DVIDS – News – U.S. Army Pōhakuloa Garrison Training Area to Benefit from Department of Defense $90 Million Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program Grant

The fire response capability of the U.S. Army Pōhakuloa Garrison Training Area (PTA) will be enhanced with the $2,485,308 Community Defense Infrastructure Pilot Program grant ( DCIP) to the State of Hawaii Department of Lands and Natural Resources (DLNR) for the construction of a new fire and conservation system. warehouse to improve response to forest fires and allow for the maintenance and repair of firefighting vehicles.

The DLNR has a long history of partnering with military installations to achieve common goals and this project will have many benefits for all agencies and strengthen those partnerships. “Community is so important to us here at the PTA and this grant is just another manifestation of that,” said PTA Commander Lt. Col. Kevin Cronin. “PTA greatly appreciates the support it receives from the community and the strong relationships we have with the entities we have DLNR. We are always looking to develop and improve these relationships.

This grant will address priority threats to military training operations, protect life and property, and conserve Hawaii’s watersheds and rare native plants and wildlife. Rapid wildfire response and suppression is essential to minimize impacts to training and base operations, as well as to protect military personnel and families, civilians, their homes, and the native ecosystem.

In addition to providing security to the facility, the PTA Fire Department has a response radius of approximately 500 square miles to support the surrounding Hawaii Island community. PTA has a long-standing partnership with community fire departments to keep the community safe.

The Department of Defense’s Local Defense Community Cooperation Office awarded 19 grants on Sept. 23 for a total of approximately $90 million under the DCIP. The DCIP is a competitive program for states and communities to undertake infrastructure improvements to support military value, facility resiliency, and/or quality of family life that benefits their local facilities.

“The Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program is critical to providing public infrastructure and services that not only benefit our local facilities, but help support our service members, their families, and the Department’s mission while building key partnerships. and state and local resilience. said Dr. William A. LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

Also on September 23, Mr. Ivan Bolden, the head of the Army Partnership Program, visited PTA to better understand its mission and capabilities, reviewed existing partnerships, and discussed potential Intergovernmental Support Agreements (IGSA ) and potential future grants from DCIP to improve services to the facility, its customers and the community.

For more information on the Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program, visit this website: https://oldcc.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip

Original DoD press release: https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3168935/department-of-defense-approves-90-million-in-grants-under-defense-community-inf /