Marines saying Sayonara Japan and Aloha Hawaii

Where will Hawaii-bound Marines live and work?
By Gidget Fuentes
Staff writer
Marine Times
Posted : Sunday Jun 17, 2012

The U.S. military’s plan to shift as many as 2,700 Marines from Okinawa, Japan, to Hawaii raises a key question: Where will they work and live?

Although Marine, defense and congressional spokesmen all said they will need to see the results of studies before they can begin to address that issue, most of the mounting speculation centers on existing military bases or training areas on Oahu and the Big Island.

Hawaii already is home to more than 7,500 Marines and thousands of family members. Most are assigned to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, on the island of Oahu. It’s home to infantry, aviation and logistics units — plus Navy and Coast Guard units. Camp H.M. Smith, where U.S. Pacific Command and Marine Forces Pacific are headquartered, is also there.

The Corps’ presence in Hawaii already is expected to change due to reorganization as total active-duty end strength declines from 202,100 to 182,100 Marines by the end of 2016. Modernization of the service’s aviation communities, which will bring the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to Kaneohe Bay, should add 1,000 Marines to the base population.

While the Marine Corps hasn’t released any figures, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie estimated that 2,700 Marines would come to the state as part of that restructuring and pledged to support the transition.
read more here