Asia-Pacific
U.S. Marines train JGSDF joint terminal attack controllers on Okinawa for future Sakishima operations
5th ANGLICO and Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force trained on Okinawa to certify Japanese JTACs, with an eye to directing coalition air support in the Sakishima Islands.
U.S. Marines from the 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (5th ANGLICO) and soldiers of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) trained together on Okinawa in mid-September to certify Japanese joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs), the specialists who direct aircraft onto ground targets, according to a U.S. Marine Corps account released through DVIDS on 22 October.
The training ran from 14 to 17 September at Camp Hansen and the W-174 Joint Okinawa Training Range Complex. The U.S. unit belongs to III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group. Its Japanese counterparts came from the Fire Leading Company of the Field Artillery Battalion, part of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB).
What the course covered
The programme moved from classroom and simulator work to live flying. Students first used the Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer, a 270-degree dome simulator, then carried out dry close air support, meaning attack procedures rehearsed without live ammunition, at Camp Hansen. They also patrolled with simulated aircraft support in the Central Training Area and finished with live-fire close air support at the W-174 range complex.
JGSDF Sgt. Maj. Shota Mieno completed an instructor qualification evaluation during the event and became the force’s newest JTAC instructor, the release said. He also taught U.S. Marine Corps JTAC and joint fires observer students in simulation and academic classes. Sgt. Maj. Tomoya Tasaki, a JGSDF evaluator, said both classes met the required standards.
Why it matters
The Marine Corps says the course supports Japan’s effort to build its own enlisted JTACs. It is also meant to prepare the ARDB to direct coalition aircraft fires in support of operations in the Sakishima Islands. Japanese and U.S. forces have also exercised in the area, as Geopolitiki reported when Keen Sword 27 opens on Ishigaki with 45,000 Japanese and 11,000 U.S. personnel and seven partner nations.
Staff Sgt. Derek Rush, a joint fires integrator with 5th ANGLICO, described the role in the release as one in which “JTACs are fires integrators and the lynchpin of the combined arms team.” He added that the unit hopes the training “serves as a test run for future training with ARDB.”
The account does not give the number of students certified or describe any follow-on schedule beyond that stated hope. The details above rest on the Marine Corps release alone.