Army in Hawaii plans to improve family life
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard A. Cody said when he joined the Army 35 years ago and was stationed in Hawai'i, support for families was "not very good."
"The saying was, if the Army wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one," Cody said.
But with the United States entering its seventh year of fighting in Afghanistan and nearing its fifth in Iraq, the stress of combat deployments not only on soldiers, but also their families, is being fully realized.
"What became clear to us is that the force is stretched out, but the most brittle part of the force is the families," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said recently on a stop in Germany.
To address those needs, Cody said, the Army plans to spend $40 billion on quality-of-life improvements.
Yesterday, a ceremonial Army Family Covenant was signed at Schofield by Cody and Hawai'i Army officials to signify that ongoing commitment.
Similar covenants are being signed at Army installations on the Mainland and overseas.
"We are a nation at war and the sacrifices of our soldiers and their selfless service is important — but also equally important are the sacrifices and service of our great Army families," Cody said afterwards.
Col. Matthew Margotta, the commander of U.S. Army Garrison, Hawai'i, said improvements here include:
A total of $1 billion is being spent through 2011 to improve barracks. Through the public-private family housing venture, meanwhile, contractors are building 5,388 new homes and renovating 2,506 over 10 years.
Officials said that so far 600 new homes have been completed at Schofield. Another eight have been finished at Aliamanu Military Reservation and 30 to 40 will become available starting this month.
The covenant signing yesterday, which pledged to provide the increased family services that are commensurate with today's Army service, was held in a community center in the Kalakaua neighborhood of new three- and four-bedroom homes.
Among the soldiers and family members witnessing the signing were Spc. Chaz Walker, 24, and his wife, Nekiesha.
Walker, from Durham, N.C., has been in the Army for two years and at Schofield for about a year, but hasn't deployed to a combat zone yet.
"I think it's great," Chaz Walker said of the covenant. "Hopefully, we'll get some new housing that we can move into."
The couple now is in 1970s-era housing on base that he said was renovated and is "still adequate."
Spc. Arturo Aguirre, 26, from San Antonio, rents off-base, but he and his wife, Lissette, who is nine months pregnant, want to move onto base.
"It's more family when we interact with other soldiers," he said. But there is a waiting list for the new homes, they said.
The Army is growing, with plans to build up the force from 507,000 to 547,000 soldiers. The size of the Marine Corps also is being increased.
The Navy and Air Force are cutting personnel, meanwhile, and Hickam Air Force Base started the 2007 fiscal year with a 27 percent budget cut.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.
