HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0377.615 2024-2026To: The Hawaii County Council
From: Momi Naughton, Ph.D.
Date: September 2, 2025
RE: In Support of Resolution 234-25
COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAVVA„
2025 SEP -2 AM H: 28
Aloha, I am once again writing in support of Resolution 234-25. 1 would like to register my
concern and request that all bombing and live -fire training cease at P6hakuloa and that the
desecration of Hawaiian cultural sites end.
The history of the military poisoning our fragile ecosystem, is staggering. Secret testing of
deadly gases and sarin in particular shows that the military cannot be trusted to be honest in
informing the public of their experiments... we are treated like Guinea pigs.
Yet the Army claimed in its "Covenant with Native Hawaiians in 2010: "...as the Armv
maintains and uses the land of Hawaii, it is mindful to protect and preserve this fragile
environment and ensure that what remains is a meaningful legacy for future generations."
April and May 1967 sarin tests in the Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve: Called the Red Oak
tests, they were conducted in not only the Hawaii location but also in the Panama Canal Zone
which did not include sarin but only a simulated nerve agent. Sarin acts in much the way that
insect poison does and will cause difficulty breathing and can cause coma and death. It took 35
years for the military to the public that these tests had been used in our forests.
April and May 1966 nerve gas (Bacillus globigli) tested in the `Ola`a Forest: As with the
tests in 1967, where the tests were done to measure diffusion in a jungle canopy. It took 36
years for the military to inform the public of these tests.
When news broke in 2002 of the testing of biological weapons on Hawaii Island, the Army
noted: "The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is looking at whether veterans involved
experienced health problems. Some already have filed claims, while others are only now
learning about the potential health risks."
To conclude my written testimony, I'll quote in part President Dwight D. Eisenhower (he
reached the rank of General of the Army — a five-star rank during his military career) in his
Farewell Speech to the American People on January 17, 1961:
This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is
new to the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even
spiritual — is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal
government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must
not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are
all involved; so is the structure of our society.
Comm.
Ref. To:
Ref. Dafe - 3 !�
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military -industrial
complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will
persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or
democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and
knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and
military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security
and liberty may prosper together."
Mahalo for your attention to my concerns and for standing up for our environment and people.
j