Guardsmen to train with Japane Defense Forces

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Soldiers of the Missouri National Guard's Detachment 1, C Company, 1st Battalion, 1/138th Infantry Regiment in Perryville will take part in military exercises the next two weeks with Japanese Defense Forces.

Perryville Guardsmen will join the rest of their battalion, the 1/138th Infantry Regiment headquartered in Kansas City and with units in St. Louis, Boonville, Monett, Anderson and Jefferson City, for Operation Orient Shield. The training will take place Nov. 1-13 on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

"This is the first time many of our Soldiers have visited another country," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Devers, readiness noncommissioned officer Detachment 1, C Company. "This will be a great opportunity for them to see how another military trains and operates as well as learn how to work with a friendly force."

Within the first days of arriving, Soldiers will spend time meeting their Japanese counterparts and familiarize themselves with each other's customs, weapons systems, and training and work ethics.

"We'll get to see how they operate and they'll get to see how we operate," said Devers.

Over the two-week training period, one of the specific tasks the Detachment 1, C Company will conduct with the Japanese Defense Forces is the forward and passage of lines. The task involves a unit or group of Soldiers coordinating to pass through an area that is being secured by another unit or group of Soldiers.

While the task may seem easy, it involves a lot of coordination and communication otherwise Soldiers can get hurt, said Devers.

"In a real-life situation we use code words and hand signals to alert the other unit that we're traveling through their area to get to where we need to go," said Devers. "We have to let them know it's us so they don't shoot us and we don't shoot them."

The Soldiers will also conduct a 72-hour battalion-level operation with their Japanese counterparts, but won't receive the specifics of the operation until they are overseas. This pushes the Soldiers skills to receive, prepare and conduct missions seamlessly and accurately in a limited time frame.

The skills they gain in Japan are important in the future training and missions the Soldiers will do in the future, said Devers.

"In a real-life situation if we get deployed we'll work with different military groups and this gives us the opportunity to learn how to cross the barriers of cultural differences and interact with friendly forces," said Devers. "It's a chance for Soldiers to train for that type of communication and exchanging of mission-specific information needed to guarantee a successful deployment."

Stood up just over two years ago, the 1/138th is considered a relatively new unit. As such, Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Kevin Fujimoto, of St. Louis, said the opportunity to train with allied forces is a major step in the unit's continued evolution as an effective fighting force.

"The battalion's participation in Orient Shield is the culmination of 26 months of hard training, including live fire shoot houses, months of patrolling, a battalion-level combined arms live fire exercise, and now a battalion-level air assault mission using 12 airframes piloted by the Japanese Army," Fujimoto said. "This demonstrates the relevance of the National Guard in meeting our nation's military obligations worldwide in support of our strategic partners."

Soldiers of Detachment 1, C Company are looking forward to the next two weeks and doing training they normally don't get to do.

Detachment 1, Company C will leave this weekend and will return on Nov. 13.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.