{"id":628,"date":"2026-05-27T11:34:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=628"},"modified":"2026-05-27T11:34:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T11:34:26","slug":"new-report-challenges-militarys-economic-impact-claims-in-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=628","title":{"rendered":"New report challenges military\u2019s economic impact claims in Hawaii"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) \u2014 A group of Hawaii and international experts say expiring military leases on Hawaii\u2019s public lands around 2029 create a once-in-a-generation window to re-examine the costs of the military\u2019s footprint.<\/p>\n

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The report, \u201cThe True Cost of the U.S. Military In Hawaii: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Economic, Environmental, Strategic, and Social Impacts of the U.S. Military Presence in Hawaii,\u201d argues the U.S. military presence in Hawaii is larger than necessary, driven by inflated threat assessments, and increases the risk of war with China.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis report was researched and written to meet the current concerns about the existing military leases. But those leases reflect a small fraction of the lands that the military currently possesses,\u201d said Jon Osorio, dean of the Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaii Manoa. \u201cI think as a handbook for any of us, Native Hawaiian activists, policymakers, representatives of the government, and even the Army and Navy themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Economic impact disputed<\/h2>\n

The report\u2019s key findings put the military\u2019s economic contribution to Hawaii at $7.2 billion \u2014 about 30% less than the $10 billion figure cited by the Pentagon and the state.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cThe military has been exaggerating the economic benefit by almost 40% or $2.8 billion,\u201d said David Vine, political anthropologist and author of \u201cBase Nation\u201d and \u201cThe United States of War.\u201d \u201cThey\u2019re doing it not just in Hawaii, they\u2019re doing it across the country, in fact, because they\u2019re making the same claim in every state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vine said every $1 million spent on the military generates about five jobs, while other sectors create more than 12 jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost half of the contractors who get military contracts in Hawaii are based outside of Hawaii,\u201d Vine said.<\/p>\n

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Land and housing costs<\/h2>\n

The report says the military owes $133.7 billion in unpaid rent on crown and government lands.<\/p>\n

The report also says military demand for off-base housing inflated average Oahu rents by 7.1% in 2024, costing more than $1,848 per household.<\/p>\n

PFAS \u201cforever chemical\u201d remediation cost $493 million, the report says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still the tremendous insecurity caused by the environmental damage of US military emissions, and the toxins that have been left in the ground and in the water and are in the air in all of the islands, large and small,\u201d said Neta Crawford, professor of international relations at the University of St. Andrews and co-founder of Costs of War.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe true cost of the military in Hawai\u2019i report is not only about the harms caused by the military, but it\u2019s also about the possibility and hope for our future,\u201d said Davis Price of \u02bb\u0100ina Aloha Economic Futures.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The groups that co-produced the report are \u02bb\u0100ina Aloha Economic Futures, the Costs of War Project, \u02bb\u012alio\u02bbulaokalani Coalition, Sierra Club of Hawai\u02bbi, and the Transition Security Project.<\/p>\n

State report shows different figures<\/h2>\n

In January, the state of Hawaii released its own report on military spending in the islands. The Military and Community Relations Office (MACRO) said the military spent more than $10 billion in Hawaii in 2023, including $1.3 billion in local business contracts. That report said a 10% reduction in force would deal a $1.7 billion blow to the economy.<\/p>\n

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Click here to view the full report.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of Hawaii and international experts say expiring military leases on Hawaii\u2019s public lands around 2029 create a once-in-generation window to re-examine the military\u2019s footprint costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNew report challenges military\u2019s economic impact claims in Hawaii - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=628\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New report challenges military\u2019s economic impact claims in Hawaii - 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