It turned out that the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa conducted the first combat training in Japan two years ago with the Ground Self-Defense Force units assuming each other as enemies.
It is believed that it was aimed at improving the combat capabilities of both sides and strengthening cooperation.
On the 6th, former Colonel Rikiya Kondo, who until last year served as the commander of a training support unit for the Ground Self-Defense Force, was awarded a medal by the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Courtney, an U.S. military base in Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture. it was done.
According to the Marine Corps and other sources, Colonel Kondo led the first combat training in Japan between the Ground Self-Defense Force and the Marine Corps at Camp Kitafuji in Yamanashi Prefecture. is.
At the ceremony, Lt. Gen. James Biermann, commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, the top Marine on Okinawa, said, "He created the conditions for the best of both the Marine Corps and the Self-Defense Forces, and paved the way for the future. opened," he said.
Regarding cooperation between Japan and the United States, three new security-related documents approved by the Cabinet at the end of the year state that the two countries will promote the shared use of facilities such as ammunition depots and further improve cooperation between units. .
Under these circumstances, by training each other as enemies, it seems that the aim was to improve the combat capabilities of both sides, deepen their understanding of how to fight, and strengthen the cooperation between Japan and the United States.