Ceremony kicks off bilateral exercise in mainland Japan

Photo By Spc. Leigh Campbell | Marines with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, and soldiers with 1st Combined Brigade, Western Army, Japanese Ground Self Defense Force, mark the beginning of Exercise Forest 2007 Light with a Kagamiwari ceremony Jan. 29 on Camp Kengun, Japan.  

OYANOHARA MANEUVER AREA, JAPAN

02.09.2007

Story by Lance Cpl. Kevin Knallay 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

By Lance Cpl. Juan D. Alfonso
III Marine Expeditionary Force PAO

OYANOHARA MANEUVER AREA, KYUSHU, Japan -- Eighty-nine Marines and sailors with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division kicked off Exercise Forest Light 2007 Jan. 29 during a ceremony at the Oyanohara Maneuver Area, Kyushu, Japan.

Forest Light is an annual bilateral field training exercise between III MEF Marines and the Japan Ground Self Defense Force. This year, the JGSDF is represented by soldiers from the 1st Combined Brigade, Western Army from Camp Naha, here on Okinawa.

During the opening ceremony, Brig. Gen. Mastin M. Robeson, the 3rd Marine Division commanding general, emphasized the importance of bilateral training with the JGSDF and the similarities between the two culture's warriors.

"I am reminded that the samurai spirit and the Marine Corps are very much the same," Robeson said. "The samurai ethos is about as close to what we consider to be the Marine Corps ethos in the Pacific."

The American service members and Japanese soldiers celebrated the beginning of the exercise later that night at Camp Kengun near Kyushu with a Kagamiwari, a traditional Japanese ceremony performed at the beginning of a significant event in the hopes of bringing success to all of those involved. The ceremony consists of opening a sake cask by smashing the lid with a wooden mallet.

"This is the first time I've ever done any cross training with the Japanese Army," said Lance Cpl. Alex J. LaRosa, a combat engineer with CAB. "They're pretty motivated and I can't wait to work with them."

JGSDF Lt. Col. Susumu Kokuba, the public affairs officer for the JGSDF's 1st Combined Brigade, Western Army, said the Japanese troops look forward to learning from the Marines' war fighting experience and relish the opportunity to train as a company rather than being limited to platoon level training as they are at Camp Naha.

"Our tactics are based on book knowledge," Kokuba said. "The Marine Corps has very advanced real-world combat experience that we hope to learn from."

Forest Light is scheduled to conclude Feb. 11.

• Date Taken: 02.09.2007
• Date Posted: 02.09.2007 08:47
• Story ID: 9097
• Location: OYANOHARA MANEUVER AREA, JP