HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.386 2024-2026From: Jonathan Simonds
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 6:56 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Support Resolution 234-25
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Honorable members of the Hawaii County Council, �r
I urge you to please support and pass Res 234-25 regarding military training at Pohakuloa. White I vr7a�Td
like to clarify that I do not support all aspects of this bill, I believe it is a critical first step towards
recovering our voice and control over our own futures and those of countless sisters and brothers around
the world.
My primary concern with Res 234-25 is that it specifies the ceasing of bombing activities and only
recommends the rejection of lease renewal until environmental harms can be addressed, but I cannot
imagine a way in which environmental concerns can be properly addressed nor can I accept that the
military's inherent violence towards other human beings and enforcement of the United States' global
cultural, political, and economic dominance are not of equal importance with the environmental issues
and cannot simply be "cleaned up." 1 do not believe that the environmental harms can be addressed
because the purpose of practicing at Pohakuloa is to be prepared to act abroad on other people's
precious land. If we cannot accept the mess that is being made of our lands, how on earth can we
condone these practices being taking overseas with fewer restrictions and protections and, for God's
sake, our families abroad in the crosshairs?
Please pass resolution 234-25 as a critical step towards protecting our island and people. But please
also expect community members from this island to continue showing up as long as the military
continues to populate Pohakuloa with the ghosts of children, women, and men abroad who's lives we
practiced and rehearsed extinguishing right here in our own backyard.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Simonds
25 Puu Hine St
Hilo, HI 96720
Comm.+'
Ref. To:
Ref. Date UG 202