Residents across Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi are being warned to expect more aircraft overhead, more noise and more military convoys on local roads through Nov. 17, as a multinational training exercise involving about 7,000 troops moves through its most intense stretch. The drills include paratrooper drops, nighttime helicopter landings, drone flights and military vehicle convoys.
The U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division is leading the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center exercise, known as JPMRC, which began Oct. 28 and continues through Nov. 17, according to Hawaii News Now. The station reports that JPMRC brings together roughly 7,000 personnel, including allies and partners from Singapore, the Republic of Korea, France, New Zealand, Japan and the Maldives. KITV similarly described the training as a large-scale combat exercise spanning Oʻahu, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island.
Big Island Bears the Brunt of the Schedule
A significant chunk of the action is concentrated on Hawaiʻi Island, where the 25th Infantry Division's U.S. Army Garrison Hawaiʻi is running a major portion of the exercise from Nov. 6 through Nov. 17, with activity also continuing on Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi, per the same source's report in Big Island Now. Scheduled activities there include paratrooper drops and nighttime helicopter landings, along with low-flying aircraft operating at roughly 1,000 feet near the Wāikiʻi Ranch boundary.
The outlet's reporting also lists 24/7 ground maneuvers, drone flights and blank-firing exercises taking place in the Keʻāmuku Maneuver Area.
Convoys to Clog Roads Near Pōhakuloa and Kawaihae
Drivers on the Big Island should expect military convoys of 10 to 15 vehicles carrying personnel and equipment.
Oʻahu Residents Should Expect More Air Traffic
On Oʻahu, the Air Force's 15th Wing has told the public to expect more military aircraft, service vehicles and personnel activity in and around Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam throughout the exercise, Hawaii News Now reports. Military leaders have specifically warned that the added noise and traffic could affect residents on Oʻahu's North Shore, Wahiawā, and parts of Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island.
An Army public affairs officer told the station that commanders are trying to keep the disruption contained. “We do our best to make sure that it is minimally disruptive to the community, really isolated out in the training areas so as not to be disruptive,” the officer said. Officials have indicated the last major phase of the exercise is set for the middle of this month.
For residents on all four islands through Nov. 17, expect more noise overhead, more vehicles on the road, and official assurances that the disruption is being kept as contained as possible.
