 Okay, we're back for live. I'm Jay Fiedel. It's a two o'clock block on a given Thursday here at Think Tech. And we're talking about the military in Hawaii. More specifically today, we're going to deal with the actual heart of the operation, if you will, of the Military Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Commerce. Very important. And we have Connie Lau and she is the chair of the Military Affairs Committee. And Jason Chung, he's vice president of the Military Affairs Committee. Welcome to the show, you guys. Thank you, Jay. So, you know, I mean, I don't think people really know about the Military Affairs Committee. I mean, everybody knows the military has a serious presence in Hawaii. And lately, we've been thinking about the military a lot because of what's going on in Washington. How could we forget? Yeah. So, you know, Hawaii has a very interesting history with the military. My recollection is that the Navy came to Pearl Harbor in 1850. That's way before I was born, yeah. And it's just saying something. And it has had a presence here ever since. And it has a great history to protect us and be part of our economy. And you guys are interested in all of that. So, Connie, how did the Military Affairs Committee get organized? And when and by whom and for what purpose? Yeah, Jay. And before we start, I got to thank you for this military in Hawaii series that you're doing with us and the military because that's a tremendous partnership that's allowed us to maybe shine a little bit more light on the military here in Hawaii. And it's important and also the value that it brings to our community and how we might even leverage that value. So, I'd like to say that the MAC or the Military Affairs Council goes back into the 1850s, but actually it was only in 1985 that the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii formed the MAC really to support what is our second economic sector in Hawaii. And, you know, you just already alluded to how important it is, particularly during this time of the pandemic. And every other crisis before, whether it was the great financial crisis or, you know, 9-11, every time tourism gets affected, all of a sudden we realize that thankfully the military is still here and it actually becomes the largest economic driver for the state. Yeah, we've done a number of programs and not only in this series here in the military in Hawaii, but in other related series that you might be interested in. I'm thinking of one in particular where we interviewed some people from Watsila. Watsila is this huge ship building and now electric equipment manufacturer out of Helsinki, Finland. And they did some work at the Schofield installation. I know Hawaiian Electric was involved in that. You must have had, as a CEO of HEI, you must have had some involvement. And I was very impressed with the sort of the global reach on that. You want to talk about it? Yeah, you know, actually when you mentioned the name Watsila, I was exactly thinking of that project. It's called our Schofield Generating Station, SGF. And it was really an amazing project, both for us as the electric company for the army and then also for state of Hawaii. Because if you think about all of Hawaiian Electric's generating plants, they're all on the coastline. So if we had a tsunami come and hit Oahu, that doesn't ever happen. But if we did, there's all the generating stations are on that coastline. So this one is really, really important from a resilient standpoint in that it's up in the higher ground, up in Schofield. It's also a fast-acting generator because most of the generation on this island is our older steam generation that takes a long time to ramp up and ramp down. And now with all this renewable energy that is, you know, it's intermittent when the sun shines or the wind blows, you really got to have other kinds of generation that can pick up quickly when the wind stops blowing or the sun stops shining. And so it's really important from that standpoint to help us integrate more renewable energy. And then, you know, back to resilience, it also powers the backup airfield to Honolulu Airport, which is also down on the coastline. So tremendously important project for everybody and frankly wouldn't have happened if the army hadn't been willing to have us utilize that site and be interested in the resilience aspects of it because, you know, everything that happens here on the island also impacts them as well. So you can see how mutually beneficial our interests are. Yeah, it's a great example of, you know, a partnership type cooperation between the community, the utility company, and the military. And I mean, it shows you it's an important reveal of the benefits of working together with the military on that, not only for the construction, but as you say for the resilience. So, you know, I suspect in the future there'll be more projects like this and a greater collaboration along these very lines, don't you think? Oh, absolutely. And I mean, I could give you another big example, which is Red Hill. And I know you, you know, we had a program specifically on Red Hill, but, you know, everybody thinks of Red Hill as it supplies the military, DOD, but actually back in 2018 when we had the floods on the terrible, terrible floods and then also the lava flows on the big island, it was actually fuel from that strategic petroleum reserve that really was helpful to help restore things on those islands. So everybody doesn't realize how interrelated a lot of the military facilities are with our own civilian facilities. It also can power up Honolulu Airport and Honolulu Harbor. And, you know, that's just something that I think the general public isn't aware of. Yeah, to go to Jason for a minute. Jason, you're the vice president of the military affairs council. What does that mean? Are you busy 24 by 7 with it? Yeah, Jay, I'm actually pretty busy like today. We did the MAC partnership conference and that took quite a bit of our time to organize and put together. But yeah, it ranges from all the different things that Connie's talking about in terms of the engagement with the military, with business leaders, community leaders, really to be that integrator that brings those key stakeholders together to really kind of facilitate the military's mission here in Hawaii. You know, one of the things that we should talk about is the relationship of the community in general with the military. I mean, you know, there have been moments of great, you know, connection and moments of, I'm going to say less than great connection over the past 50-100 years. And we can touch the points of history and all that. But it would seem to me that the military affairs council would be very interested in making sure that the public understands the contributions that are made by the military, that the public understands that the community, the economy has a direct interdependency with the military. You know, what do you do in that regard and what kind of response do you get? You've really hit it on the head, Jay. That's exactly why the MAC was formed by the chamber way back in 1985. And you know, the MAC is also unusual because it's not just made up of business leaders, but it's also made up of people from the not-for-profit sector, community leaders. Also, we always have representatives from the legislature, from the congressional offices. So it really is a forum that represents the entire community here in Hawaii. And the reason for that is that a lot of the projects that the military might have here really impact so many different parts of our society that it's really important to get everybody together in the same rooms and try to create some of that common understanding. And like any really major initiative, there's a lot of balancing of the interests that go on. So we are always trying to bring people together. We're, you know, we've done that on Red Hill. We're doing that up at Pohakaloa on the training grounds. You know, you name it. And then, you know, as we mentioned earlier, we're also trying to help take advantage of some of the increasing investment that the military is making here in the Pacific. I think, you know, one of the things we talked about at the conference this morning is that finally the rest of the world, and particularly those back in Washington DC, are recognizing how crucial this Indo-Pacific region is to America's overall security, both economic and national security. You know, we've probably got several, three of the greatest adversaries of America in this region. And, you know, there's one of the things that was recently funded was the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to allow the United States to expand its influence and maintain its influence within the region so that we could have a free and open Indo-Pacific. That's really, really important. I think that's really important for Hawaii as well. Absolutely. Yeah, so you are into the geopolitical, in a sense, because you want to see the military stay here, and you want to see the military have influence all across the Pacific, and that benefits the country, certainly it benefits Hawaii. So with whom do you, oh, before I go to that, you mentioned a couple of times already the annual partnership conference. We don't know enough about that. Can you talk about that? Let us know what happens and what it's intended to do, and who participates. Yeah, so the annual, oh, maybe Jason, you want to take that one? Sure, Connie, I can do that. You can fill in the, so Jay, the annual MAC partnership conference is usually, we usually hold every year around January, just before the ledge goes into session, and it's really, and even now more than ever, it's probably more important and relevant in the current times that we're in. But it's a form to bring together the senior leaders, both from the government, business community, as well as the local community, to share and discuss key, neutral things of interest, really to search past forward in terms of how we can continue this great partnership that Connie has been talking about. So today we actually wrapped up our first day. So the difference in previous years is that, obviously, now we are virtual. So we hold, we're holding it today and tomorrow. Today was our first day. We're very fortunate to have opening welcome comments from both Speaker Psyche and President Kochi, and then a keynote address by Admiral Philip Davidson, who really laid out a great overview of the year in review of the Indo-Pekong region and really his strategic outlook. And then we had a panel discussion which followed, which kind of highlighted a lot of the partnerships that we're doing, UH and Red Hill. We talked about the Neighborship Yard and some of their partnerships out there, PMRF, as well as community integration. And we highlighted the folks you hosted, maybe a month or two ago. You remember you had Greg Fleming and Noe Kalipi kind of talking about how we're doing that community integration. And so we were able to get JR Borci, the actual commander of Palkaloa Training Area, and Noe to kind of talk about that integration. And then that wrapped up day one. And then day two, which we'll have tomorrow, we'll actually have as a keynote speaker Vice Admiral Retire, Dr. Adam Robinson, who is the newly appointed director for the Veterans Administration for the Pacific, then followed at the end by a panel, which is going to talk about kind of the economic way forward, right? We'll get Karbanam to talk the current state of the economy. And then look at the traditional industry here in Hawaii, the Neighborship Yard, and then the emerging industries going into cyber, IT, data analytics, data science, and intelligence. And then that would be the closure for today. But it kind of goes with that theme that Connie has been talking about in terms of, you know, what really the Mac is, right? It's not just about being the second economic driver here in Hawaii, but it's the partnership, it's the job, it's the opportunity, the potential for innovation, and also the stewardship of the land. And Jason mentioned the kinds of folks who are at the conference, but in total, we had over 225 leaders from all those different sectors participating in the meeting this morning. And as Jason said, we'll go on to day two tomorrow. So day two tomorrow will also be virtual, I assume. And does that mean that I can tune in? Yeah, Jay, great to have you. So you guys put it together then. This is part of the Military Affairs Council. The council organized this program. It's very ambitious, productive, with those people talking and those subjects covered. It sounds really wonderful, you know, and a great statement about the council and about Hawaii. But, but query, were you both speakers? Were either of your speakers, did you get up and talk to them and show them the way? Connie? Well, yeah, sure. You know, Jason opened the conference, and then I got to give the welcome address. And frankly, started with what was going on in Washington. Oh, my gosh, yeah, I mean, you know, I, I, you don't appreciate how fragile democracy can be. You know, when you have something like that happen within our own country. And, you know, a comment that I made is I just couldn't even imagine what some of our allies in this Indo-Pacific region might have been thinking as they watched what was happening back in DC. And so I think the job of our military here in Hawaii in the Indo-Pacific region is going to be ever that more complicated and difficult to move forward. So it's a little bit, it's an interesting time. It's an interesting time. But you know, Hawaii can play a role in trying to explain to Indo-Pacific, you know, what is happening. The country is still together. And what happened in Washington, I mean, I would like to believe this was just an aberration. We'll pass through it, we'll pass over it. And we still have a democracy. The guardrails are safe, you know. And APCSS, I'm sure that's an active member of the council, plays an important role in what amounts to diplomacy. Because, you know, if you're interested in geopolitical affairs and Indo-Pacific, you're also interested in having a diplomatic effect. And so you must correct me if I'm wrong, but you must have, say, informal citizen-business type diplomatic connections with the countries in Asia, am I right? Yes, yeah. Yeah. And we do have a lot of crossover in members with APCSS. So, and what you just mentioned, frankly, that was a message that Senate President Kochi made is that Hawaii really has a lot to share with the, actually the whole world with our sense of aloha where, you know, everybody's right to protest, but to do it in a peaceful manner and to really open up and try to listen to all sides. So, yeah. We had General Dan Leaf on a couple of times already. He's very, he's very geopolitical, and he's very interested in Asia, and he spent a lot of time reading and writing about it, you know, beside APCSS, where he commanded for several years. So all of that. Yeah. And Fig is a member, Fig's a Mac member, and one of our great devoted members. Yeah. He's everywhere, and he is dedicated. I totally agree. So, Jason, you know, who is in the council? Who are you interfacing with from the military and from the civilian point of view? You know, what are the touchpoints we should understand about the makeup of the council? Well, Jay, the makeup of the council is pretty diverse, right? As you look at the military, we have military leaders, we have folks from the public affairs office, from the strategy division, from the garrisons, because they're really operating basically small cities and towns here in Hawaii. And then on the business side, it's everything from large corporate businesses that you would normally associate doing business with the defense sector, like the Booze Islands or the North of Grummans, but also the critical infrastructure, Hawaii Electric Company, a number of other components like that, all the way down to small businesses and also the trades. And then as Connie mentioned up front, you've got some of the nonprofits who are also part of it, which you also host it with, if you remember, you know, having the Armed Forces, why I'm saying that the Fig was part of that. And Laurie, that is part of the MAC as well. And it's really to get that overall demographic of folks who are somehow connected or integrated into the military and this larger community. Sound like a very enviable kind of spot that you run into all these people, because in their own way, you know, and I assume this happens for you is that you are seeing and engaging with the cross section of the community, that is a backbone of the community. And, you know, in every which way, the military like it or not is an important part of this state economically and otherwise. And a lot of the members that you describe or categories of members you describe are people that form, you know, a central group in the state. You're touching everywhere. And so that must be fun. It must be fun to say hi. I guess it was more fun before COVID. Today, if you engage with all those people, you're really finding out you're really getting staying in touch, you're finding out what's going on, you know, in the heart of things. No. Yeah. And, you know, Jay, I was going to say, you know, that that's particularly represented by one of the new initiatives that we're working on, particularly in these COVID times, you know, everybody's so concerned about helping rebuild Hawaii's economy and rebuild it in areas that are maybe a little bit more resilient than tourism has been this time around. And, you know, one of the things that we're going to be working on along with D-Bed is to create a defense industry alliance. And that's really to help build out our industrial base here in Hawaii. You know, as Jason mentioned, the traditional, you know, shipyard and engineering that always has gone on with Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam and the bases, but then also now to really put a spotlight on some of the emerging industries because, you know, certainly all of us are much more impacted now by IT and cyber. Everything is going towards data science. And, you know, the military has always led in these fields. And then I'd say the last one is actually intelligence. That's particularly important these days is, you know, you hear more and more in the news about these big these big cyber breaches that are going on and all kinds of shenanigans that are going on in cyber space. So the intelligence area is also really an important one. And so we're hoping to work with D-Bed to build out an industrial base here in Hawaii that can take advantage of those areas of expertise that the military brings and can also help share that with the community. So I think Jason mentioned there are partnerships that are going on now between the military and the University of Hawaii in many of these areas. Yeah, this could lead to those jobs we've been waiting for, the jobs and technology and computer science. I mean it's a perfect source of expertise and work to bring those things together because there are a lot of civilian employees with the military, especially here. And those jobs could go to local people and give us a real leg up on the most important advances in the world really. So, you know, but we for the past year we've been stuck in COVID. You know, it's almost a one-year anniversary now and we suffered at home. I signed my email yours in solitude. And so, you know, the problem is that it affects every operation, every organization, especially a kind of social connection organization, business organization like the chamber and the military affairs council. So my question to you, Jason, is how has it come upon you? How has it affected you? And what have you done to, you know, avoid any adverse effect of COVID? Well, you know, Jay, I think like everyone else, we are now glued to our screens, whether it's Zoom, MS Teams, WebEx, Hopin, which is the platform we were using today for the partnership conference. You know, it's funny as we were looking back at the calendar, March 6th of last year was the last time we did an in-person Mac council meeting. And while we're in that meeting, Major General Kenny Hara got whisked away for emergency call and it's when he was alerted of the first recognition of COVID coming coming to the islands on the Princess Grand cruise ship. And then from there obviously we know kind of the rest of the story has changed significantly. So we've adopted like every other organization and we've moved to Zoom and Google Meets and MS Teams. And we've tried to really stay connected of it. It is virtual with our members and new members and really to actually expand that a bit. I guess that's the one benefit in this virtual world is that you can in some of the meetings that you had in the past where it was limited based upon capacity. In some cases, you can actually expand it to a wider range and you can bring in folks from the Washington DC area to kind of give their perspective. And so that is something we have, I think we've adopted pretty well. As you look at our meetings and webinars that we do now, we'd like to try to bring in a national perspective. So we'll call on a good friend, Lieutenant General Charlie Flynn, who's the director of operations for the Army. As you know, he was here formally as the 25th Infantry Division commander and fortunately he's coming back, looks like, as the US Army Pacific commander in a few months. But we'll call on him to give a national perspective in terms of what the Army and how they view what's going on in the Pacific. And then we'll have the 25th Infantry Division commander, Major General Jamie Gerard provide his local perspective here and how that applies to the local communities, businesses, etc. So I think that has been our work around and what we've done. And I think we've been pretty good at pretty successful at keeping our folks informed about what's going on. You know, it sounds like you adopt the best practices from both sides of the equation, the best practices from the military. And you know, I was in the service, just like Jason, maybe not as long as Jason. But I fully, I love the service. I love my service. I love the people I dealt with. I shouldn't have got out and should stay around because I like the way they function. I like the way they planned and executed their plan. And it was remarkable. And of course, kind of you have seen planning and you've seen business, you know, development for years and years in Hawaii. You've been in touch with all of that. And so you guys are bringing those best practices from both sides of the equation to the Military Affairs Council. And so my question to you, County, is what's the plan? You don't know what's going to happen in the Biden administration. I'm sure he's going to try to improve geopolitical relations, you know, foreign affairs, whatnot. And that'll be good to see. But, you know, we have a complicated relationship with China and with, you know, all of Asia really. And we have to make up a lost ground at this point in time. And the military is in, military is all into, you know, diplomatic relations these days. And they are an essential part of that effort. And so the Military Affairs Council would be following that, you know, the Military Affairs Council would be developing its plan around what it perceives to be the plan of the military itself, that is to stay here or not develop other bases and facilities west of here. I mean, all of these things are moving parts and variables. And the Military Affairs Council has to be thinking about that and developing its own plan, right? You know, you're absolutely right, Jay. And that's always the reason why usually when we have one of our webinars, there's always a question on what are the plans around the Marines and moving to Okinawa and then moving here to Hawaii. So, yes, we do track all of those things. But I guess what I'd say is one of the things that we do know is that ever since President Obama's term in the pivot to the Pacific and now there's the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, all eyes have indeed turned towards the Pacific. And of course, that is right where Hawaii is located. I'm not expecting that that's going to change in the near future. That's one of those macro shifts that has occurred. And that's why I said earlier, you know, finally, everybody realizes how important to this region is. You know, when I grew up here, I used to think even the history books were so European centric. But now it really is a focus on the Pacific and Hawaii's key to not only the military, but the US's efforts in this region. Well, I want to ask you one other thing, you guys. And that is, and I'll start with Jason on this. Jason, why? Why are you involved in this? What drives you to spend the time and to, you know, organize these things and to have these relationships and, you know, and undertake the tasks involved in the efforts that you have described. And what is your plan? Are you there forever? Would you be there until you were 105, God willing? What's the plan? Are you trying to take my job, Jay? Can we go offline on that one? All right. Well, that's a great question, Jay. I would tell you, it's because it's really connected to the two things that I love, right? Hawaii and the military. I mean, the military, as you know, it's been basically my entire adult life. I've been in it for, was in it for 36 years, but grew up here, of course, and I love Hawaii. And I was actually working full time when that, when, when the opportunity came up to also participate in the MAC. And I knew about the MAC and I knew about how significant the mission was, but I didn't know just the expanse of it that we just discussed, you know, this afternoon. And once I did, I was like, yeah, I would love to do that because I would love to be connected to two things that are incredibly important to me. And hopefully, you know, my, my participation in it can make some of that better, can make all this stuff that Connie's talking about in terms of how we're trying to integrate and connect folks together, build out the industrial base because it supports the national defense, supports the local economy and the local people. Yeah, I'm all for that. That's what I want to do. And so if I'm so fortunate to live to 105. Yeah, it would be great to be somehow connected to the MAC and all the great things that it does. And I think it's going to continue to do. Yeah, great. That's great. And yes, you will just make sure to take the vaccine. Okay. So Connie, I put the same question to you. Why? You know, you are a very busy lady. You are all over town. You were involved in so many projects and developments and ideas and situations. It's really remarkable how much you do it. And yet you undertake this as well. This is not necessarily in the mainstream of all your other activities with HCI and the nonprofits that you serve on, I might add. But here you are with the Military Affairs Council. Why? Yeah, so Jay, it actually has become much more mainstream than you might think or I may have thought when I first got involved. I actually first got involved because the military is Hawaiian electrics largest customer. And we had Admiral Tom Fargo on our board. And Tom came to me and he said, you know, you should get involved in the Military Affairs Council. And so I did. And you know, for many, many, many years, the council was chaired, of course, by Dave Carey. And I learned so much from Dave. But over the years, as I kind of rose to the ranks at Hawaiian Electric, and then I also got involved in my National Infrastructure Advisory Council, you know, which is the Presidential Advisory Council that advises the President of the United States on the critical infrastructure sectors. A lot of that mission and the mission of the military came together because a lot of it is around, you know, people call it national security. But frankly, what is national security? It's really the security for all of us to live the lives that we do. Absolutely. And to have that quality of life and freedom and all of the right to protest on the steps of the Capitol. Yeah, but not inside. And so, yeah. So, you know, actually, I think had it all stayed very peaceful, it would have been fine too inside. But, you know, I think as I started doing more and more of that work, and then I also got involved more in our industry on a national level. I sit on the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council that coordinates between our industry and all the federal agencies. So, not just DOD, but also the Department of Energy, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, you know, you name it, and in this COVID time, also the Health and Human Services. It all started coming together and it's amazing how interrelated everything is. And then, you know, thinking about growing up here, I did grow up on Kaneohe Bay, so right across from the Marine Corps base. And, you know, so I was aware of the military, but I never knew how significant it was. And I never understood the tremendous opportunities that it really creates for so many of our young people here. And so that's why I'm really excited about some of these initiatives, like the Economic Alliance that we just, you know, that I just talked about that can maybe bring some of those capabilities and those opportunities closer to the people of Hawaii, and particularly the youth of Hawaii, because I think there's some great opportunities there. Yeah, and working for the Military Affairs Council, both of you are helping, you know, all sides of that equation. It's not just the military, and it's not just the business community, it's the whole state, and it's our security as a state and as part of the country. So let me ask you one other thing, Connie. What's the plan for you? Well, before I get to that, I do want to ask that, but first question is what's the plan for the MAC? You know, I know that as a business lady, and for Jason too, you know, there's always a plan. So what's the plan? Are you planning to expand? And if so, which way are you planning to change which way? Can you talk about that for a minute? You know, so actually, Jan, I'd love to hear Jason's answer as well, because of course we didn't rehearse any of this. But, you know, I think we made a major shift actually just about the time that I took over from Dave Carey, because that was also the time that we lost Senator Noy. And I think with respect to the military, all of us had just really depended on him and his offices and our other congressional delegation to just kind of take care of Hawaii and the military, you know, here in the island. And after his passing, the MAC really had to rethink its involvement. And as, you know, you've heard today, we've really ramped up operations pretty significantly. Very fortunate to have found someone like Jason who understands the services inside out and can navigate through all of that. And, you know, have also been able to gain very strong support from our sponsoring agency, the Chamber. And so I think that we are going to continue along that course, because we all recognize that the military is very important to Hawaii. So it is important that we have an organization here that can support the military. And I would also note, you know, I'm also a member of the Hawaii Business Roundtable. And the Roundtable has also recognized the importance of the military. But they've also recognized that the MAC has been doing a really good job of supporting that sector. And so the Roundtable also supports the MAC. And so I think we're going to keep chugging away and keep thinking about ways that we can, you know, bring mutual benefit to both sides. This new alliance that I talked about is a new initiative to really try to leverage the economic value that the DOD brings to Hawaii for our local community. Yeah, it's all good. It's all important. And it's all totally relevant to the reopening. It helps us in our reopening. Hopefully we'll be able to handle that this year. So Jason, you know, Connie mentioned that you might have other thoughts on the plan going forward. And I wanted to get your thoughts and see how much of what Connie said you agree with. I remember that Connie is actually going to write your fitness report. So be careful with your answer. I thought her answer was brilliant, Jay. It was just absolutely brilliant. And I agree 100% with it. He's a diplomat, Jay. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. And practically too. But, you know, it is everything that Connie has laid out, right? I mean, the transformation really is we're trying to be extremely proactive in all those things that Connie had mentioned. So maybe we're historically, the Mac was not extremely proactive in some of these areas, whether that was business advocacy, advocacy for the strategic importance of Hawaii, or the strategic importance of the commands and the requirements here, or how the business industry was being impacted. Because when you look at it from a macro standpoint, Jay, like in 2019, there's $2.3 billion in contracts that the DOD leveraged in Hawaii. Of that $1.3 billion went to businesses here in Hawaii. But now what we're saying is, well, okay, let's make that all $2.3 billion. Let's figure out how we continue to build out an industrial base. Because we know that doing business with the federal government is not necessarily the easiest thing, especially when economic times are good. It's much easier to do it a lot of times in the private sector. So what we want to do is kind of take what we've been doing, but be much more proactive in advocating and informing and educating all those key stakeholders, whether it's government leaders, other military, you know, not necessarily here, but in the Pentagon and DC, and with the local community, making sure that connection is there. Because as you and Connie have both stated, it benefits all of us. National security is our security, is the state of Hawaii security, right? We all benefit from it. So, you know, what Connie laid out, I think that's exactly where we're going. It's really to do all those things, but at much quicker pace and much more proactive. Okay, 4.0, Connie. So Connie, I leave the closing remarks to you. What would you like to leave with people about the Military Affairs Committee and about the presence of the military in Hawaii? You know, so I think we've talked so much about how important the military is here in Hawaii. And I guess the message I'd like to leave is that they're really part of our community. They aren't separate and apart. There are so many civilians that are employed by the military that are just part of our families, part of our communities. And so, you know, it makes sense to me to support our families and to support those of our neighbors who are part of our community. So, you know, that's what I hope everybody realizes and it's not something totally separate and apart from us. And again, thank you, Jay. Oh, yes. And thank you, Connie. And thank you, Jason. Great to have you guys on the show. I'd like to leave you with one other thought. And that is that they're the federal government. And, you know, one of the issues in this country is the relationship of the citizen with the federal government. And I always like to say they are us. This is what you're saying. They are us and we are them. And we are together in this. And to be in touch with the military is to be in touch with the country. And it's a sign of connection. So thank you very much for doing this. Thank you, Connie, for showing up on the show and spending your time with us. The same thing with you, Jason. Thank you very much for spending the time. I hope you can do this again. Aloha.