No combat award?
No combat award?
Your Feb. 29 issue described Tulsi Gabbard as “one of the first female combat veterans to serve in Congress.”
Maybe she is; possibly she is not. I can find no reference to any combat award from her military service overseas, either in her online bio or anywhere else on the Internet.
If she cannot qualify for “Combat Veteran” license plates in the state of Hawaii (which requires combat certification on her DD Form 214), then she should not be described by your newspaper as such.
A veteran, yes, and we appreciate her service, but let’s not make a myth of her actual record. Your readers, and especially our combat veterans, deserve better.
Skip Sims
Ninole
Stick to facts
A Feb. 28 Tribune-Herald article commented about the status of various bills wending their way through the legislative process. Among them is a funding measure to support development of a long-proposed island shooting facility.
In stating her organization’s opposition to the measure, Kohala Coast Resort Association Administrative Director Stephanie Donoho was quoted as saying, “Right now, people on the beach don’t hear gunfire. With a shooting range, that will change.”
When facts in a matter do not support a desired outcome, some engage in intellectual dishonesty. Ms. Donoho has access to the same documents that I have reviewed that contain results of 10 years of sound testing at the proposed shooting facility.
A recent 2015 independent analysis presents sound contour maps of predicted gunfire sound transmission over the entire Waikoloa Resort complex. Based on current facility development plans, it forecasts sound levels at “the beach” (2 miles distant), in the range of 35-40 decibels, the sound equivalent of a babbling brook or a quiet library.
Adverse to engaging in any meaningful dialog relative to the merits of a proposed facility that island residents need and overwhelmingly support, opponents only offer mischaracterization, innuendo and mud-slinging to make their case. Sad.
Richard Hoeflinger
Keaau