Honolulu Bases reduced

In the city of Honolulu, Oahu, there are two US military bases.

First there’s the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, the site where in December of 1941 the Japanese surprise attacked the neutral U.S. into entering WWII. The naval base facility has approximately 85 acres. It is the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. The naval base has its own schools, its own recreation facilities (i.e.: bowling lanes, golf courses), its own churches and its own police force.

And then there’s the Hickam Air Force Base (AFB). It is located next door to the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. The air force base has approximately 2,850 acres. The Hickam AFB also has its own set of schools, its own set of recreation facilities (bowling lanes, golf courses), its own churches and its own police force.

Imagine that! Two military installations, next door to each other. But each installation has its own school system and security forces. What a waste of our precious tax dollars! Well that’s all about to change.

This week, the US government finally consolidated the two separate military installations into one joint installation. Honolulu is just one place among roughly 20+ installations around the U.S. that will consolidate separate military bases into joint bases. The U.S. government is streamlining and attempting to make all their military installations more efficient.

The Hickam AFB shares its runways with the Honolulu International Airport. This sharing deal falls under a shared-use agreement that was established for a single airport complex.

I’ve been to the Honolulu International Airport, and in my opinion, it has to be one of the safest airports in the U.S. with the AFB next door!