YOKOHAMA NORTH DOCK, Japan (April 21, 2016)- Forty-nine students from the Japanese Joint Staff College participated in an annual tour of the Watercraft Equipment Base - Yokohama North Dock March 28, led by Lt. Col. Christopher Noe, assigned to the Army Field Support Battalion-Northeast Asia.
Students ranking from lieutenant colonel to colonel assigned to the Japanese Ground Self- Defense Force, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Japanese Air Self Defense Force participated in the tour.
Lt. Col. Noe first gave an overview of AMC's mission followed by a presentation of AFSBn-NEA's watercraft capability.
Capt. Tanaka Atsushi, assigned to the JMSDF and the current 1st Instructor Office Chief in the JSC, was particularly intrigued by the watercrafts. He asked about the response time of the delivery of Army Prepositioned Stocks - 4 (APS-4) during contingency operations and humanitarian aid.
Others asked questions ranging from the interoperability of AFSBn-NEA to the US Navy and US Air Force to potential sites for the Reception, Staging Onward Movement & Integration exercise and Non-combatant Evacuation Operations.
At the conclusion of the presentation, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jason Peruccio, YND site manager, and Austin Brown, ship surveyor, led the class through a walkthrough of the Landing Craft Utility. The subject matter experts educated the students on the ship's power generation, engine capability, crew responsibility and boat capacity.
Throughout the Key Leader Engagement session, Lt. Col. Noe emphasized the importance of the bilateral relationship between US and Japan. During his presentation, he stated the very presence of the JSC at WEB-YND was "a testament to the strong bond of our nations."
Many recalled Operation Tomodachi in 2011 to be a huge success as it displayed the resilient partnership of both countries.
AFSBn-NEA today continues to foster that partnership through KLE and multinational training events.
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