NAVAL AMPHIBIOUS BASE, CORONADO, Calif. -- Thirty Marines and sailors with Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and a company of 125 Japanese Ground Self Defense soldiers with the Western Army Infantry Regiment are conducting Exercise Iron Fist here Jan. 9 – 27.
The troops from the “Land of the Rising Sun” received training from the U.S. servicemembers during the joint exercise. According to I MEF spokesperson Capt. K. D. Robbins, the training was designed to make them more lethal amphibious warriors.
Traditionally a ground combat force, the Japanese soldiers trained to move a company-sized element from ship to shore more effectively, said Robbins, 32, of State College, Pa.
The training could prove valuable for the soldiers, making them a well-rounded fighting force that’s capable of conducting successful amphibious landings and storming the beaches, Robbins said.
On the fifth training day, 20 of the soldiers donned fins and slung M-16s on their backs and swam more than 4,000 meters in the chilly waters of the San Diego Bay, applying the skills they’d spent the past several days learning and perfecting.
The exercise, which will culminate with a nighttime beach assault at Camp Pendleton, benefited the Japanese soldiers, said Japanese Maj. Toshihiro Ibe, the Japanese Ground Self Defense spokesperson.
“We have a good time with Marines,” he said. “We gained skill and know-how from them (Marines) because they have lots of experience.”
Robbins echoed Ibe.
“The opportunity to work with our Japanese allies is invaluable,” he said. “They’re professional warriors, and we can learn from each other.”