A U.S. Marine, right, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, monitors Air Force Staff Sgt. Ben Johnas, a survival, evasion, resistance and escape instructor with the 374th Operation Support Squadron, as he exits a C-130H Hercules aircraft assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron during a high altitude, low opening jump over Yokota Air Base, Japan, Aug. 11, 2014. (Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stephany Richards) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
By: FEDweek StaffLargely in response to building tensions with North Korea, Russia and China, the U.S. plans to elevate the status of its military presence in Japan. The newly established headquarters would replace the existing U.S. Forces Japan and report to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which is headed by a three-star flag officer. The change is now underway and would be completed in phases.
“We welcome an historic decision to modernize our alliance command and control to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during a press briefing conducted by both U.S. and Japanese officials. “The United States will upgrade U.S. Forces Japan to a joint force headquarters with expanded missions and operational responsibilities.”
Austin went on to call the change the most significant since U.S. Forces Japan was recreated some 70 years ago, adding that the new organization would be better poised to work collectively with the host nation to ensure regional security.
“We are reinforcing our combined ability to deter and respond to coercive behavior in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” Austin said. “We’re reinforcing the rules-based international order that keeps us all safe. And the agreements that we’ve advanced … will ensure that the U.S.-Japan alliance remains a cornerstone of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
The command is located at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It currently consists of roughly 54,000 U.S. military personnel from each of the armed services. Included are U.S. Army Japan and I Corps (Forward); III MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force) at Camp Courtney, Okinawa, and on southern Honshu; Commander Naval Forces Japan, to include the U.S. Seventh Fleet, operating primarily from Yokusuka Naval Station; and the Fifth Air Force.
There are also 45,000 dependents, 8,000 Defense Department civilian employees and 25,000 Japanese workers attached to the facilities.
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