Japanese, U.S. Marines hold airborne combat drills

What we need is more drones and long range missiles defenses. These kind of troops are useless once they get bombarded with artillery and missiles.

As we saw in Ukraine, all military bases and airfields get hit on the first day.

Hiro, NK would go through Japanese defenses, like a knife through butter, lucky Japan do not border NK, like the US border Russia

Does it have to be be this way? I guess over 90% of the population in the world are against the war and i thought all the paperwork will sort out these problems.

So our tax goes to these unnecessary action. I want my hardworking tax to be paid to build the good society and towards poor people where in some countries, millions are dying on hunger.

Sharpening your swords in the daylight is the most peaceful way to let the neighbors know you always have them at the ready, …

if needed.

NK would go through Japanese defenses, like a knife through butter, 

How, exactly would a country with close to zero sea/airlift capability launch an amphibious operation that even the US Marine Corps decided was too risky?

“We told Russia we are watching its intensifying military activity with grave concern."

If there's anything to be learned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it's that Russia cannot be trusted, that not a word spoken byPutin and Lavrov can be believed and, they'll use gas and oil as leverage to get what they want, then will send the Neanderthal Russian military to slaughter civilians and destroy infrastructure if they don't get it. Japan's reliance, like most other nation's, on burning huge amounts of gas and oil has made it vulnerable to the whims of a madman like Putin, and further polluted the air we breathe and the water we drink.

On the ground joint training is good, but it's the dithering old geezers in the government who will make or break any response. No one will make the call because it's not in their DNA, they will work on consensus and end up a day late and a dollar short.

The SDF soldiers in the photos are wearing some form of MILES or ITAS laser tag (for lack of a better word) gear. I remember training with the SDF with similar gear. I can tell you, they are no pushovers when it comes to land combat.

On the ground joint training is good, but it's the dithering old geezers in the government who will make or break any response. No one will make the call because it's not in their DNA, they will work on consensus and end up a day late and a dollar short.

It didn't turn out that way in 2013 when South Korean and Japanese troops were part of a UN mission in South Sudan. Rebels had a South Korean force under fire and they were running out of ammunition. The Japanese forces were the only ones in the force with compatible ammo. The Japanese government made a quick decision to allow Japanese troops to re-arm the South Koreans under fire. Having forces under actual fire kind of focuses peoples minds. It did in this instance, and it wasn't even Japanese troops who were in danger.

What we need is more drones and long range missiles defenses. These kind of troops are useless once they get bombarded with artillery and missiles.

The high technology stuff is necessary against a peer enemy but if you intend to hold your ground against an advancing enemy there is no substitute for a well trained ground force of your own. A ground force is what is going to keep the Chinese off the beach of a small and otherwise possibly uninhabited Japanese island and prevent the Chinese from setting up shop there. You know your own land better than your enemy does. Make full use of that advantage.

BackpackingNepal

Does it have to be be this way? I guess over 90% of the population in the world are against the war and i thought all the paperwork will sort out these problems.

So our tax goes to these unnecessary action. I want my hardworking tax to be paid to build the good society and towards poor people where in some countries, millions are dying on hunger.

"War and courage have accomplished more great things than love of one’s neighbour. Not your pitying but your bravery has so far saved the unfortunate." (Friedrich Nietzsche)

GOTEMBA, Shizuoka

Japanese and U.S. Marines had their first airborne landing and combat training together on Tuesday

”Airborne landing” would mean parachute operations. In this case, Air Assault, air mobile, or heliborne would be a more suitable term.

Those Ospreys are so loud. They might be able to fly faster than a chopper and land vertically, but you can sure hear them coming. Lots of dust too. Probably easy targets for SAMs aswell.

@socrateos

These soldiers fighting for their country to save their pride or to feed their family, either way they are already failed to understand to live their one life.

And the leaders are having nice dinner everyday and their families are settled and relaxed at various preferred countries.

Those Ospreys are so loud. They might be able to fly faster than a chopper and land vertically, but you can sure hear them coming. Lots of dust too. Probably easy targets for SAMs as well.

What's the point? Any helicopter or airplane like the Osprey is "loud", tell me any aircraft that you CANT hear coming?

Japanese, US Marines hold airborne combat drills:

So US & its strongest ally mean business, are they getting ready for a likely explosive situation in East Asia?

They should never instigate Taiwan to go independent and purposely provoke China to start a war. Never ever..

日美海军陆战队举行空降作战演习：

那么，美国及其最强大的盟友意味着，他们是否准备好应对东亚可能出现的爆炸性局势？

绝不能煽动台湾独立，故意挑衅中国发动战争。永远不能..

The Ukraine invasion showed the world that Russia can not not trusted. Whenever Russia conducts "drills" they must be observed very carefully as it can easily be a lead up to an invasion. The JGSDF are mostly placed in Hokkaido, but I'd like to see a USMC presence there as well. The US did not put a base in Hokkaido as to not "provoke" the Russians on the Southern Kurilies, but Russia has gone ahead to militarize them and continues to do so. I believe it is a mistake to not respond accordingly.

The JGSDF are mostly placed in Hokkaido, but I'd like to see a USMC presence there as well. 

Over the past decade, Japan has been restructuring its force distribution to be more focused on the SW islands, rather than the massed armored divisions In Hokkaido.

The SDF is aiming for a more mobile tactically dispersed force.

A USMC presence in Hokkaido would be unnecessary, as Misawa AB can respond immediately, and a battalion sized MEU from Okinawa can deploy within 24hrs.

Readiness is essential, so this is good news.

Fighting takes place in many shapes and forms. For example, one of the reasons for the Ukrainians have been fighting so effectively has been because of the presence of U.S. special forces being there for the past several years. There’s nothing wrong with being prepared for every possibility.

@BeerDeliveryGuy

Yes I have been watching the JASDF restructuring towards defense of the SW islands due to the inceasing threat from China. Even transporting Tanks from Hokkaido all the way to the south of Japan.I am aware that US forces can help defend Hokkaido easily if needed.

But the continuous milotary build up on the 4 islands, and the increasing Russian naval presence, one even jointly with China, calls for a increased highly visible US presence, both USN/JMSDF drills and land drills in Hokkaido.

@shipnews

The USMC and Air, Ground and Maritime SDF already conduct the annual division scale joint exercise Resolute Dragon in Hokkaido.

The USN and MSDF also regularly conduct security and ASW drills around Hokkaido.

They should never instigate Taiwan to go independent and purposely provoke China to start a war. Never ever..

Taiwan is already an independent country the last time I checked…

The basic million dollar question for me is can 'US of A' be really trusted as a reliable ally in times of crisis? Historically the US of A has in many regions back tracked and it's simply twisting of words for them. Many examples and most recent being Ukraine, and of course the cowardly retreat from Kabul is not forgotten by the world. The common citizens of US of A may be honest and straight forward, but is the Government of US of A likewise?

It is better that Japan gradually reduces is dependency on US of A. It is this dependency that makes US of A think that it continues to be a super power.

and of course the cowardly retreat from Kabul is not forgotten by the world

Do you think the retreats from Vietnam and Iraq were also cowardly? I think the Biden admin is walking a thin line in terms of how much help its willing to give the Ukrainian resistance. Its one thing to be a "trusted as a reliable ally" and another to risk nuclear war over.

I think you are correct though, that Japan should reduce its dependency on the US. Not because the US can or can't be trusted, but because US Foreign policy and diplomacy are not in the interests of creating peace, but creating tensions and making more money for the Military Industrial Complex.

KenchiToday 12:08 pm JST

They should never instigate Taiwan to go independent and purposely provoke China to start a war. Never ever..

Taiwan is already an independent country the last time I checked…

5( +6 / -1 )

No, not according to the deliberately ambiguous policy of Taiwan's powerful friends. The assumption was that if "officially" Taiwan were regarded as part of China, China would play along and leave it alone. Uhuh...It was also assumed that China would not swallow up Hong Kong...

Several commenters have mentioned the war in Ukraine.

In my opinion, it is wrong not to support Ukraine with American and NATO air forces. The Russians have decided that is well and proper for them to violate Ukrainian air space, and the Western powers should show that it is also well and proper for them to use Ukrainian air space. In fact, given that the NATO air forces far outnumber and are far superior qualitatively to the Russian Air Force, declaring the Russians persona non grata in Ukrainian air space seems very reasonable. As for the argument that Putin would then start a nuclear war, does that make any sense? A nuclear war would be suicide for Putin. Does he have a death wish?

The high technology stuff is necessary against a peer enemy but if you intend to hold your ground against an advancing enemy there is no substitute for a well trained ground force of your own.

Straight from the Infantry Leaders Course MCWP.

”No major conflict has ever been won without boots on the ground. In military operations, land power is the ability by force or threat of force, to control regions, populations, and resources.”

U.S. marines have not launched an amphibious assault in 72 years. The marines are an antiquated branch of the armed forces and irrelevant. An amphibious assault would never reach shore - anti-ship missiles can reach five miles out to sea in 30 seconds.

The Ukraine is NOT a member of NATO.

Death Wish. NATO violating Russian and Ukrainian airspace would be an act of war. And completely insane.

Russia has been very conditional in its assault on the Ukraine. In Grozny, Russia flattened the city with no care for civilians. Look at images of Aleppo - destroyed by Russia. So far they haven't engaged in carpet bombing and outright genocide. You wan to up the carnage, NATO is the way to go. Russia will level the place by conventional means and create an upper steppe desert.

The use of NATO aircraft would result in the complete destruction of the Ukraine and WW3.

War is not a game. And the Russian air force and missile systems are easily the equal of NATO. here is no valor in war, nor is it a noble pursuit, at best it is fratricide. Dying for one's country, what possible meaning does that have - to work for peace is indeed noble and gracious.

The Ukraine as a neutral state and not a member of NATO will end the war.

@Hiro Japan just received a new drone a Global Hawk!

What we need is more drones and long range missiles defenses. These kind of troops are useless once they get bombarded with artillery and missiles.

@Yubaru

Those Ospreys are so loud. They might be able to fly faster than a chopper and land vertically, but you can sure hear them coming. Lots of dust too. Probably easy targets for SAMs as well.

What's the point? Any helicopter or airplane like the Osprey is "loud", tell me any aircraft that you CANT hear coming? I know of one, only those in the need to know know!! If you know what I mean!

Great, wearing NBC Gear, now we know what to expect from china

My mistake, that’s a COVID Mask, lol. Oh, the other guy is “Can’t ing”, his rifle, see it ?

The use of NATO aircraft would result in the complete destruction of the Ukraine and WW3.

WW3 yes. But it will lead to the destruction of Russia, not Ukraine.

War is not a game. And the Russian air force and missile systems are easily the equal of NATO. here is no valor in war, nor is it a noble pursuit, at best it is fratricide. Dying for one's country, what possible meaning does that have - to work for peace is indeed noble and gracious.

Then Russia shouldn't have invaded a nation, starting WW3. This is all on them, though we may all pay. But no more can we stand by and let authoritarian nations impede upon their neighbors. The frogs of the world have realized just how hot its getting in the soup pot.

Putin has started WW3. Once you get it out of your head that it might happen, and accept that Putin has already started it, we can start making realistic plans on how to deal with the world's Putin problem.

Care to take a Poll of all the foreign nationals in the country willing to fight…Japan won’t be a pushover either Xi.

Imagine the JSDF and JMSDF will be on alert to move immediately deploy assets to these areas, if needed.

As with Operation Tomadachi in 2011, the U.S., (and presumedly the other members of AUKUS in the area) will most likely offer and render aid if accepted.

According to the last USN update: “the USS Ronald Reagan began a four-month selected restricted availability at Yokosuka, Japan, Jan. 13, 2022*” -

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/SavedNewsModule/Article/2904087/uss-reagan-begins-sra-following-5th-7th-fleet-deployments/

(*Their present location may have changed given Russia’s current recent war on Ukraine.)

Do you think the retreats from Vietnam and Iraq were also cowardly? I think the Biden admin is walking a thin line in terms of how much help its willing to give the Ukrainian resistance. Its one thing to be a "trusted as a reliable ally"

@Kumagaijin in my view the retreats from Vietnam and Iraq were definitely cowardly and a big example of the failure of US Intel. The invasions / interference of US in any overseas territory is only for its ulterior motive's but done in the name of democracy and human rights . The Biden Gov is not even walking the thin line, but proved itself a paper tiger. Like Work From Home, the Biden Gov seems to be Fighting from Home. And the announcement of Ukraine that it would not join NATO clearly shows that the uncle of NATO AKA US of A cannot be trusted in any way.

U.S. marines have not launched an amphibious assault in 72 years. The marines are an antiquated branch of the armed forces and irrelevant. An amphibious assault would never reach shore - anti-ship missiles can reach five miles out to sea in 30 seconds.

No, not correct. In 2002 the Marines conducted the longest range amphibious assault in history. An entire MEF was airlifted by Marine Corps helicopters from ships of TF-58 in the North Arabian Sea all the way over Pakistan to a dirt airfield called "Rino" just south of Kandahar Afghanistan. The whole force went by air. General Mattis led the assault. The helicopters were all refueled in flight by USMC KC-130s since there was no fuel at Rino yet. General Mattis made a decision to leave all of his artillery back on the ships to speed up the assault (sling loading howitzers and the trucks to pull them is slow painstaking flying) and instead relied entirely on precision guided munitions from Navy and Marine aircraft to provide his force with close air support. No other nation has ever pulled off an amphibious operation of this kind and it hints at the kinds of stand off ranges possible with modern amphibious warfare. You don't necessarily even need a beach any more. This assault went over 400 miles inland.

Since then the Marines have abandoned being a big ground army and are becoming a maritime strike force. They are completely re-equipping and reforming their organization as they experiment with Littoral Regiments. They have been wargaming this for a couple of years. Now they are implementing. The idea is to put a force of 75 to 85 Marines on a small island somewhere (use your imagination but the eastern Med has a lot of these too along with some owned by Norway conveniently in the way of Russian shipping) using much smaller landing ships than the big deck LHAs and big dock LPDs and LSDs they use in the MEF. They would bring ashore anti-ship guided missiles and guided rockets (the next generation of MLRS will have guidance) mounted on robotic trucks and, in coordination with Navy air and surface forces attack enemy shipping. Think hammer and anvil with the Navy driving the enemy fleet at the Marines ashore. The force could deploy and set up quickly, shoot and egress back to their ships. The ships will be small enough and sort of civil looking so they can blend in with other civil shipping in crowded sea lanes. The Marines have already transferred all of their tanks and most of their big field guns to the Army and are procuring a couple of different anti-ship missiles along with the robotic trucks to carry them.

https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2708146/marine-littoral-regiment-mlr/

@Kumagaijin in my view the retreats from Vietnam and Iraq were definitely cowardly and a big example of the failure of US Intel. 

Wait a minute. The US still has forces in Iraq fighting Daesh. Saddam is gone and Iraq is slowly sorting itself out. There is no tradition of democratic self rule in that part of the world but Muqtada Al Sadr seems to be aiming in the right direction if they can find a Kurdish VP candidate that passes muster with the Iraqi courts.

The US early in its history was almost ungovernable under the original Articles of Confederation. It would be another 12 years before the US adopted its current Constitution and even that document had fatal flaws that almost guaranteed the resulting Civil War that came not that long afterwards.

The loss of the Vietnam war was a political failure. Congress and sequential Presidents would never allow the US military to attack North Vietnamese forces freely and defeat them. Important targets like harbors and airports were often off limits to attack. The limitations put on US forces for political reasons doomed that war to failure. When you give the military clear goals, the means to achieve it and then step back and let the military do their job you get something like Desert Storm.

"...Russian fleet crossed the Tsugaru Strait between Aomori on the northern tip of Japan's main island and Hokkaido."

I've been there, on both sides of the strait. I've travelled under it on the shinkansen, and on the water. Who, in his demented mind in the Japanese government allowed such a thing?

Who, in his demented mind in the Japanese government allowed such a thing?

The Tsugaru Strait are international waters. Ships from any nation are free to sail through it. Inside the straits Japan's territorial waters only extend 3 nautical miles from shore, leaving a lane of international waters between Hondo and Hokkaido.