National Guard infantry unit to train with Japanese Defense Forces

By Bill Phelan
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Soldiers of the Missouri National Guard's 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment will take part in military exercises next month with Japanese Defense Forces.

Operation Orient Shield will take place Nov. 1-13 on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and will involve hundreds of troops and at least a dozen helicopters.

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."

Battalion-level training opportunities, especially those involving multiple aircraft, rarely take place in Missouri.

"It would be a real challenge to get this type of training in Missouri simply because of the limited number of aircraft available for one mission," Fujimoto explained. "The Japanese are supplying enough aircraft to move the entire battalion in three lifts. As light infantry we don't have a lot of assets to move us around the battlefield so we use aircraft for speed and mobility."

In addition to the advantage of air power, training with allied forces on foreign soil is invaluable experience according to Command Sgt. Major, Paul Kennedy, the battalion's senior noncommissioned officer.

"Conducting this event on friendly foreign soil adds the realism of battle in the northern mountains of Hokkaido, Japan - conditions often seen in current military combat operations overseas," Kennedy said. "It's also an opportunity for the young Soldiers and NCO's of the regiment to demonstrate their abilities to close with and destroy the enemy."

"This gives the baseline U.S. Soldier face to face contact with friendly forces," added Sgt. 1st Class Terry J. Britton, the readiness NCO for C Company. "They will learn how to conduct themselves and how to handle the hurdles they will face with communication and coordination. So from that standpoint, this is a very important operation, especially for a unit that we started from scratch."

After attending two operational planning conferences with Japanese commanders, Fujimoto is impressed with the Japanese Defense Forces.

"The Japanese have a very experienced and professional army," Fujimoto said. "They have deployment experience in hot spots all over the world including Iraq and Haiti."

The 1/138th Infantry Regiment is headquartered in Kansas City and maintains units in St. Louis, Boonville, Perryville, Monett, Anderson and Jefferson City.


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

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For more information about this release, please contact UPAR Bill Phelan at 314-416-1868 or cell, 314-556-5428 or e-mail bill.phelan@us.army.mil .