Community Stand for Haleakalā

ʻAnoʻai ke aloha e ko Maui kini,

From September 13–18, the Maui Economic Development Board will be putting on the AMOS (Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance) conference at the Wailea Beach Resort. This is the premiere conference on Space Domain Awareness (SDA).

Since 1999, the AMOS Conference has been the friendly face of an increasing military incursion. It’s been a big generator of research connected to the AMOS STAR project, the Air Force’s attempt to add seven more sensors (they call them “telescopes”) to a large war-fighting architecture that sees the Indo-Pacific theatre as the next big zone of conflict.

The piko (summit) of Haleakalā is not a place for military activity. It’s an incredibly important site for Hawaiian religious and spiritual practices and a world treasure.

We must let the AMOS Conference sponsors (major weapons companies, many arming the genocide in Gaza: Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, BAE Systems, Boeing, Anduril etc.) and attendees know that we see them, and we’re here to protect our revered ancestor, Haleakalā.

Come out to show your support for the mountain:

It is all connected...

We’ve stopped calling them telescopes. They’re the eyes of the American war machine. In conjunction with the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) in Kīhei, these sensors feed information back into the larger war-fighting architecture of the military. Why should Maui get dragged into America’s space wars?

One concern is that perhaps this project could eventually be linked into the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), the military’s most aggressive network of surveillance satellites to date. This “sensor to shooter” architecture relies on thousands of satellites and laser communication.

The Air Force and their circle of military contractors are responsible for on the ground atrocities like the Minab School shooting in Iran that killed 120 children. They claimed it was a matter of “national security” (the same reason they say we need AMOS STAR), but we clearly see that it’s just the same naked aggression they employ all over the globe. They do not walk a path of diplomacy or deescalation.

Profit and control are the true aims of the military and the AMOS conference sponsors: Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, BAE Systems, Boeing, Anduril and many others.

These weapons and tech companies are currently making a killing (literally) by arming and enabling a genocide in Palestine. The Maui Economic Development Board welcomes them to our shores, but we oppose their blood money and weapons of war. Maui’s people want peace.

The conference promoters will boast about scholarships, STEM programs, and local job opportunities. We’ve heard this all before, but Maui’s people deserve opportunities and a future beyond tourism and the military.

Important Questions & Actions

This project cannot go forward unless State Conservation District land on Haleakalā is shifted from FAA to military control. This conveyance can only happen because of Executive Order (EO) 4451. BUT, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature can revoke this EO anytime through a two-thirds vote of either chamber. Are any of our representatives brave enough to put such a measure forward? Write them and ask: Legislature Directory (PDF)

And please join us in Wailea for a peaceful presence on the public right-of-way. Bring your family. Bring someone who has never stood for the mountain before.

If you have a moment, please forward this to five people.