The military bases on Oahu number more than a dozen and cover every branch of the U.S. armed forces, making the island one of the most heavily garrisoned pieces of land in the world. Oahu sits near the middle of the Pacific, which gives the United States a forward staging point for operations reaching from the West Coast to the Indian Ocean. Defense activity accounts for roughly nine percent of Hawaii’s GDP and about $17.4 billion in total statewide economic contribution when indirect effects are counted.1MACRO Hawaii. Military and Community Relations Office Releases New Factbook Detailing the Military’s Economic Impact in Hawaii
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
The largest installation on the island is Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), created in 2010 when the Navy’s Pearl Harbor Naval Station and the Air Force’s Hickam Air Force Base were merged under the Base Realignment and Closure process.2DVIDS. JBPHH Celebrates 13 Years as a Joint Base It runs as two operational hubs sharing a fence line and common support services along Oahu’s southern coast.
The Navy Side
Pearl Harbor remains a major homeport for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Its dry docks, piers, and maintenance facilities keep surface ships and submarines mission-ready without a trip back to the mainland. The harbor supports destroyer squadrons, attack submarines, and the logistics needed to sustain forward-deployed forces across thousands of miles of open ocean.
The Air Force Side
Hickam Field is the Air Force’s primary air mobility hub in the Pacific. The 15th Wing hosts the base, and the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing coordinates airlift and air refueling across the region. Hickam is classified as a Tier I Air Mobility Squadron location, handling a high volume of personnel and cargo moving between the continental United States and the Western Pacific.3Air Mobility Command. 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing
The Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Wing is also headquartered at JBPHH. The wing flies F-22 Raptors through its 199th Fighter Squadron, KC-135R Stratotankers through the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron, and C-17A Globemasters as a classic associate unit alongside the 15th Wing’s 535th Airlift Squadron.4154th Wing – Hawaii Air National Guard. 154th Wing
Army Installations
The Army has the largest footprint of any branch on Oahu, anchored by three connected posts in central Oahu and a headquarters closer to Honolulu.
Schofield Barracks
Schofield Barracks sits between the Waianae and Koolau mountain ranges and is home to the 25th Infantry Division, known as Tropic Lightning.5U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii. 25th Infantry Division The 25th ID keeps two brigade combat teams on the island along with its 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, the 25th Sustainment Brigade, and a headquarters battalion. Several intelligence units also work out of Schofield, including the 500th Military Intelligence Brigade and the 205th Military Intelligence unit.6MilitaryINSTALLATIONS. USAG Hawaii Major Units
Fort Shafter
Fort Shafter, closer to downtown Honolulu, is the headquarters of U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), the largest theater army in the service. From here, USARPAC commands more than 107,000 soldiers and civilians across a 9,000-mile arc that runs from the West Coast through Alaska, Japan, Korea, Guam, and American Samoa.7U.S. Army Pacific. Units – U.S. Army Pacific The 8th Theater Sustainment Command and the 311th Signal Command are also based at Shafter.6MilitaryINSTALLATIONS. USAG Hawaii Major Units
Wheeler Army Airfield
Wheeler Army Airfield sits next to Schofield and provides the Army’s aviation backbone on Oahu. The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade flies out of Wheeler in support of the 25th Infantry Division.8U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii. 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Wheeler also hosts the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 169th Air Defense Squadron, which runs the radar site on Mount Kaala and the Hawaii Region Air Operations Center and provides 24-hour air surveillance of the island chain.4154th Wing – Hawaii Air National Guard. 154th Wing
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) occupies the Mokapu Peninsula on Kaneohe Bay along Oahu’s windward coast. The base is home to the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, activated in March 2022 as part of the Marine Corps’ restructuring toward smaller units built for contested maritime environments.93rd Marine Littoral Regiment – Official U.S. Marine Corps Website. 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment The regiment focuses on reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, and sea denial rather than the traditional large-scale amphibious assault model.
MCBH includes runways for rotary and fixed-wing aviation, ranges for ground combat training, and shoreline facilities for amphibious exercises. Kaneohe Bay’s deep water makes the location a natural fit for expeditionary operations.
Camp H.M. Smith and Indo-Pacific Command
Camp H.M. Smith sits on a ridgeline in Aiea overlooking Pearl Harbor and houses the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) in the Nimitz-MacArthur Building. USINDOPACOM is the largest geographic combatant command in the Department of Defense, with an area of responsibility covering roughly half the earth’s surface, from the U.S. West Coast to the western border of India, and from Antarctica to the North Pole.10United States Indo-Pacific Command. About United States Indo-Pacific Command Every service branch operating in the Pacific reports through the chain of command that runs through this hilltop installation.
Specialized and Smaller Facilities
Beyond the major bases, Oahu hosts a range of installations that most people never hear about unless they’re stationed there or live nearby.
Tripler Army Medical Center
The pink building visible from much of Honolulu is Tripler, the only federal tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Basin. Tripler supports roughly 264,000 local active-duty and retired personnel, family members, and veteran beneficiaries, plus a referral population of about 171,000 across nine U.S.-affiliated Pacific jurisdictions and forward-deployed forces in more than 40 countries.11Defense Health Agency. Tripler Army Medical Center – About Us
U.S. Coast Guard Fourteenth District
The Coast Guard’s Fourteenth District is headquartered in downtown Honolulu and oversees more than 12.2 million square miles of ocean across the Central and Western Pacific. The district runs patrol boats, buoy tenders, an air station, and small boat stations from Oahu, and in a typical week its personnel respond to 20 vessels in distress and save an estimated two lives.12United States Coast Guard. Welcome to the U.S. Coast Guard Fourteenth District
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Laboratory
The Daniel K. Inouye DPAA Center of Excellence at JBPHH houses one of the world’s largest forensic anthropology operations dedicated to identifying the remains of unaccounted-for U.S. service members. Scientists there analyze skeletal remains, dental evidence, and personal artifacts such as dog tags and uniform fragments.13Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. DPAA Laboratories Renew Accreditation
Bellows Air Force Station
Bellows, on the windward coast near Waimanalo, is a former World War II airfield now used primarily for military recreation and limited training. It offers 107 beachside cabins, condo units, and family and group campsites, making it one of the more popular morale and recreation destinations for service members in Hawaii.14Bellows Air Force Station. Bellows Air Force Station Various units also use the area for field exercises.
Dillingham Military Reservation
The 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation on the North Shore includes Kawaihapai Airfield, a joint military-civilian facility. The Army retains first priority for air-land operations and helicopter night-vision training, and the State of Hawaii operates the 9,000-foot runway for commercial glider and skydiving operations under a long-term lease.15Hawaii Airports System. Kawaihapai Airfield
Makua Military Reservation
Makua occupies a valley on the western coast and has been used for training since World War II. Live-fire training has been prohibited there since 2004 due to litigation, and the Army has stated it will not pursue live fire at Makua in the future. Current training is limited to ground maneuvers with blank ammunition in designated areas along with aviation exercises overhead. Public access to portions of the reservation, including Kaneana Cave and Makua Beach, remains open, though training areas are restricted because of unexploded ordnance. The Army’s 65-year lease on the state-owned land expires in August 2029, and a final environmental impact statement on continued retention of about 782 acres was published in 2025.16Hawaii.gov. Final Environmental Impact Statement Army Training Land Retention on Oahu
Red Hill and the Ongoing Closure
The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, built during World War II with 20 massive underground tanks carved into a ridge above Pearl Harbor, became the center of a public health crisis in late 2021 when jet fuel leaked into the Navy’s drinking water system and sickened thousands of military families. The Department of Defense agreed to shut the facility down.
Defueling was completed on March 28, 2024, and responsibility for the site transferred from Joint Task Force-Red Hill to the Navy Closure Task Force, which now leads closure and environmental remediation in partnership with the EPA and state regulators.17United States Indo-Pacific Command. Joint Task Force-Red Hill Completes Defueling Mission As of early 2026, the EPA is still reviewing closure plan supplements covering post-closure tank monitoring and remediation.18US EPA. Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility Closure Plan
Visiting Pearl Harbor
For visitors rather than personnel, the Pearl Harbor National Memorial is the installation most people actually set foot on. The USS Arizona Memorial program, run by the National Park Service, is free but runs on limited capacity, with programs roughly every 15 minutes from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and a midday break. Reservations through Recreation.gov are strongly recommended because walk-up availability is limited to a standby waitlist, and third-party tickets from sites like Groupon are not accepted. A no-bag policy applies, only water is allowed inside the theaters and on the memorial, and military visitors in uniform need Class B attire or better.19National Park Service. Frequently Asked Questions – Pearl Harbor National Memorial The other installations described above are active-duty bases and are not open to the public.