 |
| JGSDF Troops (File Photo) |
U.S. Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) personnel conducted exercise Active Shield at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 8-11, 2016. Active Shield is an annual exercise incorporating the air station’s defense posture to test the abilities of U.S. and Japanese forces to work alongside each other to protect and defend MCAS Iwakuni and other U.S. assets in the region.
The U.S. and Japanese forces shared their techniques in different scenarios ranging from standard vehicle searches, response to suspicious packages, perimeter breaches, chemical attacks and other possible scenarios while being on station.
“It took a lot of coordination and bilateral communication to bring this together,” said U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Jonathan Boron, deputy provost marshal for MCAS Iwakuni. “My expectations for an exercise of this stature was that the execution of events would be rough, but that we would come together to create a plan and keep the air station safe.”
Despite cultural and language differences, the Marines and JGSDF worked together to successfully complete tasks at hand.
Read the full story at Army Recognition