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| US Marines beach assault (File Photo) |
By GIDGET FUENTES
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Hauling large packs, rifles and 84mm mortar tubes, they stormed ashore from Navy ships Feb. 13 looking a lot like Marine infantrymen. But these grunts belonged instead to a company-size force with Japan’s Western Army Infantry Regiment, having traveled here for the annual three-week exercise Iron Fist.
Now in its eighth year, the exercise is designed to enhance the Navy and Marine Corps’ interoperability with Japan. Yet unlike years past, this iteration featured Japanese troops much more willing to publicly display some of their tactical might.
Indeed, Japan’s military is classified as a self-defense force, established to maintain peace, protect the homeland and provide disaster relief. Its soldiers don’t tend to execute beach assaults, as Japan’s military has no unit like the Marine Corps, but driven by fears of missile attacks from its unpredictable neighbor North Korea, these skills are becoming a growing interest among leaders there.
“They want to be a more viable force,” said Col. Christopher D. Taylor, commander of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. His Marines partnered with the Japanese throughout Iron Fist. “As a [U.S. treaty] partner, they are stepping up.”
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