Army Holds Large-Scale Readiness Exercise In Hawaii For The First Time

[TexasTowelie]

A steady drumbeat of gunfire with occasional percussions of explosives have rocked Oahu and Hawaii island in recent weeks, but it’s not real.

It’s part of the 25th Infantry Division’s large-scale Joint Pacific Multinational Training Center, which assigns troops to realistic war scenarios to practice defending the islands.

The annual training program usually takes place at Fort Polk, Louisiana, but as great power competition increases, the U.S. Department of Defense is focusing its efforts in the Pacific, said Col. Josh Bookout, commander of the division’s 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

“There is real competition with China right now and because of that, I think the world is vulnerable,” Bookout said.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/10/army-holds-large-scale-readiness-exercise-in-hawaii-for-the-first-time/