations (to show the film in Hawaii).

What kind of reactions have you had to the film in Okinawa, mainland Japan and in North America?

The audience’s response is very different in each place. The film has been very warmly received in Okinawa with a sense of gratitude. It’s the first film that presents a comprehensive picture of Okinawa from the Battle of Okinawa to the present, exploring that structural relationship between Japan, the United States and Okinawa in the long term.

In Japan the response has been one of people coming to terms with and realizing how the Japanese public has been complicit in a sense in that structural relationship and discrimination toward Okinawa.

Many people say, “I never realized that I have that sense of discrimination myself,” and “watching the film makes me feel rather uncomfortable and responsible for that relationship and the continuing discrimination against Okinawa.”

How have American audiences responded?

I did show it to numerous audiences both on college campuses and community screenings. The overwhelming response I got from those audiences was, “we had no idea this was going on in Okinawa. It’s a situation that we feel shouldn’t be perpetuated.”

There is a shroud of ignorance that lies upon Okinawa and its situation and it’s very difficult to break through that. I’m doing what I can to get people to pay attention to Okinawa and hopefully begin to address this issue.

What kind of response have you had from the U.S. military?

I have not had any success in getting the military to look at the film. I sent a copy to then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and I got a response from the military attaché saying it’s important for us to remember the sacrifices that were made in the Battle of Okinawa.

Have you found different age groups receive the film differently?

Historically Japan and its people tended to discriminate against Okinawans and look down on them. Young people, on the other hand, have a great deal of affection for the islands. Of course older people’s commitment is to the pacifist tradition of Japan and the long term with the involvement of the peace movement in Okinawa.

In terms of the United States, there are some older folks who have a strong sense that the U.S. military presence in Okinawa is justified and necessary. Young people who see the film don’t come in with that pre-conception and are instead somewhat shocked by the ways that the U.S. military essentially tramples on the rights of the people of Okinawa.

Beyond documenting the post-war Okinawa experience, what lessons does the film offer?

We have a great deal to learn from the people of Okinawa in that they suffered through a horrendous battle that left a total of something like 250,000 people dead. They developed, as a consequence, a very strong aversion of war and a commitment to living at peace with their neighbors in Asia and around the world.

That’s an appeal that they’ve been making for the last 72 years but have been forced to live cheek by jowl with a U.S. military that uses its might to extend power around the globe. It’s a very small island where these two cultures come head to head into a clash.

Kauai premiere: “Okinawa: The Afterburn” is scheduled to be shown (followed by a discussion with the director) at the Kealia Farm Market across from the north end of Kealia beach in Kapaa, Kauai, on Saturday, April 8, from 7 to 10 p.m. There is no charge for admission. The film is being co-sponsored by the Kauai Alliance for Peace and Social Justice and others.

Honolulu premiere: “Okinawa: The Afterburn” is scheduled to air (followed by a discussion with the director) at the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business, Room A-101 on Sunday, April 9, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. There is no charge for admission. The film is being co-sponsored by the UHM Center for Okinawan studies and others.

 • Jon Letman is an independent journalist on Kauai. He writes about politics, people and the environment in the Asia-Pacific region.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: See Film "Okinawa: The Afterburn" 3/18/16
Ea O Ka Aina: USMC contaminates Okinawa bases 2/20/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Japan's Anger is Past its Limit 6/21/16

Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawans wish US military gone 8/26/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa mayor caves to US military 4/22/15

Ea O Ka Aina: Japan struggles with Okinawa base 4/6/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa resists US Military 2/11/14

Ea O Ka Aina: US Okinawa base setback 1/20/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12

Island Breath: America Rex 1/30/07
Island Breath: Militarism in Hawaii 4/29/04

For a special look into the mindset of US Marines in Okinawa check out "It's Universal"

Ea O Ka Aina: It's Universal 1/1/09
How the US Marines behave in Okinawa illustrate how crazy we are.


.

See film "Okinawa: The Afterburn"

SOURCE: Katherine Muzik PHD (kmuzik@gmail.com)
SUBHEAD: Okinawans stand out for the tenacity and, at times, ferocity of their opposition to US military.

By Juan Wilson on 18 March 2017 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2017/03/see-film-okinawa-afterburn.html)


Image above: Still frame from movie trailer "The Okinawa: Afterburn" shows sign reading "Ospreys Out! Marines Out!" That's one reason we see the Marines' Ospreys on Kauai now.

If you don't smell the acrid smoke yet you should be better aware. Kauai is heading for something like the occupation the US military has visited on the Japanese island of Okinawa since the end of World War II.

There is a planned military build up here and it will have most effect the south and west side of our island.

The Federal Missile Defense Agency is looking to convert Navy's Aegis research base at PMRF into a permanent missile base.

The US Marine's unstable Osprey helicopter program is going to be using the Na Pali Coast as a "training" environment.

To top it off the US Air Force 86th Fighter Squadron has a five year plan to practice attacking the Pacific Ocean, and it denizens from the runways of the PMRF.

That's just for starters. With Trump facing off against the Chinese and North Koreans expect a lot worse to come soon.

For an idea of the impact on Kauai I advise you look at what the US military has done to Okinawa see "The Afterburn".


Image above: Poster foe showing of "The Okinawa: Afterburn" on Kauai.

See movie "Okinawa: The Afterburn" about American military occupation of Okinwawa
Narration in English. Q/A with director John Junkerman to follow the film.

WHEN:
April 8th 2017 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm

WHERE: 
Kealia Farm Market
Across the highway from the north end of Kealea Beach in Kapaa

"Afterburn" is the first comprehensive history of the United States military destruction of Okinawa from World War II to now. The Kauai screening is endorsed by the Kauai Alliance for Peace and Social Justice, Koloha Leo and Kulu Wai.

REVIEW:
John Junkerman documentary ‘Okinawa: The Afterburn’ sheds light on the ferocious anger against U.S. bases.


Video above:  "Okinawa: The Afterburn" trailer. From (https://youtu.be/0D03LeeZe-U)

By Mark Schilling on 17 June 2015 for Japan Times -
(http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/06/17/films/film-reviews/john-junkerman-documentary-okinawa-afterburn-sheds-light-ferocious-anger-u-s-bases/#.WM2Bk47atE4)

The issue of the large U.S. military presence in Okinawa is divisive, deeply rooted and, frankly, one I have never completely understood. Anti-base protests have been going on for decades, and while locals elsewhere in the developed world may have been unhappy with the bases in their vicinity, the Okinawans stand out for the tenacity and, at times, ferocity of their opposition. What keeps them going?

John Junkerman’s documentary “Okinawa: The Afterburn” (“Okinawa: Urizun no Ame”) sheds more light on this question than any of the other Okinawan-themed films I have seen, fiction or nonfiction.

As a former Okinawa resident who has lived in Japan for nearly four decades, Junkerman is unabashedly on the side of the protesters (in a program note he describes the Okinawan islands as “spoils of war”), but he presents both sides without strident editorializing.

He has also found archival footage and living witnesses to Okinawa’s troubled history, which illuminate — far more brightly than the standard journalistic regurgitation of facts and figures — why Okinawans continue to resist the bases 70 years after the Battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945.

The film begins with an account of that battle, accompanied by interviews with elderly but articulate survivors — Japanese, Okinawans and Americans.

One survivor of the battle is former Okinawa governor and anti-base activist Masahide Ota. “A lot people here say that battle still continues. That has certainly been true for me,” he says.

Another is Masa Inafuku, who served as a 17-year-old student nurse at the height of fighting. “There was no place in the world where the fighting was so futile,” she says.

Still another is Kamado Chibana, who was 26 when 83 civilians hiding in a cave with her committed group suicide rather than surrender to the Americans, despite assurances from Japanese-fluent soldiers that they wouldn’t be harmed.

These and other testimonies are illustrated by rarely seen color footage of the battle and its aftermath, showing soldiers with what former sergeant Leonard Lazarick describes as “thousand-yard stares,” as well as emaciated Okinawan civilians on the brink of collapse.

The film follows the story of these survivors and the succeeding generations, as Okinawa became a key launch pad for U.S. wars in Asia and the Middle East.

In the 1960s, local activists campaigned for the reversion of Okinawa to Japan from the U.S., who were then ruling the island as a military protectorate. “Japan didn’t fight wars, had no nuclear weapons and its economy was booming,” explains Eiko Asato, a writer who was a teenage activist at the time.

After Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, however, locals soon realized that the bases would remain, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s support, together with all the problems that had long accompanied them.

The film focuses on sexual violence perpetrated by U.S. soldiers on Okinawan women and others in the military, male and female. Witnesses from both sides testify, including a former soldier involved in a highly publicized 1995 group rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl.

The film concludes with an overview of ongoing disputes, including the protests over the construction of a new U.S. base in Nago’s Henoko district, which — after the intense opening sections — feels slightly scattershot. But it’s hard to neatly tie up the 70-year history of the U.S. military on the island with a bow, as the struggle continues.

Despite its English subtitle, “Afterburn” — a reference to Okinawa’s long postwar trauma — the film does not view the struggle as never-ending. The Japanese title, “Urizun no Ame,” means “the rains that herald spring” — the season of hope.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: USMC contaminates Okinawa bases 2/20/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Japan's Anger is Past its Limit 6/21/16

Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawans wish US military gone 8/26/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa mayor caves to US military 4/22/15

Ea O Ka Aina: Japan struggles with Okinawa base 4/6/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa resists US Military 2/11/14

Ea O Ka Aina: US Okinawa base setback 1/20/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12

Island Breath: America Rex 1/30/07
Island Breath: Militarism in Hawaii 4/29/04

For a special look into the mindset of US Marines in Okinawa check out "It's Universal"

Ea O Ka Aina: It's Universal 1/1/09
How the US Marines behave in Okinawa illustrate how crazy we are.


.

USMC contaminates Okinawa bases

SUBHEAD: Reports suggest lax safety standards have caused many of the incidents on US Marine camps there.

By Job Mitchell on 19 February 2107 for Truth Out -
(http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39501-environmental-contamination-at-us-marine-corps-bases-on-okinawa)


Image above: Lance Cpl. Ryan Yancey radios his team during a joint-training-exercise at the Central Training Area, Camp Hansen. it is the largest live fire land range on Okinawa, the base has been a constant cause of concern for local residents due to forest conflagrations and stray rounds. Photo by Lance Cpl. Kelsey M. Dornfeld, US Marine Corps. From original article.

Since 2002, at least 270 environmental accidents on U.S. Marine Corps bases on Okinawa have contaminated land and local waterways but, until now, almost none of these incidents has been made public.

U.S. Marine internal reports highlight serious flaws in training and suggest that the lessons of past accidents have not been effectively implemented. Moreover, recent USMC guidelines order service members not to inform Japanese authorities of accidents deemed "politically sensitive", raising concerns that many incidents may have gone unreported.

Catalogued in 403 pages of USMC handbooks and reports obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, the accidents occurred on three of the USMC's most important installations on Okinawa: MCAS Futenma, Camp Hansen and Camp Schwab. The earliest report is dated June 2002 and the most recent June 2016.

Although the original FOIA request sought documents from 1995 to 2016, only three reports were released for the period between 1995 and 2005. Likewise, no reports for Camp Schwab were released for the years 2008 and 2010, nor were there any documents related to the crash of an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter on Camp Hansen in August 2013. At the time, the crash caused a public outcry because it occurred near a dam and dangerous levels of arsenic were later discovered in the vicinity. [1]

According to the documents that were released, between 2005 and 2016 MCAS Futenma experienced 156 accidents resulting in the release of 14,003 liters of fuels (including jet fuels and diesel). Between 2004 and 2016, Camp Hansen experienced 71 accidents, including the leak of 2596 liters of fuels and other substances such as 678 liters of antifreeze. Between 2002 and 2016, Camp Schwab experienced 43 incidents, involving 2628 liters of fuel; in 2002, there was a 4024-liter spill of mixed water/POL (Petroleum, Oils And Lubricants) -- one of the largest of the recorded accidents.

Of the 270 accidents, it appears that only 6 were reported to Japanese authorities -- 3 of which because the USMC required the help of local emergency services to clean up.

Environmental accident handbooks from 2013 and 2015 reveal that USMC staff are under orders not to inform Japanese officials of "non-emergency and/or politically sensitive incidents."

Only when an accident is deemed an emergency that poses a threat to people, drinking water or the environment off base, are Marine staff permitted to notify Japanese authorities. The decision whether to classify an incident as "politically sensitive" is left in the hands of the USMC.

On October 28, Defense Minister Inada Tomomi, said she would seek clarification on the policy from the U.S. military and she would press them to report spills promptly to local authorities.[2]

At the time of publication of this article, the government of Japan had made no updates on the issue.

U.S. Forces Japan spokesman Maj. John Severns defended the policy: "The decision to notify ODB (Okinawa Defense Bureau) is made by USFJ in accordance with Joint Committee agreements," Severns wrote by email. "These agreements with the Government of Japan describe what situations require notification."

Even when the USMC decides to report incidents to the Japanese authorities, the FOIA-released documents reveal discrepancies about what is told Tokyo.

In June, 2016 an accident on MCAS Futenma resulted in the spill of 6908 liters of aviation fuel. The internal accident report suggests the accident was due to human error, however Japanese authorities were informed it occurred because of a "valve misalignment."

Moreover, although USFJ told Japanese authorities the spill had been dealt with "immediately", the documents reveal it wasn't fully under control until the following day. USFJ did not inform the Japanese government of the scale of the incident, which ultimately necessitated the disposal of 11 208-liter drums of contaminated earth and 3028 liters of contaminated water.

After the accident, an inside source slammed the safety standards of the USMC at Futenma. The expert explained that the cause of the accident was marines overriding a safety solenoid with a plastic tie.

"Such accidents are typical of the U.S. Marines. To put it bluntly, their work is lazy and they act stupidly," he says.

The expert, who has been working for more than 10 years on U.S. installations in Japan, provided a 12-second video of the spill. Large volumes of fuel can be seen pouring out of a vent in the side of the grass-covered storage tank, pooling on the ground and running into a storm drain.

In March 2009, a similar accident had occurred at the same fuel tank. That incident involved fuel initially estimated by the marines at 3,028 liters but later revised down to 757 liters. The fact that the accident was allowed to happen highlights serious flaws in the training of marines, says the insider.

He also expressed grave concerns about what would happen if a fire broke out in MCAS Futenma's fuel storage areas. The installation, he says, is not adequately equipped to deal with such a conflagration and the fire-fighting capabilities at MCAS Futenma are "very poor."

Severns said he was unable to "respond to vague and unsourced comments."

Although the June spill apparently did not escape the base, other incidents did. Among the accidents which polluted off-base communities but went unreported to the Japanese government was a 946-liter diesel spill at Camp Schwab in September 2005 caused by contractors who accidentally severed a fuel line during construction work. The spill, unnoticed for four days, contaminated 120 meters of river with diesel, which in some stretches lay 5 cm deep upon the water's surface.

On-base rivers flow into the nearby bay, an area categorized as the highest priority by Okinawa Prefecture in its list of places requiring environmental protection.

On Camp Hansen in November 2008, a marine hosed down a heavy equipment parking area, washing an estimated 4 liters of "unknown POLs" (pollutants) into drains which then flowed "off base close to the Japanese elementary school."

On Camp Hansen, in May 2010, 606 liters of antifreeze spilled at a motor pool resulting in an unknown amount flowing into the ocean.

Among the incidents at MCAS Futenma, three spilled a total of 2669 liters of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF). One incident in 2007 leaked 757 liters of which 189 liters went off the base "into a short creek, then immediately into a cave."

Hydraulic fluid spills within MCAS Futenma totaled 405 liters.

Both AFFF and hydraulic fluid can contain perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), a substance linked to cancer, damage to the immune system and harm to fetuses and infants. Recent reports in the U.S. media have revealed that the military may have been aware of the dangers of PFOS since 1979 and in 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warned it might be carcinogenic.[3]

Tests for PFOS contamination have been conducted on military installations throughout the States and U.S. Army Garrison in Ansbach, Germany. In May, the EPA set its drinking water health advisory limit for PFOS at 70 nanograms per liter.[4]

In February, at a spring near MCAS Futenma, PFOS levels of 80 nanograms per liter were recorded.[5]

Near Kadena Air Base, local checks on the Dakujaku River have discovered levels of PFOS as high as 1320 nanograms per liter and, at Chatan Water Purification Plant, 80 nanograms per liter.[6]

USFJ says there are no plans for the military to conduct checks for PFOS on Okinawa.

In April, a previous investigation revealed the damage that Kadena Air Base, the largest USAF installation in Asia, has been causing the island's drinking water supplies. Between 1998 and 2015, there were at least 415 accidents, only a fraction of which were reported to the Japanese government.[7]

When the investigation was published, the Japanese government made no public comment. However USFJ emails obtained under the FOIA show that the coverage prompted the MOD and MOFA to demand the U.S. military hand over the 8700-plus pages of documents upon which the articles had been based.

The latest release of papers related to Futenma, Schwab and Hansen suggest lax safety standards have caused many of the incidents.

In June 2002, a spill involving 4024 liters of mixed POL and water occurred at Camp Schwab's bilge water treatment facility. The follow-up investigation slammed supervising officers for failing to monitor the marines' work and, after the accident was discovered, for pretending not to know what had happened. The marines, according to the report, were responsible for the "release of a known hazardous material onto areas that feed public waterways."

Subsequent incidents suggest the USMC failed to improve training procedures at Camp Schwab.
An April 2009 report describes how a marine, untrained to operate the vehicle he was driving, caused an accident which spilled hydraulic fluid along 200 meters of on-base road and into the ocean. Members of the Okinawa Defense Bureau witnessed the accident but apparently did not notify the Japanese government.

More recently, in May, 1060 litres of fuel spilled within a storage area on Camp Schwab. Investigators linked the accident to environmental officers' failure to provide the marines in their charge with necessary training.

Perhaps more worryingly are comments contained in a June 2009 investigation revealing serious flaws in the base's oil water separators (OWS). A key component of the environmental protection infrastructure of airports, factories and military bases, OWS prevents substances such as fuels and solvents from leaking into the environment.

The 2009 report blamed a leak of fuel into the sea on the failure of Schwab's OWS and stated that they "do not work" in heavy rain. If accurate, the assessment raises serious concerns for the installation particularly given the propensity for torrential precipitation in the Yambaru jungles where Schwab is situated.

U.S. Forces Japan denied that the problem could damage the local environment. "It is a known characteristic of oil-water separators that they are less effective during heavy rainfall," Severns wrote. "Our engineers are aware of this and take it into account when designing our remediation systems."

 Other reports reveal the careless storage of chemicals on Camp Hansen. One incident in December 2011 involved 7 kg of calcium hypochlorite bleach powder transported to Okinawa following joint U.S.-Australia war games. Sloppily stored in a shipping container, some of the chemicals began to react with the air, injuring a marine who opened the container's door.

Despite the injury and the fact that the container's paperwork had not been filled out, the USMC supervisor failed to report the incident. One month later, after superior officers were finally notified, the base declared the situation an emergency and called in a Hazmat team from the local Japanese fire department to clean up the spill site. The empty shipping container was subsequently transported to USMC Camp Kinser, Urasoe City.

Recently Camp Kinser has been at the focus of environmental concerns. In the 1970s, the base, then run by the U.S. Army and known as Machinato - or Makiminato - Service Area, contained an outdoor storage yard for chemicals returned from the Vietnam War.

According to military reports, these substances, including herbicides and solvents, contaminated the soil with heavy metals and the pesticide chlordane, which seeped into the sea, killing large numbers of fish.[8]

Last year, tests conducted by Urasoe City on a river adjacent to Camp Kinser found sediment contaminated with the same toxins, suggesting that the base continues to suffer from serious contamination. Likewise, wildlife caught near the base has repeatedly been found to contain high levels of pollution.[9]

USFJ refuses to make public current on-base environmental data for Camp Kinser.

Contamination at MCAS Futenma has also alarmed local residents. In the early 1980s, the USMC discovered elevated chemical readings in storm water flowing from the base. When maintenance crews investigated, they discovered more than 100 barrels of unknown chemicals, some painted with the tell tale orange stripes of U.S. military defoliants.

Following the discovery, senior officers ordered the clandestine removal of the barrels for disposal elsewhere. In 2015, Lt. Col. Kris Roberts, the marine in charge of the crew that discovered the barrels, was awarded compensation by the U.S. government for exposure to toxic chemicals.[10]

MCAS Futenma
Located smack-dab in the middle of Ginowan City, Okinawa's most controversial base -- often dubbed the most dangerous in the world -- is surrounded by homes, schools and hospitals. In 1996, to placate public fury following the gang rape of a 12-year old girl by three service members from Camp Hansen, Washington and Tokyo agreed to close MCAS Futenma. But that plan has stalled due to insistence that USMC operations be moved to a new base near Camp Schwab -- a decision opposed by the Okinawan government and the majority of Okinawans. In 2004, the crash of a USMC helicopter into the neighboring Okinawa International University only increased demands for MCAS Futenma's closure.

Size: 4.8 sq km (including a 2.8km runway) Land-owners: 3,818
Japanese base workers: 208 U.S. service members: Classified

USMC Camp Schwab
 Named after Battle of Okinawa hero, Albert E. Schwab, and built upon a former civilian internment camp, the remains of approximately 300 Okinawans still lie within the base. During the Cold War, the installation and its adjacent arsenal, stored nuclear warheads and, veterans say, a large cache of Agent Orange. Today live fire training and sea drills are held here. The proposed site for operations relocated from MCAS Futenma, the USMC envisages a new base with twin runways and a deepwater port. The Japanese government contends the environmental impact will be minimal but many Okinawans -- Governor Takeshi Onaga included -- argue that the millions of tons of landfill will cause irrevocable damage to the sea.

Size: 20.6 sq km Landowners: 752
Japanese base workers: 242 US service members: Classified

USMC Camp Hansen
 Home to the sprawling Central Training Area and the largest live fire land range on Okinawa, the base has been a constant cause of concern for local residents due to forest conflagrations and stray rounds. Until 1997, exercises fired ordinance over Prefectural Route 104 where a much-photographed sign warned drivers to be careful of overhead projectiles. In 2013, a helicopter crashed within the base near a dam but local government officials were denied access to check for contamination.

Size: 51.1 sq km Land-owners: 3,169
Japanese base workers: 576 US service members: Classified


Notes:1. "High levels of arsenic found at Okinawa chopper crash site," Japan Times, February 18, 2014. Available here.
2. Comments were reported by The Okinawa Times -- 緊急通報手順 米側に照会中 -- on October 29, 2016.
3. "Air Force studies dating back decades show danger of foam that contaminated Colorado Springs-area water," The Gazette, October 23, 2016. Available here.
4. "Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOS," Environmental Protection Agency. Available here.
5. For example, see 普天間飛行場周辺でもPFOS検出 沖縄県が調査, Okinawa Times, February 25, 2016. Available here.
6. Jon Mitchell, "FOIA Documents: Drunk US Marine's 2015 dump of toxic foam among accidents polluting Okinawa water supply", The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 7, No. 3, April 1, 2016. Available here.
7. Jon Mitchell, "Contamination at Largest US Air Force Base in Asia: Kadena, Okinawa", The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 9, No. 1, May 1, 2016. Available here.
8. Jon Mitchell, "FOIA Documents Reveal Agent Orange Dioxin, Toxic Dumps, Fish Kills on Okinawa Base. Two Veterans Win Compensation, Many More Denied", The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue 39, No. 1, October 5, 2015. Available here.
9. See for example ハブから再びPCB キンザー周辺 DDT類も検出, Ryukyu Shimpo, January 21, 2017. Available here.
10. Mitchell, October 5, 2015.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

Jon Mitchell is a Welsh journalist based in Japan. He is the author of Tsuiseki: Okinawa no Karehazai (Chasing Agent Orange on Okinawa) (Koubunken 2014) and a visiting researcher at the International Peace Research Institute of Meiji Gakuin University, Tokyo. Mitchell is an Asia-Pacific Journal contributing editor.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Oura Bay Being Destroyed 2/6/17
Ea O Ka Aina: MV-22 Osprey landing at Salt Pond 2/5/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Japan's Anger is Past its Limit 6/21/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa an American Protectorate 10/30/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Fear and Hope in Oura Bay 1/27/15
Ea O Ka Aina: "Sit on Sea" Free Movie Sunday 9/3/11
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawans wish US military gone 4/26/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa mayor caves to US military 4/22/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Japan struggles with Okinawa base  4/6/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Voila - World War Three 7/1/14

Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa resists US Military 2/11/14
Ea O Ka Aina: US Okinawa base setback 1/20/14

Ea O Ka Aina: The Pacific Pivot 6/28/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Help save Mariana Islands 11/17/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Pagan Island beauty threatened 9/16/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy to conquer Marianas again 9/3/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy Next-War-Itis 4/13/12
Ea O Ka Aina: America bullies Koreans 4/13/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Despoiling Jeju island coast begins 3/7/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Jeju Islanders protests Navy Base 2/29/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Hawaii - Start of American Empire 2/26/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Korean Island of Peace 2/26/12   
Ea O Ka Aina: Military schmoozes Guam & Hawaii 3/17/11
Ea O Ka Aina: Living at the Tip of the Spear 4/5/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Living at the Tip of the Spear 4/15/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam Land Grab 11/30/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam as a modern Bikini Atoll 12/25/09
Ea O Ka Aina: GUAM - Another Strategic Island 11/8/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Diego Garcia - Another stolen island 11/6/09
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 - Navy fired up in Hawaii 7/2/08
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 uses destructive sonar 4/22/08
Island Breath: Navy Plans for the Pacific 9/3/07
Island Breath: Judge restricts sonar off California 08/07/07
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 sonar compromise 7/9/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 - Impact on Ocean 5/23/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2004 - Whale strandings on Kauai 9/2/04
Island Breath: PMRF Land Grab 3/15/04  
 

.

Oura Bay is being destroyed

SUBHEAD: US and Japanese finally begin destruction of last intact reef on Okinawa for military airbase.

By Gavan McCormack on 6 February 2017 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2017/02/oura-bayis-being-destroyed.html)


Image above: The dredge ship Fukada on Oura Bay before it begins destruction of bay's ecosystem.

The destruction of Oura Bay starts in a matter of hours.

The Poseidon heavy-duty dredge ship (the “Fukada”), the crane ships, the multiple layers of security guards and their various craft: everything is now in place, ready for the “shock and awe” assault on Oura Bay.

No more surveying or preparation. This is the start of the real thing, after all these years. This is a No 1 Kokusaku (national policy) project, the equivalent of the Battleship Yamato.

What hope for democracy and human rights with the dictators, Abe to the East and Trump to the West. We have basically failed to generate enough international interest, awareness and protest.

Miyagi Chie went out on the Bay yesterday in a canoe and took photograps. This morning she issues the following SOS. See the photographs she attaches of the Poseidon ship that just arrived yesterday, the concrete blocks, etc. She asks for widest dissemination of the news of what is happening.

I don’t know that we can do. But the minimum will be to try to communicate Okinawa’s pain and anger and sadness.


Image above: Barge with concrete blocks in Oura Bay before it begins destruction of bay's ecosystem.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Japan's Anger is Past its Limit 6/21/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa an American Protectorate 10/30/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Fear and Hope in Oura Bay 1/27/15
Ea O Ka Aina: "Sit on Sea" Free Movie Sunday 9/3/11
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawans wish US military gone 4/26/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa mayor caves to US military 4/22/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Japan struggles with Okinawa base  4/6/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Voila - World War Three 7/1/14

Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa resists US Military 2/11/14
Ea O Ka Aina: US Okinawa base setback 1/20/14

Ea O Ka Aina: The Pacific Pivot 6/28/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Help save Mariana Islands 11/17/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Pagan Island beauty threatened 9/16/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy to conquer Marianas again 9/3/13
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy Next-War-Itis 4/13/12
Ea O Ka Aina: America bullies Koreans 4/13/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Despoiling Jeju island coast begins 3/7/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Jeju Islanders protests Navy Base 2/29/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Hawaii - Start of American Empire 2/26/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Korean Island of Peace 2/26/12   
Ea O Ka Aina: Military schmoozes Guam & Hawaii 3/17/11
Ea O Ka Aina: Living at the Tip of the Spear 4/5/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Living at the Tip of the Spear 4/15/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam Land Grab 11/30/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Guam as a modern Bikini Atoll 12/25/09
Ea O Ka Aina: GUAM - Another Strategic Island 11/8/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Diego Garcia - Another stolen island 11/6/09
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 - Navy fired up in Hawaii 7/2/08
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2008 uses destructive sonar 4/22/08
Island Breath: Navy Plans for the Pacific 9/3/07
Island Breath: Judge restricts sonar off California 08/07/07
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 sonar compromise 7/9/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2006 - Impact on Ocean 5/23/06
Island Breath: RIMPAC 2004 - Whale strandings on Kauai 9/2/04
Island Breath: PMRF Land Grab 3/15/04  
 

MV-22 Osprey landing at Salt Pond

SUBHEAD: Multiple landings and takeoffs of controversial aircraft at Kauai public beach.

By Juan Wilson on 5 February 2017 for Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2017/02/mv-22-oprey-landings-at-salt-pond.html)


Image above: Photo for this article by Juan Wilson of Osprey aircraft landing over Salt Pond Beach Park.

Last Tuesday, January 31st, I was at the beach with my wife Linda and granddaughter Ruby. We were at the kiddy beach at the west end of Salt Pond Park in Hanapepe, Kauai, Hawaii. It was a pleasant sunny day and there were several locals and tourists on the beach and in the water.

At four-thirty in the afternoon a deep guttural growl could be heard coming from the east. In moments the sound amped up as a strange looking "plane" flew past going west offshore of the southern extremity of nearby Puolo Point. The profile was that of uniquely odd MV-22 Osprey helicopter/plane that was developed primarily for the US Marine Corps.

The Osprey has rotational wings that old two turbine propeller engines that allow it to fly much faster than a conventional helicopter yet rotate its engines and land vertically.

"The best of both world's?" Not exactly! I knew from previous reporting that the Marine Corps had been having performance issues with the Osprey.

It was found that the Osprey is quite sensititve to dust entering its turbine engines when landing in sandy and dusty conditions. It has experienced crashes. Hovering for even a short while over dusty terrain had to be severely limited.

I had hard that the military had plans to do training for the Ospreys on Kauaiand be stationed out of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). I heard it involved difficult landings and takeoffs from narrow valleys on the Napali Coast. I assumed the passing Osprey was on its way west to land at the PMRF for that training.

But once shortly just past Kamakani near the old Gay & Robinson sugar mill the Osprey could be seen turning around. It approached Salt Pond Beach low and fast. As it past the sound of the rotors was quite load. The Osprey passed right over swimmers and people on the beach and slowed as it came to the runway near Puolo Point.

That's when the thing got really noisy. As it rotated its wings to vertical orientation it ceased traveling horizontal and the engines whined loudly. There must be some strange dynamic between the horizontal and vertical flight that causes chaotic and disturbing vibrations boomed across the water to where I stood a half a mile away. It sounded like a controlled crash.

The Osprey never shut down its engines after landing. In a moment it revved up the turbines and began a vertical take-off. Again chaotic and noisy at it made it transition to horizontal flight. Some people did not understand what was going on and seemed disturbed.

The Osprey took off going east and somewhere over Hanapepe Sound came around to west again and past again heading towards Kamakane. Once there it did a one-eighty and returned to land again. It seemed a little closer to where I stood in the kiddy pond.By this time I was shaking my fist at the Osprey.

Altogether there were three test landings over the public beach.

A a resident of Hanapepe, and a frequent user of Salt Pond Beach Park, I strongly request that the US military use its own 10,000 foot runways at the PMRF for this training activity and stay away from public recreational areas with this controversial aircraft.

The Japanese on Okinawa have had a long struggle with the US Marines and their Ospreys. This Janaury 9th there was a non-fatal crash of an Osprey in Okinawa that brought safety fears to the fore. See (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/09/reference/nonfatal-osprey-crash-okinawa-brings-safety-fears-fore/#.WJe8rRAnr6g).

Closer to home their has been a crash on Oahu.

After relating this encounter with the Marines to a friend he identified a valley on the Napali Coast where if one hikes these days you will be met with camouflaged armed soldiers coming from hidden structures who will frog-walk you out of the valley.


Visdeo above: Osprey aircraft takes of after passing over Salt Pond Beach Park and landing on tarmac of runaway near Puolo Point near Hanapepe, Kauai, on 31 January 2017. Filmed by Juan Wilson.  From (https://youtu.be/j6eAKPpbun8).


Image above: Two days before this landing on Kauai an Osprey crashed in burned in Yemen during the ill-fated Al Qaeda raid by Seal Team Six. From (https://theaviationist.com/2017/01/29/u-s-mv-22-osprey-tilt-rotor-aircraft-crash-lands-in-yemen-during-special-ops-raid-on-al-qaeda/).

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai and Niihau endangered 9/24/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Oceans 4 Peace Pacific Pivot Panel 6/18/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Judgement against RIMPAC 2016 5/29/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawans wish US military gone 8/26/15
Ea O Ka Aina: RIMPAC 2014 in Full March 7/17/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Stop bombing Kaula Island! 10/8/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Marines backing off 8/24/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Unproved Osprey on Kauai 8/21/12

Kauai and Niihau endangered

SOURCE: Jon Letman (jonletman@gmail.com)
SUBHEAD: Proposal for Marine Corps tilt-rotor Osprey basing on Kauai and Niihau.

By Karen Waller on 23 September 2016 for ManTech -
(http://www.mantech.com/news/Pages/Press-Releases.aspx)


Image above: Danger? What danger? Fleetwide order to Osprey pilots to wave off any landing in a dust cloud they can’t complete within 30 seconds. Needless to say, west Kauai and Niihau are covered in dry red dust and sand. From (http://breakingdefense.com/2015/07/fatal-crash-prompts-marines-to-change-osprey-flight-rules/).

[Jon Letman Note: Please see the below notice which I received from a friend on Oahu this morning. This is a call for feedback on the possible future use of areas on KAUAI and NIIHAU for training with MV-22 OSPREY aircraft and CH-53 and H-1 helicopters. I am still trying to get more information but it appears there is a one-month commenting period starting today (9/23/16) until 10/23/16. This proposal requires immediate attention, careful scrutiny and a strong public response.
Source: The September 23, 2016 issue of The Environmental Notice (State of Hawaii Office of Environmental Control). Thank you for your immediate attention.]

[IB Publisher's Note: This needs to be stopped now. The old Pacific Missile Range Facility is being turned into an active military base step-by-step. Stationing the Aegis missile system and deploying the MV-22 Osprey aircraft at the site are major steps leading to the further full militarization of West Kauai and Niihau. Ultimately this will mean more noise and traffic, years of highway "improvements", new military housing sprawl - as well as the dissolution of an important manifestation of Hawaiian culture still intact in Hawaii on Niihau and Kauai. Terrain-following air routes within the project study area are in the mountain valleys east of Barking Sands (The Napali coast). On Kauai the impact of tourist helicopters is bad enough already - but the addition of military training of the crash prone all-in-one Osprey aircraft will be an environmental and tourist disaster for the otherwise isolated Napali Coast valleys and ridges. If you love Kauai resist this military plan. Fuck the Navy!]

From the Environmental Notice by US Marine Corps

WHAT:
Environmental Assessment (EA) for U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Training in Hawaii.

PROPOSING/APPROVING AGENCY:
Commanding Officer Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Box 63002, Kāneohe Bay, HI 96863-3002

DEADLINES:
Status Comment Period September 23, 2016 – October 23, 2016.
Written comments can be provided by email to NFPAC-Receive@navy.mil or by mail to the agency contact address above.

EA IMPACT AREA:
Environmental assessment the islands of Kauai and Niihau  

EA CONTACT:
Project Manager Environmental Assessment
USMC Aviation Training on Kauai and Niihau
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific
258 Makalapa Drive, Suite 100, Pearl Harbor, HI 96860-3134

PR CONSULTANT:
Karen Waller - Public Relations Flack
ManTech Corporation - "Leading the Convergence of Security and Technology"
420 Stevens Avenue, Suite 300, Solana Beach, CA 92075

The proposed action involves Terrain-Following (TERF) and Confined Area Landing (CAL) training on the islands of Kauai and Niihau, in support of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and CH-53 and H-1 helicopters that are either based at MCBH or transiting through Hawaii.

Two TERF routes currently exist within the project study area: one on Kauai, in the mountain valleys east of Barking Sands; and one on Niihau. On Kauai, there is an existing single-aircraft helicopter landing zone (LZ) at Makaha Ridge, and a 4-aircraft LZ within the TERF route. 

These areas have not been used in recent years by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), which proposes to re-establish their use, and to establish up to four new CAL LZs on the northern end of Niihau.

The proposed action is needed to address a lack of TERF and CAL training areas for USMC tilt-rotor and helicopter aircraft crews in Hawaii. Pursuant to NHPA 36 CFR §800.2(d) and 800.3(b) and (e), MCBH solicits questions or comments on this undertaking and its effects on historic properties.

Members of the public, and members of Native Hawaiian Organizations, who wish to be involved as consulting parties in the NHPA Section 106 process associated with this undertaking must provide written notification (letter or e-mail, with phone contact) within 30 days of the publication of this notice.

---

Deadly Osprey crash in Hawaii
SUBHEAD: The crash sparked further concern in Okinawa Prefecture over the safety of the tilt-rotor aircraft stationed on the densely populated island.

By Martin Fackler on 18 May 2015 for the Japan Times -
(http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/18/national/osprey-crashes-hawaii-military-base-killing-one-reports/#.V-bJcrUnqe8)


Image above: Debris rises as a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft, not pictured, makes a hard landing at Bellows Air Force Station near Waimanalo, Hawaii, on Sunday. One marine died in the accident and more than a dozen others were taken to a hospital, U.S. media reported. From original article.

The deadly crash of a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Hawaii on Sunday sparked further concern in Okinawa Prefecture over the safety of the tilt-rotor aircraft, 24 of which have been deployed at a controversial U.S. base in the island prefecture.

The Osprey made a hard landing in Hawaii on Sunday, killing one marine and sending 21 other people to hospitals as dark smoke from the resulting fire billowed into the sky.

The injuries ranged from critical to minor, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific spokesman Capt. Alex Lim said.

The tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey, which can take off and land like a helicopter but flies like an airplane, had a “hard-landing mishap” at about 11:40 a.m., the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit said in a statement.

The cause of the crash was under investigation, Lim said.

“I’ve renewed my sense of fear that we don’t know when an Osprey flying overhead might go down in a residential area,” Chieko Oshiro, a 61-year-old resident near the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan. Okinawa Prefecture, where the 24 Ospreys are deployed.

Hiroshi Ashitomi, the co-leader of a civic group opposed to the relocation of the Futenma base to a coastal area of the city of Nago on the same island, called the aircraft “defective,” and said they should not be deployed anywhere in Japan.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that Japan has asked the United States to provide information about the crash as soon as possible.

“The government intends to steadily assert its stance to the U.S. side that maximum care should be taken with regard to safety,” Suga said.

Meanwhile, news of the crash sent a shock wave through the Defense Ministry, coming just days after Tokyo and Washington announced that the U.S. military will deploy 10 CV-22 aircraft, the air force’s version of the Osprey, to Tokyo’s Yokota Air Base beginning in 2017.

“The crash occurred at the worst possible time,” a senior ministry official said.

The crash also comes just over a week before Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga plans to visit Hawaii and exchange views with the U.S. state’s governor over base issues.

Onaga, who will visit Hawaii from May 27 before traveling on to the U.S. mainland to press Okinawa’s case in Washington, has vowed to stop the construction of a new air base off Nago’s Henoko district to replace the Futenma base.

The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit is based at Camp Pendleton in California and is in Hawaii for about a week for training. The Osprey was being used for training at Bellows Air Force Station on Oahu at the time of the hard landing.

Kimberly Hynd said she was hiking the popular Lanikai Pillbox Trail and could see three Osprey aircraft performing maneuvers from her vantage point in the hills above Bellows. She noticed them kicking up dirt but then saw smoke and fire. Hynd, who estimated she was 2 to 3 miles (3-5 km) away, didn’t hear the sound of a large crash.

“It looked like they were doing some sort of maneuver or formation — and so I was taking pictures of it because usually you can’t see them that close up,” Hynd said.

Photos and video posted on social media showed flames and deep black smoke emanating from what was described as the crash site.

Ospreys may be equipped with radar, lasers and a missile defense system. Each can carry 24 marines into combat.

Built by Boeing Co. and Bell, a unit of Textron Inc., the Osprey program was nearly scrapped after a history of mechanical failures and two test crashes that killed 23 marines in 2000.

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Fierce opposition to Osprey in Okinawa

By Martin Fackler on 1 October 2012 for the New York Times -
(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/world/asia/united-states-military-sends-ospreys-to-okinawa-despite-fierce-opposition.html)


Image above: Two Osprey aircraft arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa, this Monday. From original article.

The United States military sent the first batch of a sophisticated but accident-plagued new aircraft to an air base on Okinawa on Monday, going forward with its planned deployment despite unexpectedly fierce opposition by islanders and warnings that any crash could threaten the huge American military presence on the island.

The first six of the MV-22 Osprey aircraft arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. It said another six of the ungainly-looking aircraft were due to arrive this week at the base, in the center of the crowded city of Ginowan. The United States is counting on the deployment to serve as part of the Obama administration’s plan to increase the American military presence in the region and offset the growing strength of China and a nuclear-armed North Korea.

The Osprey — whose tilting rotors allow it to take off like a helicopter but fly like a fixed-wing aircraft — flies four times as far as the Vietnam-era helicopters it is replacing, putting the more than 15,000 Marines on Okinawa within reach of potential hot spots like Taiwan and a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

The Japanese government has backed the deployment, apparently at least partly out of hopes that it will help deter China’s recently assertive claims to those islands, which Japan controls. The United States Defense Department says it has displayed sensitivity to local feelings by delaying the Osprey deployment as long as possible.

However, both Washington and Tokyo are facing an unusually strong pushback from many of the 1.4 million residents on Okinawa, including a large demonstration and acts of civil disobedience of a sort not seen here in decades. A rally last month drew as many as 100,000 people, the largest anti-base demonstration on the island since a similar-size one that followed the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three American servicemen in 1995.

On the surface, the outrage has been fueled by concerns about the safety of the aircraft, which had a troubled development and suffered two crashes earlier this year. In the lobby of the Ginowan City Hall, a large display warned of the risks by describing a 1959 crash by an American jet that killed 17 people, including 11 schoolchildren.

But Okinawan political leaders and analysts said the issue had become a lightning rod for deeper grievances over how Washington and Tokyo have imposed what islanders see as an excessive base burden on this tropical island.

Anger has spread beyond those island residents who oppose the base from the left. Even conservatives, who have traditionally backed Japan’s postwar security alliance with the United States, warn that Okinawans could now turn violently against not only Futenma but also the entire American presence.

“Anger has been building up like hot magma beneath the surface, and the Osprey could be what finally causes an eruption,” said Takeshi Onaga, the mayor of Naha, the Okinawan capital, and a member of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. “If they force the Osprey onto us, this could lead to a collapse of the U.S.-Japan alliance.”

Of course, opposition to the American bases is nothing new in Okinawa, and it remains unclear how far the protesters would actually go.

However, most analysts in Japan and the United States seem to agree that Okinawan anger is reaching levels unseen in recent times. They say this has put the United States in a difficult position. “You cannot let politics dictate what platform you use,” said James Schoff, a former senior adviser on East Asia affairs for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. “But in this environment, an accident is going to be like setting a match to a tinderbox.”

Japanese officials say they have tried to allay Okinawan concerns by conducting their own inquiries into the recent crashes, with the inquiries accepting the Pentagon’s findings that pilot error was to blame. During a visit to Tokyo last month, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta signed an agreement to allow the Osprey to fly in Japan with restrictions aimed at ensuring safety.

However, those efforts have failed to appease the island’s deeply rooted anger. With more than half of the 50,000 American military personnel in Japan stationed there, many Okinawans say their island remains a virtual military colony, long after the United States returned it to Japan in 1972. Okinawans say this has led to increased awareness about the discrimination that they say Okinawa has suffered since Japan seized the once-independent kingdom in the 1870s.

The sense of alienated outrage adds to the longstanding anger over Futenma, which has become a symbol of the Japanese failure to ease Okinawa’s burden. Tokyo and Washington still have yet to put into place a 16-year-old deal to relocate the base from Ginowan, which was originally signed in response to the 1995 rape case.

Three years ago, frustrations reached a new high when the left-leaning Yukio Hatoyama, then the prime minister of Japan, raised hopes by promising to move the base off Okinawa, only to renege in the face of domestic and American pressure.

Okinawan emotions remain raw at what was seen as Mr. Hatoyama’s betrayal

Okinawa got a taste of civil disobedience over the weekend, when police officers with riot shields towed more than a dozen vehicles that protesters had used to briefly seal off the Futenma base’s three gates — something opponents say they have not tried before.

“If they impose that dangerous thing on us, then all hell will break loose,” said Satoru Oshiro, 48, a labor union employee who joined a dozen protesters to use two vans to block the base’s Nodake Gate on a recent morning. “Enough is enough.”

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