Veterans for Peace, Oahu Chapter 113, stands with the vast majority who testified at recent public hearings on the underground fuel tanks at Red Hill sitting approximately 100 feet above an aquifer that provides a quarter of Honolulu’s water.

One striking quality at hearings before the Environmental Protection Agency and the Hawaii Department of Health was the diversity of voices objecting to Navy proposals to delay secondary containment to 2045. It was not just a sea of Hawaiian protectors, but rather a cross section of locals — including former senior military, engineers, health professionals, public officials, to families simply worried about future generations. All had a broad range of ecological, economic and aboriginal concerns — echoing one conclusion for various reasons: shut down the Red Hill facility and secure the fuel away from any groundwater.

It is rather unbecoming of the Navy to propose the least-protective measures to secure fuel tanks with a history of leaking — 200,000 gallons since its construction in 1943, and at risk of leaking 30,000 gallons of reserve fuel annually, possibly 6,000 gallons chronically every year, according to the Navy’s own consultants.

It is common sense that metals buried within the earth naturally deteriorate. Asserting that dual-lining the reserve tanks is just too expensive rings hollow from a department that routinely receives more annual funding than requested, and is unquestioned whenever money is needed for wars.

One former officer testified that collectively there is enough strategic fuel reserves given the U.S.’s empire of bases throughout Asia and the Pacific — making the facility at Kapukaki, known better as Red Hill, more a military want than need. This is not security, and definitely not aloha aina.

Water is life, as the Navy demonstrated when using the island of Kahoolawe for bombing practice so intense that in 1965, the bombings cracked the island cap rock, spoiling its limited freshwater, which increased desertification. What could be more of a national security threat than limited resources for community survival? We cannot entrust the same entity that promised and failed to clean up Kahoolawe, after destroying it, from massive contamination and unexploded ordnance despite massive monies and a mandate to do so.

The military has also shown itself to be effective when redirected toward disaster relief; it should start with the ones it has created.

The U.S. Constitution framers emphasized civilian command over the military for many reasons. The Defense Department should not lollygag another 20 years when the tanks are 102 years old and exempt itself from the same accountability expected of other sectors.

The Hawaii Department of Health needs to protect of the community’s groundwater on behalf of its people, and should not be bullied into deference and double standards for the military, also known as militarism.

This statement is against this very militarism — not the individuals within the military, as Veterans for Peace consists of former service members, dependents and their supporters. The number of veterans who testified against Navy proposals suggests others in the ranks also understand the military must mutually respect the same public safety standards and laws as any other sector and clean up and pay for its messes. The military has failed to demonstrate a local understanding of kuleana.

We honor the service of those committed to defending Oahu’s water, such as Honolulu Board of Water Supply officials, and compel Hawaii’s federal representatives to step up and do the same: protect the water, not the military industrial complex.

Pete Shimazaki Doktor is cofounder of Veterans for Peace, Oahu Chapter 113.