‘Shaping the future’: Red Hill’s deputy commander aims to rebuild trust lost after fuel spill

TL;DR - Brig. Gen. Lance Okamura’s Army career spans 30 years, from enlisted soldier to officer, the Pacific Ocean to Afghanistan, military policing to counterterrorism.

For all that, though, the Hawaii native is adamant that his last job — overseeing Guantanamo prison — best qualifies him for his new role. As deputy commander for Joint Task Force-Red Hill at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Okamura is responsible for community outreach and, in part, repairing the lines of communication between the Navy and the surrounding community.

Joint Task Force-Red Hill is charged with safely emptying the roughly 104 million gallons of fuel from the World War II-era Red Hill underground storage facility, which is operated by the U.S. Navy. The tanks near Pearl Harbor leaked fuel into the surrounding area, causing widespread groundwater contamination discovered in November 2021 that affected nearby military housing areas.

January 9, 2023: ‘Shaping the future’: Red Hill’s deputy commander aims to rebuild trust lost after fuel spill, Stars and Stripes