May 1 was Armed Forces Day, May 31 was Memorial Day, June is Military Appreciation Month and July 4 is coming soon. It’s a time to think about our military and the billions it brings into the state.

The news reminds us about national security on a daily basis. ISIS is increasingly brutal, the Russians are looking for trouble and China is pushing everyone around. Terrorism is always at our door. The violence seems closer.

Dan Inouye was our great connection with the military and we worried that with his death all that would end. Now, two years later, things seem strangely back to a new normal, but with less funding. We wonder what happens next.

So it seems like a good time to take stock of how things are doing in the military, and the military in Hawaii. And to examine the factors that Washington will consider for the continuation of our role as the primary outpost in the Pacific.

During Memorial Day services at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, active and retired military men and women commemorated those who paid the ultimate cost.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

We should examine these factors even though they are largely outside our control, just as the factors affecting tourism are outside our control.

We are still halfway to Asia. And the military has a long tradition here; the Navy began operating in Pearl Harbor in 1874. It is intertwined with our society. It is ten percent of our workforce. We are affected by its presence as no other state.

Pacific Command is part of a military-diplomatic community that includes experts from the East-West Center, Pacific Forum and the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Few places outside Washington are endowed with such expertise.

The global game has changed. War is now more high tech and remote than boots on the ground. The military must deal with terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, cyberwar and deceptive manipulation of public opinion.

The role of the military has changed profoundly since Vietnam, from violent conflict to soft power and humanitarian relief, from conscription to a politically correct highly trained volunteer force.

U.S. strategy changed when Obama made the pivot to Asia, and then changed again when the action shifted to the Middle East. Does that mean Washington will move assets to the East Coast, or to Guam, Okinawa or points west?

In 2005, we worried about the closing of the Pearl Harbor Shipyard, which employs 10,000 people. Dan Inouye saved it. Is that risk over, or should we still be concerned? He also wanted to bring a carrier here. That’s not very likely now.

Austerity governs. We’re not a rich state anymore, and we don’t seem to be a rich country either. We can’t afford the things we had before. So we shouldn’t deceive ourselves hoping for a return to the lush days of earmarks and pork.

Are we as close to the military as we were before 9/11? Increased security still limits access to the bases. In a democratic society with a volunteer force bristling with secrecy and power, we need to trust them, and they need to trust us.

An article in the New Yorker after the sinking of the Ehime Maru in 2001 spoke of the “American Raj,” an element of quasi-royalty in our military. If that exists, it’s not likely to engender trust.

The islands are more crowded, and residential areas encroach on bases. Live fire training is riskier. Accidents like the recent Osprey crash are close. So is the deterioration of the tanks at Red Hill. Is Oahu still safe for operations?

People change. A generation that was in grade school when USS Greeneville sank the Ehime Maru in 2001 has come of age and has found its stride blocking ferries, GMOs and astronomy. It seems to be taking on more protests all the time.

Does Washington see Hawaii as a friendly host? Local protests are destructive for Wall Street and for the Pentagon. Will there be protests against the military too? That could undo our military future and economy in a one-stroke seppuku.

Remember when we had “three legs” on the stool of our economy: agriculture, tourism and the military? Agriculture is gone, and we still don’t have a tech industry. Offshore investors doing real estate won’t save us. So it’s all the more important that we have and keep the military.

Dan Inouye did the heavy lifting by himself. At this point, our federal and state officials should be collaborating hard to take up where he left off and do the best job possible here at home and in Washington. Nostalgia is not enough.

Nation states do not survive by good deeds alone, and Hawaii will not survive by hospitality alone. Let’s not be complacent about our economy, or for that matter our existence.

ThinkTech and Oceanit are presenting a Downtown Forum luncheon panel program on the subject of “The Military in Hawaii – An Uncertain Future?” at 11:30 a.m. on June 18 at the Downtown Laniakea YMCA.