The Army is reaching out to the Hawaiian community as it increases its roster of civilian aides to the secretary of the Army and as the military continues to face legal resistance to training here.

At 5:30 p.m. today at Fort DeRussy, five community leaders from Hawai'i, Alaska, Guam and American Samoa will be sworn in as civilian aides by Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter.

Peter Apo will become the civilian aide for West O'ahu and Kaua'i, and Allen Hoe will have responsibility for East O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Maui and Kaho'olawe.

Civilian aides to the secretary of the Army were formally recognized in 1922 and have become important in fostering good relations between the Army and public as spokespersons for and advisers to the secretary, the top civilian for the service.

Hoe is a Vietnam veteran and lawyer whose son, 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, a Kamehameha Schools graduate, was killed in Iraq in 2005. Apo is a former state lawmaker and spokesman for Hawaiian values and culture.

"With Peter Apo and Allen Hoe, you have two individuals who are close to the Hawaiian community, and many of the Army issues today are involved with concerns expressed by the Hawaiian community," said Bill Paty, a Hawai'i resident, World War II veteran and civilian aide emeritus for the Pacific.

The Army has faced lawsuits over the use of Makua Military Reservation on O'ahu for live-fire training and the basing of the Stryker brigade here.

Increasing pressure also is being felt by the Army in its use of Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island, which is ranked among the top three Army training areas in the nation.

The Army is investing millions of dollars in the further development of Pohakuloa, in particular for the Stryker brigade.

With the new appointments as civilian aides, the Army is increasing its community outreach.

Paty said it's a good decision by the Army.

"When you look at what the concerns are, relative to land usage, relative to the environmental picture, the Hawaiian community and the activists in that Hawaiian community play a key role," Paty said, "and it's important to stay engaged with them with people who are close to the roots."

Paula Helfrich, a businesswoman and civic leader, was named a civilian aide to the secretary of the Army for the Big Island last July.

Christina Kemmer, executive vice president of Communications Pacific, eight years ago was named a civilian aide for Hawai'i to the secretary of the Army. Kemmer joins Paty as a civilian aide emeritus for the Pacific region.

The unpaid civilian aides are appointed for each state and the territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

A change to the program in 2004 limited the total number of civilian aides to 100, and emeritus aides to 20.