The State of Hawaii Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT),
through a grant from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation has established the
Military and Community Relations Office. The newly established Military and Community Relations
Office (MACRO) is focused on improving the relationship between the community, the State of
Hawai‘i, and the US Department of Defense (DoD) through effective collaboration and
transparency for the benefit and safety of our citizens. Currently, no single agency at the local,
state, federal, or private level possesses the authority and the expertise to act unilaterally on the
many complex issues that could arise in response to potential homeland security threats. Action
requires open communication and coordination among state agencies, the military, law
enforcement, public safety, public health, and emergency management. In times of heightened
international tension, should deterrence falter, these relationships need to extend to encompass
the necessary operations, actions, and activities across a full spectrum of conflicts. This imperative
requires extensive preparation, planning, and deliberately designed and executed exercising
interactions.
To this end, MACRO, with the support and expertise of the Hawaiʻi Office of Homeland Security
(OHS) under the Department of Law Enforcement (DLE), is seeking responses for technical
assistance and consultation services to assist with the development of a strategic visioning and
comprehensive planning process that will result in an agency blueprint to provide policy direction for
Homeland Security planning, operations, and information sharing with partner entities in the
Homeland Defense mission space, notably organizations of the United States Department of
Defense, as well as the Hawaiʻi National Guard, amongst others (hereinafter referred to as the
“Strategic Plan”).
The Strategic Plan will outline the process by which MACRO and OHS can develop capabilities and
capacity in collaboration with relevant County, State, and Federal organizations in order to enable
the best utilization of its resources in conjunction with collaboration partners’ authorities, resources,
and capabilities to serve the state’s public and private organizations, critical infrastructure sector
entities, residents, and visitors in the context of international environs and across the full spectrum of
conflict illustrated below.