After retirement announcement, state adjutant general Hara reflects on 40-year career

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii adjutant general Maj. Gen. Ken Hara has led the state’s emergency management agency for five years, capping a 40-year military career with three combat deployments.

In his first one-on-one interview since he announced he would retire on Nov. 1, Hara sat down with Hawaii News Now to talk about why he joined — and what he would have done differently over the years.

“I’ve been pretty much an infantry guy watching the helicopters fly by and seeing like, Oh, that was a big mistake. I should have stayed in aviation,” he said, reflecting on what he called one of his regrets. “I still wish I was flying.”

“I tried a few times [to get back], but just things didn’t work out. It was like this was my destiny and and ended up being an infantry guy most of my career,” he said.

Hara says he is a man of faith, which had a huge impact on his career.

“How else am I successful as like no skill says not the smartest guy in the room. But you know, I’ve been really blessed and had opportunities that came at the perfect time. Literally all of the stars aligned on how I got my college education and some really, really critical military assignments is pretty, pretty amazing,” Hara said.

The Hilo native graduated from Waiakea High School and enlisted in the Hawaii National Guard, as his father and uncle did. His older brothers also joined, and the Hara military legacy was well-known and respected.

“Initially, I think it was great having older brothers and a father and an uncle that served so many mentors I could go to,” he said. “Oftentimes, it was reverse nepotism, like you have to do better and the standards are higher, just because the last name was Hara.”

“My son swore in in the National Guard that definitely was the proudest moment. The next generation in line following the Hara legacy. So my son is a first lieutenant now in the Army National Guard,” he said.

Hara also talked about how his three combat deployments prepared him for his career, transitioning from infantry to politics, from war on the ground to the halls of politics. “

“Three deployments, the first one to Baghdad, Iraq, second in Kuwait, and a third one in Kandahar, Afghanistan, all three really, really challenging and dangerous missions,” he said.

“The mission kind of shifted from that combat operations to more domestic and Hawaii focused disaster response. So I got a lot of experience in that, you know, not just the war fight.”

“What’s tough, what no one can prepare for is dealing with the politics that I dread during the legislative session, but I can tell you that I am I have a great relationship with every single one of the legislators and they treat me with dignity and respect,” he said.

As Hawaii adjutant general, he oversees Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency and National Guard, and has led the state through back-to-back natural disasters, from hurricanes to eruptions, the COVID-19 pandemic and even the false missile alert.

Looking back, he says he says he’s satisfied with how HIEMA handled the pandemic.

“I don’t think there’s anything, I would have changed, especially for me and what we did. We didn’t know what we didn’t know, we learned along the way. And as we learned, we adjusted,” he said.

“You make decisions, a lot of people aren’t going to be happy about it. But we made decisions based on the information understanding we had at the time,” he said.

“The biggest lesson is, if you’re going to be successful, it’s about the relationships. And try to build that relationship and hopefully forge that into trust before the disaster,” he added.

Hara concluded: “I’m proud of my career. I’m proud what I’ve accomplished. I’m proud of my family and the Hara legacy. But I’m human. I look back because I could have had an easier life. My class, my close classmates, they’re super successful. Living the life,” he said with a laugh.

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