The Army plans five public meetings next week to give residents an opportunity to voice their views on the basing of a Stryker brigade in the Islands, the service said yesterday.

The Army must conduct the meetings to complete an environmental impact statement on basing one of the fast-response brigades in Hawai'i. Residents will be asked what issues they think the study should address.

The Army took steps last year to base a brigade in Hawai'i by bringing Stryker vehicles and soldiers here.

But a federal appeals court in October ordered the Army to suspend its plans, saying it violated the law by failing to compile a full environmental impact statement. The Army launched the current study to comply with the ruling.

Hawaiian groups have sued the Army to try to stop the brigade from being posted in Hawai'i, alleging its training will hurt the environment and desecrate cultural sites.

The Army says it wants a Stryker brigade in Hawai'i to be close to potential hot spots in Asia.

In accordance with the appeals court order, the Army has suspended construction work on a permanent base for the brigade in the state.

But the Army did win permission from the court to train the unit's 4,000 soldiers already in the islands for an expected deployment to Iraq early next year.

The environmental impact statement will examine the effect a Stryker brigade would have on Hawai'i and four other possible locations: Alaska, Washington state, Colorado and Kentucky.

The public may comment at the meetings or submit written remarks to the Army through Feb. 19.