The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The weather has warmed up. The grass is beginning to turn green. Today we had a huge thunderstorm. Spring has arrived to the Kanto Plain. It seems fitting that, with the change from winter to spring, the Joint Support Force for Operation Tomodachi begins to draw down. Many personnel have departed already. The main focus of operations is now transition. Not a simple return to the USFJ structure pre-quake, instead a slightly beefed up HQ will remain. The need remains for better consequence management for US bases here on Honshu.
We have done some good work here both is providing humanitarian assistance as well as assisting the government of Japan with options for managing the disaster at Fukushima. Having lived in Japan for a number of years I was more than happy to jump into this fray. But… still having such a large force in Japan so long after 1945 is a bit disconcerting. It is yet more proof that the US is an empire. During the operation, personnel had to be reminded repeatedly to remove the word “Foreign” from “Foreign Humanitarian Assistance” in briefings. The correct term was to be simply “Humanitarian Assistance”. After all, we are the foreigners here, we should not be briefing the Japanese, stating we are providing Foreign Humanitarian Assistance. Walking the halls of USFJ I have glanced numerous times at the paintings that line the walls. They are like the paintings in any military HQ. Tonight though, it struck me how bizarre it must be for the Japanese SDF Officers walking these halls. We are in Japan and lining our walls are paintings of Navy Wildcat fighters scrambling on Saipan to attack the Japanese as well as Naval engagements from the Pacific war. I suddenly wondered how the Japanese must feel seeing paintings of their defeat on proud display in their own country. Only an empire would have the balls to pull that.
The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The weather has warmed up. The grass is beginning to turn green. Today we had a huge thunderstorm. Spring has arrived to the Kanto Plain. It seems fitting that, with the change from winter to spring, the Joint Support Force for Operation Tomodachi begins to draw down. Many personnel have departed already. The main focus of operations is now transition. Not a simple return to the USFJ structure pre-quake, instead a slightly beefed up HQ will remain. The need remains for better consequence management for US bases here on Honshu. 
We have done some good work here both is providing humanitarian assistance as well as assisting the government of Japan with options for managing the disaster at Fukushima. Having lived in Japan for a number of years I was more than happy to jump into this fray. But… still having such a large force in Japan so long after 1945 is a bit disconcerting. It is yet more proof that the US is an empire. During the operation, personnel had to be reminded repeatedly to remove the word “Foreign” from “Foreign Humanitarian Assistance” in briefings. The correct term was to be simply “Humanitarian Assistance”. After all, we are the foreigners here, we should not be briefing the Japanese, stating we are providing Foreign Humanitarian Assistance. Walking the halls of USFJ I have glanced numerous times at the paintings that line the walls. They are like the paintings in any military HQ. Tonight though, it struck me how bizarre it must be for the Japanese SDF Officers walking these halls. We are in Japan and lining our walls are paintings of Navy Wildcat fighters scrambling on Saipan to attack the Japanese as well as Naval engagements from the Pacific war. I suddenly wondered how the Japanese must feel seeing paintings of their defeat on proud display in their own country. Only an empire would have the balls to pull that. 
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