Missouri Army National Guard and Japanese military: Breaking the language barrier

Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Douglas Sloan with the Missouri Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, and a Soldier with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, 26th Infantry Regiment, look at a map and discuss plans for a route reconnaissance mission on Nov 5. Approximately 250 Soldiers with the Missouri Army National Guard are training with the Japanese military as part of Orient Shield 11 in northern Japan during early November. (Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mike Chrisman)  

KUMI-FURANO, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

11.05.2010

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Japan

By Sgt. 1st Class Mike Chrisman

KAMI FURANO, Japan – “I would go to war teamed up with the Japanese any day,” said Pvt. Jonathan Rouse of Kansas City, Mo., a member of the Missouri Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, during route reconnaissance training on Nov. 5. Approximately 250 Soldiers from the battalion are spending two weeks in northern Japan, training with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, 26th Infantry Regiment.

Rouse was deployed to Iraq in 2009 as a member of a military police unit. He said working with the Iraqi military was much different than working with the Japanese military.

“The Japanese are a lot like us,” he said. “They are a lot easier to work with than the Iraqis.”

The Missouri Army National Guard has joined with approximately 200 members of the Japanese military to help improve joint operations, combat readiness and interoperability through tactical training exercises.

“Our counterparts perform the same jobs as we do, which makes it easier to communicate,” said Sgt. Akiko Oota of Chitose, Japan, a member of Japan’s 11th Infantry Regiment. She is supporting the exercise as an interpreter, but is also one of four female soldiers in her 100-person Japanese mortar unit. With the exception of a cook or truck driver, females are not allowed in a mortar or infantry company in the U.S. Army.

“Many female soldiers can run with the best of us,” said Staff Sgt. Chad Oyer of Springfield, Mo., a member of the 138th. “If they can do the job and keep up…”

With wars ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers have had a lot of exposure to different cultures. Most soldiers working with the Japanese note distinct differences.

“The biggest difference (between Japan and the Middle East) is the cultural similarities between Japan and the U.S.,” said Staff Sgt. Van Malter of Columbia, Mo., a soldier with the 138th. Malter and Oyer both deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and worked with the Afghans for nearly a year as part of one of the first Agri-Business Development Teams. “The Japanese and U.S. cultures are more technologically advanced than Afghanistan. Many Japanese also speak English, which makes training with them much easier than training with the Afghans.”

Approximately 25 of the Japanese soldiers participating in the two-week operation speak fluent English, which helps make the training between the two countries easier.

“It’s sometimes difficult to understand the American way of thinking,” Oota said. “Communication is different, but very important. It’s nice to see a lot of our training is the same, and we can also communicate with our hands.”

Similar to schools in the United States teaching Spanish, Oota said Japanese students learn English in junior high and high school.

U.S. and Japanese soldiers have been participating in Orient Shield exercises since 1997. Orient Shield 11 officially kicked off Nov. 2 at Camp Kumi-Furano training area in Hokkaido, Japan, and concludes Nov. 11. Besides Soldiers from the Missouri Army National Guard, the training also includes logistical support from National Guardsmen in New Hampshire, Illinois, Washington and Nevada. This year’s training marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. The agreement between the U.S. and Japan bound both countries to support each other from enemy attack.

“They’re a great bunch of guys and it’s been great working with them,” Oyer said. “We are all learning a lot from this great experience.”

• Date Taken: 11.05.2010
• Date Posted: 11.05.2010 22:24
• Story ID: 59535
• Location: KUMI-FURANO, HOKKAIDO, JP