PHOTO CAPTIONS:

1. Exercise FOREST LIGHT 99 was the first time U.S. Marines trained with Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) infantrymen in Japan. About 500 troops from each country took part in 10 days of bilateral training.

2. FOREST LIGHT 99 is opened by Brig. Gen. Jerry Humble, USMC and Lt. Gen. Yoshio Bingo, JGSDF, at Kirishima Training Area, Japan.

3. 1st Sgt. Satoshi Kanumera patrols while clad in JGSDF NBC protective gear.

4. Pfc. Yoshitome Katusi, JGSDF, and LCpl. Jose Acevedo, USMC, compare machine guns during exercise cross-training.

5. A JGSDF soldier briefs U.S. Marines on JGSDF nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) defense procedures.

6. JGSDF soldiers explain the capabilities of their shoulder-fired anti-armor weapon to U.S. Marines.

7. A U.S. Marine reveals a hidden underground hide to JGSDF intelligence soldiers. A hide is dug out by Marine snipers to shelter two men and equipment in hostile territory for concealed living for up to two weeks.

8. A U.S. Marine sniper briefs well-camouflaged JGSDF soldiers before they begin a stalking and hiding exercise.

9. 1st Lt. Takanobu Fukakusa and 1st Lt. William T. Turner hold a discussion during exercise FOREST LIGHT 99.

10. A view of two snipers with faces revealed.

11. Leading Pvt. Naoki Kariya shouts to JGSDF
soldiers during an infantry exercise with U.S. Marines.

12. U.S. Navy medics and a simulated wounded Marine demonstrate U.S. combat casualty
procedures to JGSDF medics.

13. FOREST LIGHT successfully brought together Japanese and American infantrymen for shared training for the defense of Japan. Capt. Matthew Palma and Maj. Kazuaki Nishi march with their troops.

Cradled by the green hillsides of a small infantry training camp in the Kirishima Mountains of Japan, Japanese and U.S. Marines exchanged warm greetings at the opening ceremony for 10 days of bilateral training during exercise FOREST LIGHT 99.

The exercise, which teamed more than 1,000 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) soldiers and U.S. Marines, marked the first time the "Leathernecks" [nickname for U.S. Marines] have trained side by side with Japanese infantrymen here, said U.S. 3rd Marine Division Commander, Brig. Gen. Jerry Humble. He spoke to the Marines and soldiers in pre-exercise remarks on 5 November 1998. The exercise took place at the JGSDF Kirishima and Oyanohara Training Areas.

Most of the more than 500 Marines participating in FOREST LIGHT were from the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. The Marines arrived from Camp Hansen, Okinawa, where they were assigned temporarily as part of a seven-month-long deployment program. The JGSDF soldiers hosting and training with the Marines are assigned to the 24th Infantry Regiment, based at nearby Camp Ebino.

Learning about the U.S. Marines' tactics and weapons was an important exercise objective for many of the Japanese soldiers who participated. "The difference between U.S. Marines and Japanese soldiers is the experience," said JGSDF intelligence officer 1st Lt. Takanobu Fukakusa, as he sat on a hillside observing Marine snipers train with his soldiers. JGSDF soldiers assigned intelligence duties, said 1st Lt. Fukakusa, would perform missions in defense of Japan similar to snipers and reconnaissance Marines.

"Your Marines have real-world experience and operations," 1st Lt. Fukakusa explained. "Because the Japan Ground Self Defense Force is for security only," he observed that the JGSDF cannot get this kind of experience outside of Japan.

A platoon of 1st Lt. Fukakusa's soldiers spent a morning together with a platoon of Marine snipers practicing stalking and observation techniques. The snipers paired up with Japanese soldiers and helped them don special camouflage uniforms used by U.S. Marine snipers. In teams of two, the snipers and soldiers scattered into the surrounding hills and underbrush before attempting to creep within shooting range of an observation team. The mission was to move in together for an accurate shot without being spotted by observers equipped with high-powered binoculars.

"It is a pleasure to train with Marines because we can learn their battle skills," said 1st Lt. Fukakusa. "I study your camouflage methods, how your Marines move, and especially how your scouts think. The learning between the U.S. Marines and Japanese soldiers is very fine," 1st Lt. Fukakusa added.

"They are interested in our methods," said Sgt. Daniel Herman, one of his unit's most experienced snipers. "We do basically the same thing, just on different scales. They use more equipment-oriented methods. Where we'll go out with a pair of binoculars, they'll set up a ground surveillance radar," Sgt. Herman explained as he compared the differences between his Marines and the JGSDF soldiers.

"They were really interested in our equipment and the lessons learned in the Gulf War," said the nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) officer, CWO2 George Lawson, after providing several classes to JGSDF soldiers. CWO2 Lawson was surrounded by 30 attentive JGSDF soldiers as he passed around items of U.S. Marine Corps NBC field protective gear and lectured on how U.S. Marines operate in a contaminated battlefield environment.

After the Marines and JGSDF soldiers each had a chance to explain their NBC gear and methods, they trekked into the hillsides to conduct some actual battlefield scenarios. As Marines observed, JGSDF soldiers on patrol were attacked with simulated chemical agents and demonstrated their procedures as if the attack were real. A platoon of Marines then provided a similar NBC drill for the JGSDF soldiers to observe and critique.

The bilateral training continued through the week and culminated with a force-on-force battle scenario between Marines and JGSDF soldiers. Throughout the ten days spent together, Marines and JGSDF soldiers conducted dozens of training sessions. Training focused on command, combat, and support operations associated with battalion-sized infantry units, and included heavy weapons live-fire and maneuver, combat engineer demolitions, combat-service support capabilities and a mass-casualty medical scenario.

Aside from the combat engineer training, which included live detonations, no live fire was conducted at Kirishima Training Area. But a few hundred kilometers north at Oyanohara Training Area live-fire ranges, Marines fired M16A2 rifles, M249 SAW and M240G machine guns, 9mm pistols, AT4 and SMAW rockets.

Throughout FOREST LIGHT, the Marines rotated companies between Kirishima and Oyanohara for the live-fire training with JGSDF soldiers, said Gunnery Sgt. Dan Wilson, the operations chief. "The Marines and the JGSDF did not go through the live fire maneuver range together, but the (Japanese soldiers) got a chance to observe a totally different way of how the Marines do things," Gunnery Sgt. Wilson said.

"While the (Japanese) remained stationary during firing and waited until everyone was ready before moving to the next firing position, the Marines would have two platoons lay down a base of fire while another enveloped," Gunnery Sgt. Wilson explained. "The different styles of training were unique in nature, however, both were effective. The live fire gave both the Marines and JGSDF soldiers a better understanding of each others' capabilities and limitations by observing the two techniques used," Gunnery Sgt. Wilson added.

As a commander responsible for preparing his Marines for possible real-world missions, U.S. Lt. Col. Terence K. Kerrigan said training with the Japanese during FOREST LIGHT was a very valuable way to increase his unit's readiness. "Combined operations are inherently difficult," Lt. Col. Kerrigan said, "because of the language and equipment interoperability (challenges). So what we did is figure out how to do combined training and work around the (challenges)."

Lt. Col. Kerrigan said he reaped a high degree of professional satisfaction in seeing his Marines work through the challenges of language and equipment differences to make the exercise plan come together for a positive training experience with the Japanese soldiers. "I discovered that between the two forces - even though there are some differences in the language, the way they conduct operations and their equipment - there are more similarities between us than there are differences," he added.