CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Liaison officers assigned to U.S. Army Japan gathered here last week to update staff members on events and operations being conducted by Japan Ground Self-Defense Force armies across the country.
Five liaison officers, or LNOs, represent the USARJ commander while working closely with Japanese counterparts to strengthen partnerships and help plan bilateral exercises and engagements.
“USARJ’s primary purpose here in Japan is interoperability with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force,” said Col. Dan Ruecking, the G-5/9 director at USARJ. “And so, our regional army LNOs are really the human interoperability between our formations.”
Ruecking, who oversees the liaison program, said the officers return to Camp Zama twice a year to complete their Army tasks and to meet staff members face-to-face to synchronize efforts.
On Wednesday, the officers also briefed about 20 USARJ personnel on Japan’s Ground Component Command. Established in 2018, the GCC is tasked with commanding JGSDF’s five regional armies: Northern, Northeastern, Eastern, Middle and Western.
Lt. Col. Jason Kim, the liaison officer for the Eastern Army in Tokyo, led the discussion inside the USARJ headquarters building.
Kim, who recently worked as an LNO with South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Combined Forces Command there allowed U.S. and South Korean military members to interact daily.
“There is no system to talk to Japanese [counterparts] on a regular basis,” he said. “We are the system. LNOs are the system of communication and coordination.”
While the GCC oversees Japan’s regional armies, the JGSDF is not as centralized as the U.S. Army since its regional armies conduct missions in a more distributed way.
Without liaison officers, which Kim calls “Soldier-statesmen,” leaders from USARJ and U.S. Army Pacific would have limited knowledge on each regional army, making it harder to support them.
“It would definitely impact our coordination with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force,” Kim said, “especially when they have five different regional armies that operate somewhat independently from each other.”
As the only U.S. military member stationed in the northern island of Hokkaido, Maj. Frank Camara serves as a conduit for the Northern Army while also assisting other U.S. military missions.
“There are approximately 40,000 U.S. military [members] in Japan, and in the area of about 20 percent of Japan, which is Hokkaido, I am the only U.S. military member,” he said. “So, a lot of times I do get hit with responsibilities for representing the entire force.”
On top of his official duties with the Army, Camara has also coordinated efforts with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, helped U.S. Marines train on High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems at a range, assisted port calls by the U.S. Navy, and supported U.S. Consulate visits.
In his 18 months of serving in Hokkaido, Camara has been able to assimilate to the local culture and even speaks Japanese to communicate with his counterparts.
Despite being so far away from Camp Zama, Camara said support from the U.S. Army still reaches him and his family. For instance, the Housing Office here helped them find quality housing and they receive health care by using TRICARE Prime Remote. The couple also had their first baby delivered at a hospital in Sapporo.
“I think life being away from the flagpole is a little bit more challenging,” he said, “but there are still great services that you can tie in to.”
While he said it has been a privilege to live in Japan, Camara knows his time here will eventually end.
Foreign area officers, which have many roles from liaison, political-military adviser, defense attaché to security assistance expert, are typically focused on a region, not a specific country.
“It’s a great job,” he said. “I’m very happy to be able to serve the U.S. in this capacity and be a good representative of not only the U.S. military, but also of the U.S.”
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