Members of the Schofield Barracks-based 25th Infantry Division are training across the Hawaiian Islands and in the island nation of Palau this month as the Army continues to adjust its operations for the Pacific.
On Wednesday, soldiers from the division kicked off the 2023 rotation for the Hawaii portion of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, a series of training ranges in Hawaii, Alaska and around the Pacific.
It’s the third iteration of the training, which certifies Army brigades for deployment.
Historically, this training took place on the mainland at ranges in Louisiana and California.
But as tensions with China shift attention to the Pacific, Army leaders set up JPRMC to keep Pacific-based units in the region, both to save costs on shipping troops in Hawaii and Alaska to the mainland while keeping them in environments that more closely resemble those they’ll be expected to operate in.
It also keeps U.S. service members closer to allied countries and makes it easier for them to send their own troops to participate. This year, allied troops from Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are also participating, while military observers from several other countries are on hand to watch and take notes.
Col. R.J. Garcia, the 25th’s deputy commander in charge of logistics, said that “what it really does is it allows us to build relationships with our partners, we’re training next to them in these…
