WASHINGTON — The Hawai'i congressional delegation had generally favorable responses today to an Army announcement it would conduct a study on the impact of possibly adding more soldiers to Hawai'i bases.

"The Army is not getting ready to move more troops to Hawai'i tomorrow," said U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, a senior member of the House Armed Forces Committee. "But they are required to evaluate the capacity of their bases to support the reassignment of troops as long-term decisions are made about reallocating forces around the world."

Abercrombie said the study was important since Congress has been pushing the Bush administration to increase the Army's size.

"This is not connected in any way to continuing questions about the basing of Stryker Brigades at Schofield Barracks," he said. The Army announced today that it will analyze the impact of adding from 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers to bases in the Pacific Theater, including Alaska and Hawai'i.

A study of adding more troops to Mainland Army bases was completed in January. U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said the study comes at a time when the Army is increasing in size and also pulling back some forces from overseas bases.

"Under these circumstances, Army officials will naturally consider placing additional units in Hawai'i because of the state's strategic location," Inouye said.

Last year, the Army announced the possibility of stationing more logistics forces — such as engineering, military police or battlefield surveillance units — in Hawai'i to support the operations of combat brigades already in Hawai'i.

"I am certain the Army will consider all of its options carefully," Inouye said. "I especially want to commend it for taking the steps to ensure that environmental considerations will be an essential part of deliberations."

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawai'i, a senior member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said he was pleased the Army is following through with its environmental obligations.

"We must proceed carefully to make sure that our fragile resources are preserved, while acknowledging the strategic role our Islands play in the defense of our nation," Akaka said. "Military spending must be done with respect to our 'aina."

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai'i, said she commended the Army for providing an opportunity to comment and for taking into account the views of the public.

"Military activity in Hawai'i has considerable impact on our communities," she said. "I encourage anyone who is interested in this issue to submit comments."

The public can submit comments on the environmental impact evaluation process to the Army through April 16. The draft environmental impact statement is expected to be published in June and a final statement in August.

The Army will announce its final decision about relocating units in September.

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.