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On the eve of the most solemn day at Pearl Harbor, I’d like us to look ahead 18 years from now. 

Last week, I closed my column with a call to change the trajectory of the Navy, and the military at large, in Hawaii after a few years of terrible headlines. Today, I offer not precise solutions but something that will motivate us to act: A deadline. 

We need to make Dec. 7, 2041, the most significant date in Hawaii in the 21st century. 

Why?

The past few years have not been good for the Navy’s reputation in Hawaii. It’s remarkable to see how the botched handling of the Red Hill catastrophe unified so many varied groups in Hawaii against the Navy. 

Those on Oahu who aren’t upset with the Navy yet will be when they see the rate increases in their water bills.

In conversation after conversation I’ve had about the military’s future in Hawaii, the end of the military’s multiple leases were repeatedly called “the elephant in the room.” 

The elephant is also an opportunity that courageous leaders in Hawaii have to shape the future, instead of having it shaped for them. 

For the first time in a long, long time, the people of Hawaii have the opportunity to have a say in what has traditionally been a one-way relationship. 

The leases for the state land under several military installations expire in 2029. The military has leased the land for a dollar a year for the past six decades.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources needs to sign off on the continued occupation of those lands. Most notable of the leases is the between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. 

Pohakuloa is a few miles away from the encampment that stymied the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea. What worked at Mauna Kea in 2019, could likely work again.

That’s the elephant in the room. The military needs leases and Hawaii needs better, more reciprocal relationships with our guests.

We need the military to make a safer, smarter, healthier commitment to Hawaii.

So many problems in Hawaii can be seen from the temporary vs. permanent lens. After I first heard John de Fries, the former head of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, tell his story about Don Ho saying that there are two types of people in Hawaii, Temporary and Permanent, I can’t shed the importance of timelines in solving our most pressing issues. 

We need leaders dedicated to permanence on both sides. We need leaders who appreciate and champion the deep knowledge that still exists across generations. 

In addition to being better partners and long-term guests and stewards, the military also has an opportunity to modernize its approach to national security here.

Gen. Mark Milley, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the military’s current decision-makers are too connected to conventional tank and aircraft carrier warfare. 

Hawaii’s strategic importance as the gas station of the Pacific has waned in the age of digital and drone warfare. It’s hard to conceive what warfare will look like in the age of hypersonic missiles and AI, but it’s possible that Hawaii’s geography can be used in more innovative and inspiring ways.

“The American homeland has almost always been a sanctuary during conflict, but this will not be the case in a future war,” Milley wrote.

Since the nature of national defense is changing, Hawaii needs to take advantage of this sea change. 

Pearl Harbor served its purpose for the Navy and now it’s time for it to follow a proud tradition of hand off. Our memories don’t have to stretch too far back to think about the return of Hong Kong, the return of the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the bases in the Philippines and the dynamic change brought to many communities in the ‘90s when American military bases were reimagined in the wake of the Cold War.

We need to envision what a Pearl Harbor reintegrated into the fabric of Oahu would be like. For too long, Pearl Harbor has been off-limits for most Hawaiians. 

What if the Navy returned significant parts of Pearl Harbor to Hawaii? 

Would it make Hawaii more or less vulnerable? I would argue that it minimizes our exposure. We need to recalibrate what the Navy, and military presence at large, means here in the Pacific.

The people of Hawaii should be the beneficiaries of generously hosting the military for dozens of decades. Sites like Pearl Harbor have the infrastructure to solve myriad problems facing Hawaii. 

It’s not too hard to see how a reimagined Ford Island could become the epitome of sensible 21st century living. 

Or, with the threat of climate change being a menace at least as equal to security threats, some of Pearl Harbor could be converted into a hub for climate mitigation and resiliency efforts.  

In 18 years, instead of only wreath-laying and somber remembrances, let’s envision a day that includes hope for the future. 

Let’s envision a day, Dec. 7, 2041, when a partial handover occurs and a new dawn begins for a better Hawaii and a redeemed and reimagined military.