Bellows Air Force Station on the windward side of Oahu is our all-time favorite military installation in the whole world. We are not sure what the Air Force does there, but its beaches are astonishing. Since the public is admitted there at times, we took advantage of the opportunity and during our recent trips to Hawaii got to spend some time on its magnificent beach, with not a tourist in sight (most tourists evidently prefer the glitz of Waikiki and Maui). The range of activities available in Hawaii is astonishing. From snorkeling to night sailing (like the kind provided by Kai Kanani Sailing), being on a vacation in Hawaii would be outstanding. What a place!
Given the beauty of the place and its use for recreation, it was not surprising that the Air Force decided to build some facilities serving that purpose, namely 48 vacation rentals and some golf facilities that would be available to military personnel. Ah, but this is 21st century America, folks. The local NIMBYs were promptly heard from. No, this wasn’t a case of the Air Force plans desecrating an old tribal burial grounds or imposing on the turf of an endangered plant or animal. No, sir. According to the local Paper (Kaylee Noborikawa, Air Force Reduces Plans to Develop 400 Bellows Acres, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Jul. 18, 2009) what the locals wanted was for the Air Force give the land back to the state so the locals, not the service people, could enjoy it instead. What chutzpa. And while they were at it, some of them based their demand on “Hawaiian sovereignty.” No, we are not making this up.
And guess what? The Air Force capitulated in part. No, it did not give Bellows to the state, but reenacting the familiar NIMBY Kabuki dance, where proposed development plans are scaled back after the NIMBYs do their thing, it agreed to reduce the number of vacation cabins from 48 to 16.
We find this performance disgraceful. You may or may not approve of the wars in the Middle East, but we are at war, and one would think that the country that calls upon its military to shed blood in a far off place, would manage to provide its Airmen with recreation when it can be so easily done as in this case, without kowtowing to local NIMBYs.