ACTIVITIES
FY2020 Japan-U.S. Bilateral Command Post Training Exercise Yama Sakura (YS-79)
The JGSDF conducted the Japan-U.S. bilateral command post exercise Yama Sakura (YS-79) with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps from December 2nd to 15th.
The name of this exercise “Yama Sakura” derives from the combination of “Yama” of Mt. Fuji as a symbol of U.S. Army Forces Japan and “Sakura” as of JGSDF, which indicates the bilateral cooperation.
This year, the Western Army of the JGSDF mainly conducted command and staff activities for anti-landing and operations including remote islands with the ground components of the U.S. Forces upon their respective chain of commands for the bilateral operation.
The conduct of such exercise under the current circumstances of COVID-19 contributes to demonstrating the ironclad bond between Japan and the U.S., as well as to further enhancing the Japan-U.S. Alliance.
Operation Christmas Drop
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) conducted a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise called Christmas Drop in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and other regions from December 2nd to 14th. The exercise was conducted in the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the FSM, and their surrounding airspaces. This marked the sixth participation in this exercise for JASDF.
In this exercise, one C-130H aircraft and approx. 20 personnel from the Air Support Command 1st Tactical Airlift Group (Komaki Air Base) trained in material packaging and cargo drop with three C-130J aircraft of the U.S. Air Force upon taking the appropriate measures for COVID-19.
The materials dropped during the exercise were the donated supplies collected by the U.S. Air Force and charity organizations. Those supplies were packaged by donators and participants of this exercise before dropping.
This exercise is also a valuable opportunity for the JASDF to train in water drop, which is difficult to conduct within Japan, and the continuous conduct of such exercise contributes to enhancing the capability of the JSDF. Through this exercise, the JASDF also improved the relationship among the Pacific Island countries.
Sub Navigation
