Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) is a US military training base located on the high plateau between Mauna Loa,

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea (, ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant Shield volcano, shield volcano on the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the List of U.S. states by elevation, highest point in Hawaii a ...

and the Hualālai volcanic mountains of the

island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

. It includes a small military airstrip known as Bradshaw Army Airfield.

History

The region was used for live fire exercises in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when Camp Tarawa temporarily held troops on Parker Ranch. About were leased from Richard Smart, owner of the ranch. At that time it was called the Waikoloa Maneuver Area, and located northwest of current base, south of Waimea. In September 1946 the land used for the old maneuver area and camp was returned to the ranch, and a smaller Lalamilo Firing Range used until 1953. Since coastal areas were developed into tourist resorts, military areas were moved inland to more remote locations. In 1989, local botanist Lani Stemmermann sued the U.S. Army with the assistance of the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund after she observed the bulldozing of endangered species for construction. Before the trial, the Army settled and agreed to restore the developed area. The area continues to serve as a live-fire combat training area in the Pacific theater for all ground forces, as well as hosting local national guard and law enforcement.

Location

The area of is the largest

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

installation in the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, or anywhere in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. The name of the facility comes from ''puu pōhaku loa'', which means "long rocky cinder cone" in the

Hawaiian Language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

, although like many other Hawaiian names, the same name has been used for other places on the island. Pōhakuloa Training Area lies in a high plateau between lower slopes of Mauna Kea to approximately in elevation and to about on Mauna Loa. The training area is about midway between Hilo, on the east coast and the Army landing site at Kawaihae Harbor. It is used by both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The only road access is via the Saddle Road (Hawaii Route 200), which is paralleled by a tank trail. Heavy equipment is either flown into Hilo, or else shipped via barge to Kawaihae Harbor, about away on the Saddle Road. Because of this remoteness, the area is used mostly for short training sessions.

Facilities

The barracks for about 2,000 troops were constructed in April 1955 from prefabricated buildings used in World War II. The support area includes of logistic and administrative facilities. In July 2006 an additional were purchased from Parker Ranch in an area known as Keʻāmuku, which means "cut-off lava" in Hawaiian, from to the 19th century lava flows through the area. Located at , the realignment of the Saddle Road is planned to bypass the Ke‘āmuku addition. PTA has a impact area used for bombing and gunnery practice, refurbished in March 2009 to allow helicopter training. There are approximately of land level enough for large maneuvers, more than twice the area available on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. Its remoteness allows a wide range of weapons to be used. The US Army's 25th Infantry Division (25th ID) and 3rd Marine Regiment often use the base for four to six-week training periods.

Bradshaw Army Airfield

The airstrip was constructed at the area from 1955 to 1956 and dedicated Aug of 1957, by the then Commanding General of the 25th ID. The runway is long, which only accommodates small aircraft. Fog often restricts helicopters, which can also fly in from the larger bases on

Environment

Vegetation varies from sparse grassland and low shrubs to open māmane forest. The volcanic terrain has areas with protected wildlife. Within the borders of the training area, ten different

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

have been found. These include the native Hawaiian mint honohono (''Haplostachys haplostachya'') and the shrub 'kio'ele (''Kadua coriacea''). This area has more endangered species than any other US Army installation. The northeastern portion of the site near Mauna Kea provides habitat for the endangered bird Palila (''Loxioides bailleui''). Several archaeological sites have been found in the training area, including the Bobcat Trail Habitation Cave, listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. To reduce fire danger and damage from feral goats, areas were fenced. Weapons such as the Davy Crockett nuclear rifle with dummy warheads and

depleted Uranium Depleted uranium (DU), also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy, or D-38, is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope Uranium-235, 235U than natural uranium. The less radioactive and non-fissile Uranium-238, 238U is the m ...

have been used at PTA. After initial denials, an investigation concluded that spotting rounds were used in the 1960s. Measurements detected radiation, but reportedly not above life-threatening levels.

References

External links

{{Airports in Hawaii Installations of the United States Army in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii Military installations in Hawaii