The next commander of the U.S. Army in the Pacific said it's strategically important to have a Stryker brigade in Hawai'i, and that Makua Valley is needed for company-size live-fire exercises.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. "Randy" Mixon will gain a third star in the move Friday from commander of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks to head of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter.

Both the Hawai'i-based Stryker brigade and training at Makua Military Reservation have been challenged by lawsuits, and no live-fire practice has been conducted in 4,190-acre Makua Valley since 2004.

"We do think it's strategically important to have a Stryker brigade combat team here in Hawai'i, but we'll have to wait to see what the (environmental impact statement) says," Mixon said.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Army violated federal environmental law by not adequately considering alternative locations for the $1.5 billion Stryker brigade outside Hawai'i, and ordered the Army to complete the study.

Lt. Gen. John M. Brown III, who is passing command to Mixon at Fort Shafter, recently said the Stryker examination and a Makua environmental impact statement are completed. Both are at Army headquarters for review before being released.

The Stryker study will determine if 4,000 soldiers now deployed to Iraq will return to Hawai'i or be repositioned to Colorado or Alaska. Most believe the Army will conclude Hawai'i remains the best place for the armored vehicle brigade.

TALK WITH ACTIVISTS?

Mixon said he's concerned about the training and readiness of soldiers in Hawai'i.

"The problem ... is that as the Army tries to go down and do the things that it's required to do by law, the environmentalists and other activists are continually filing some kind of injunction, using some kind of leverage, to stop the training," Mixon said.

Mixon said he intends to work with the groups that oppose training in Makua and the Stryker brigade, "but my observation has been an unwillingness to work with the military," Mixon said. "It's all or nothing with most of these groups."

Not so, says William Aila Jr., a plaintiff in the suit against the Stryker brigade.

"How does he know when he hasn't spoken with us?" Aila said. "None of his guys have spoken with us, either."

Aila said the last Schofield commanding general to participate in community discussions was then-Maj. Gen. James Dubik, who left Hawai'i in 2002.

The 25th Division subsequently started to be deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and Aila does note that when Mixon came in, "he had to get ready to leave, so his priorities were getting ready for Iraq."

Mixon said he also will work with Hawai'i's congressional delegation "to see how we can overcome these (training) issues ... I may have to ask for some special assistance through legislation."

Mixon said the Army has spent millions for additional Mainland training that couldn't be conducted in Hawai'i because of lawsuits.

"We can do a good deal of what (training) we need to do right here, and we can do it safely, we can do it while we're protecting the environment," Mixon said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.