WEBVTT

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Hello and Aloha Varma Wade here , I

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wanted to provide a final update as the

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Department of Defense transitions , the

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main effort for the Red Hill problem

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set from the fueling to permanent

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closure and long term environmental

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remediation . As you know , the

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Secretary of Defense made the decision

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to Deuel and close the facility because

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it was the right thing to do for the

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people of Hawaii , our military

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families and the environment . And

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while I wish the unfortunate events of

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2021 did not occur , I was humbled and

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privileged to be selected to lead the

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team to safely and expeditiously to

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fuel the facility and to help rebuild

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trust with the communities of Hawaii

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and our military families . Our efforts

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to remove over 100 and 4 million

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gallons from above the aquifer were

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guided in large part by Aloha Spirit

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and Aloha Spirit . To me means to serve

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others for the greater good of all , to

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respect all everybody and to also

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work tirelessly until the job is done .

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And our efforts to do this mission were

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made in part by so many . And I'm

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grateful for everyone first to Congress ,

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specifically the Hawaii delegation

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Senators , Hirono and shots and

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representatives case and Taka . But

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also my boss is the Secretary of

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Defense and Amir Aquilino and also all

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the services who provided the resources

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and the support necessary to execute

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the mission . Of course , my team joint

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task force Red Hill , those who planned

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and executed the mission composed of

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committed and dedicated men and women

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from all services , active reserve

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guard and government civilians , plus

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industry teammates , both consultants

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and contractors from the fuel safety

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repair and environmental sectors .

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There were numerous other Department of

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Defense organizations and agencies ,

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especially the multiple navy commands

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too many to name who directly supported

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us along with us , Transportation ,

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Command and defense Logistics Agency ,

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the US Environmental Protection Agency

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and Hawaii Department of Health . They

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held us to standard per federal and

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state regulations . They work

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collaboratively with us to look for

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opportunities and efficiencies to

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accelerate the timeline . They

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mobilized capability and capacity to

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check our work and provided important

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feedback and when the planning and

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preparation was complete , they gave us

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the approval to start the fueling and

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then provided oversight during every

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evolution to certify compliance and

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ensure safety . Governor Green and

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Mayor Blangiardi and their staffs .

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They provided incredible support not

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only by imparting advice and feedback

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but also for facilitating connections

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with state , city and county

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organizations and officials who are

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critical for the safe execution of our

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mission . They were federal and state

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oversight bodies most notably Congress ,

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the governor's Water Committee and the

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Hawaii House Special Committee on Red

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Hill who asked challenging questions

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and provided exceptional feedback . I

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am also grateful for the many

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volunteers for numerous information

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sharing groups who were incredibly

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helpful to us as well . Most notably ,

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the fueling information sharing form a

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combination of elected officials ,

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functional technical and cultural

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experts who provided invaluable advice

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and feedback . I also want to

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acknowledge the media , they asked

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tough but fair questions but also

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served as an information conduit to the

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community to help us explain what we

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were doing and why for greater

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transparency and finally to our

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military families , civic groups and

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the general public . Your questions and

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your feedback gave us a better

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understanding of your concerns . You

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gave us purpose and meaning to

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everything that we had to do . You made

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us work harder and quite honestly , you

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made us safer to you and to all others

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involved in our efforts . Again , thank

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you . I'm grateful for everything you

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have done . Now . There is still so

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much more work to do when it comes to

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the Red Hill problem set . But Admiral

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Barnett and his navy closure task force

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understand the enormity and the

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importance of their mission to safely

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and expeditiously close the facility to

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ensure clean water and to conduct the

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necessary long term environmental

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remediation . And again , while I wish

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the unfortunate events of 2021 did not

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occur , it has been an absolute

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privilege to serve the communities of

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Hawaii , our military families and to

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do something important for the

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environment . And it is my hope that

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our efforts , my team's efforts will

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allow all collectively to continue to

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move forward and to continue the

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healing process . Thank you Mahalo

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and God bless .