August 2013 Meeting Highlights

On August 28, Bob Lottie, from Marine Corp Base Hawaii (MCBH), was the featured speaker at the monthly section meeting.  He explained that the MCBH includes not only the Kaneohe Bay location, aka. K-Bay, but also Camp H. M. Smith in Halawa and the Bellows Training Area as well.  He discussed the reduction in personnel with 1700 sailors likely to go to Whidbey, WA and Jacksonville, FL.  But by 2025, some 2700 individuals will come to Hawaii from Australia, and about 8,000 Marines will need to leave Okinawa.  Sustainability was also discussed, including metering cost and energy usage, conservation mandates, net zero homes, a wave energy test site, and a 12 megawatt solar power purchase agreement.  All new construction is certified LEED Silver, with some reaching Gold level.  Questions were welcomed, with one being about motorcycle safety.  MCBH does promote driver safety; including holding a “track day” event, however, motorcycles are popular among the younger military and safety remains an issue.