Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brad Mincey | Sgt. 1st Class Sammie Robertson, Platoon Sergeant for 1st Platoon, A Company, 1-118th...... read more read more
SENDAI, Japan — One of the main purposes of North Wind 10 is to have interoperability and build camaraderie between the South Carolina National Guard and Japanese Ground Self Defense Force. Soldiers from both nations have many opportunities to do that during the two-week training period.
"Here, we've been able to train and give demonstrations to them and they have been able to do the same for us," said Sgt. 1st Class Sammie Robertson, Platoon sergeant for 1st Platoon, A Company, 1-118th Combined Arms Battalion. "There is very little difference in what we do."
He added the positions and formations may be different between the two armies, but the goal is the same — move from point A to point B undetected and maintain a 360 degree security perimeter.
During training missions, there are always lots of questions of why this was this done this way, how many Soldiers are there for this task and so forth. Language is constantly a barrier between the two groups, but there are several translators, and U.S. Soldiers are learning Japanese words like "tengi", which means a demonstration, "Enshu" which means exercise and "kunren" which means training. Camaraderie, and communication, is slowly building between them.
"I'm trying to learn some of the language," said Robertson, "so that we can better communicate."
For some Soldiers, communication hasn't been nearly as big of a problem as it has been for others. For one S.C. Guardsman, returning to Japan was sort of a home coming.
"I was raised in Japan," said Sgt. Joshua Hanafin, tank commander, Company D, 1-118th CAB. "I spent much of my childhood in Japan, but I haven't been here in 18 years. The first thing that hit me at Norita Airport is that things haven't really changed that much. The cartoons are the same, and the people are the same — very friendly."
As the days pass and the training progresses, there are still many opportunities to build relationships. In the evenings, there is a "Friendship Hall" where Soldiers from both nations gather, share food, culture and games. A cultural day is also planned where Soldiers will visit the city of Sendai, learn about its history and culture and spend some yen shopping.
| Date Taken: | 02.12.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2010 20:18 |
| Story ID: | 48106 |
| Location: | SENDAI, JP |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 111 |
This work, Building Camaraderie, Key Element of North Wind 2010, by SFC Brad Mincey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
