Hawaii lawmaker upset with ‘stonewalling’ after release of redacted recording of drill message that prompted botched missile alert

Ward accused the administration of “stalling and stonewalling” and called the redacted release “an insult to the intelligence of the people of Hawaii,” according to Hawaii News Now.

The drill message released by the state is 24 seconds long, but more than half is bleeped out. “Exercise, exercise, exercise … this is not a drill … exercise, exercise, exercise,” the redacted message says.

The false ballistic missile alert was triggered by a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee, who has since been fired. A preliminary report from the Federal Communications Commission on the events of that mishap found that the recording was heard by three warning officers who were on duty and listening on speakerphone, including the one who sent the alert to more than 1 million people in Hawaii.

The day shift warning officer, who has not been identified, who sent the erroneous alert told the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency in a written statement he did not hear the words “exercise, exercise, exercise,” but only heard “this is not a drill.”

Nearly 40 minutes later, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency sent a follow-up alert notifying people there was no ballistic missile heading for the state, but not before mass panic spread across the island chain.

Part of its effort to reform, the agency announced Friday that it hired a new administrator, Thomas Travis, a retired U.S. Navy captain, after he was approved by Gov. David Ige. The previous administrator, Vern Miyagi, resigned amid state and federal investigations, along with other top officials.