Hey fellow islander! :) I have heard the stories too, sadly. I think that it's probably a lot of hearsay (so many of the military hospitals have all of the same horror stories said about them, whether or not that's the majority), but honestly, I didn't take the chance of finding out. I don't know anyone who has personally gone through any of those situations, but I knew I also wouldn't be getting much attention from them either. They have so many births a day that you're just a number.
I am almost 20 weeks and when I found out I was pregnant I switch to Standard and am seeing Dr. Susan Chapman at Pali Women's Health/Castle Medical Center in Kailua. My experience has been wonderful so far! They are an in-network provider and I know we'll owe a deductible, but they do it where you don't pay until after you deliver. To me, it's worth it.
If it's worth anything, I DID have surgery at Tripler in July 2011 and it went perfect. No problems and the doctors were great. It was a really routine operation and they do them all the time, just like they deliver babies all the time. It was a clean, nice place. I just knew that I wanted a more specialized place for my first child.
Good luck making your decision!