24th
Pacific Armies Management Seminar
Building a Bridge of Confidence
- continued -
The delegates also participated in the "Inter-Syndicate Sports Program," held the second morning of the seminar. During the sports program, they divided up into their five syndicate groups and played volleyball, basketball, and participated in a "dribble" relay with soccer balls.
Maj. Gen. Jan Arp from the Canadian Army observed, "The games provided an excellent opportunity, in a very informal setting, for everyone to get to know each other. I think everyone was a winner here and the sporting event represents the ‘One Team’ concept very well. I believe it was helpful in developing relationships between our military forces."
PAMS delegates were also treated to a sightseeing tour around Tokyo and the opportunity to attend a sumo wrestling match. Spouses of the delegates had a daily sightseeing schedule, which included visits to the Tokyo National Museum, a Japanese tea ceremony, the Oriental Bazaar, Mount Fuji, and a bat cave near Mount Fuji.
The Japan Defense Agency held a reception designed to help the delegates better understand the situation in and around Japan. Attendance at the Fuji Firepower Demonstration allowed PAMS delegates to observe the technology, equipment and capabilities of the JGSDF. Infantry, field artillery and armored units demonstrated their firepower, while paratroopers jumped in against a strong wind. Approximately 1,700 personnel, 60 aircraft, 60 tracked vehicles and 70 artillery pieces participated in the firepower demonstration.
At the closing banquet, the guest of honor, Gen. Yuji Fujinawa, Chairman of the Joint Staff Council of the Japan Self-Defense Force, praised the delegates on their success during the seminar. The two co-hosts, Lt. Gen. Smith and Lt. Gen. Koyanagi, then sealed the PAMS XXIV time capsule.
At the closing ceremonies, Lt. Gen. Koyanagi and Lt. Gen. Smith praised the delegates for their accomplishments and presented mementos of PAMS XXIV to the participants. They then passed the PAMS flag to the Malaysian delegation, which will co-host PAMS XXV in 2001, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Brig. Gen. Dató Abdul Aziz bin Hj Zainal, from Malaysia and the co-chairman of PAMS XXV, said, "This is a challenging job, but we will do our best to maintain the standard of achievement of PAMS XXIV organized by the JGSDF. We learned quite a bit while we were here and we will make your visit to Malaysia next year a memorable one."
For additional information on PAMS and to obtain the speeches, presentations and syndicate findings from PAMS XXIV, please visit the PAMS web site at http://www.usarpac.army.mil/home.htm, then select the link for "PAMS."
If you are not registered on APAN, select "registration page" to acquire the needed APAN registration, then proceed to "PAMS" from http://www.usarpac.army.mil/home.htm.
