U.S. military apologizes to school hit by falling helicopter window

The resumption of these flights at the earliest opportunity is essential for many reasons.

Train hard - fight easy...military folks need to train.

They also need the supplies that such machines ferry to and from the bases.

A breakdown in one link of the chain stops the whole machine.

You can't handle or don't like this situation then for Petes sake....move away!

The military ain't going anywhere. This continued bleating is becoming tiresome.

Oh... and somebody tell Onaga to take a break. I guarantee he'd be the first to knock on the base door asking to be let in if the Chinese stormed the beaches tomorrow.

Time to relocate the base.

U.S. military apologizes to school hit by falling helicopter window

What "school" was hit please?

No one was injured when the metal-framed window fell into the school near the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma last Wednesday, but the incident has renewed local anger about the safety risks posed by the U.S. military presence on the island.

Huh? Wasn't there a 10y.o. boy that was slightly hurt?

Parents of children at the affected school are among those unable to accept the resumption of flights so soon.

No doubt. "we are sorry, not sorry". They should've waited a little longer out of respect at least.

Prepare to bow at  the govonor in his office again

@maybe. He was voted in because okinawans do not want to be occupied by USA and care about their children, wives and not getting nuked by NK.

@mmw. I agree, Guam is not so far away to attack China.

I'm sure there's another more suitable place for relocating the base to, within the same region. It just shouldn't be right in the middle of a densely populated area. As for moving the US presence out of Japan, I think part of the reason to keep them there, is to reassure other Nations that the US will keep Japan in check.

What "school" was hit please?

This one:

Col. Darin Clarke, who manages the Marines' government and external affairs in the Pacific, apologized to Futenma Daini Elementary School

Or do you only consider the buildings as part of the school?

Recognizing I've twice now called you out on a public forum, please know I'm being sincere. I would fully expect the same.

Job Posting: Commander of US forces in Japan

Job Description: Just dish out apologies.

Pure comedy platinum.

There was a lot of Japanese happening in this exchange. The Capt, pledging to do his utmost, not eliminate, and the principal calling his BS pledge. USN was trumped by a Japanese at playing the Japanese game. Priceless.

As for moving the US presence out of Japan, I think part of the reason to keep them there, is to reassure other Nations that the US will keep Japan in check

That is certainly part of it, which undermines the assertion that Japan couldn't handle her own without the US.

Recognizing I've twice now called you out on a public forum, please know I'm being sincere. I would fully expect the same.

You have a hard time reading sarcasm! No "school" was hit, the window "hit" the ground.

@maybe. He was voted in because okinawans do not want to be occupied by USA

No he wasn't, he was voted in because of the nature of Okinawan politics, and Okinawa is most definitely NOT "occupied" by the US.

In answer to the often heard PR line, "Why do they build their houses and schools near the base then?" Or, "Futenma base was there first!" It wasn't. Five villages were bulldozed by US troops to build Futenma in 1945. This includes several family graves. Okinawans revere their ancestors and gather around the family grave several times a year. A few built around the bases because they worked there and wanted to be near work, but most of them chose that location because that's where their village and their family graves were.

If Tokyo and the US had any respect for Okinawa at all, they would vacate Futenma as has been promised countless times before and stop building the new base in Henoko.

US bases should be on US soil. Or, if they absolutely HAVE TO be here, they should pay rent equivalent to the amount that a local person would pay. And the rent should go to Okinawa, NOT TOKYO.

This school was built rather foolishly directly at the tip of a runway of a military base.

I have no idea why it was built there, and now in hindsight, seems like a bit of a bad idea.

If Onaga didn't block relocation of MCAS Futenma to Camp Schwab (its not a new base its an expansion on reclaimed land of an existing one) then this stuff would not happen. The less population dense area where aircraft can approach from the sea without flying over populated areas is all the USFJ and GOJ are asking for... The OPG is reaping what they sew at the expense of the citizens in this case.

I'm sure there's another more suitable place for relocating the base to, within the same region. It just shouldn't be right in the middle of a densely populated area.

there is its called Henoko only a small percentage of Okinawas population lives in the area

https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@26.5220564,128.0600461,3400m/data=!3m1!1e3

compared to Ginowan its a no brainer why its being moved

https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@26.2689938,127.7696862,7365m/data=!3m1!1e3

What goes up must come down.

Build schools away from army bases.

mmwkdwToday  06:43 pm JST

I'm sure there's another more suitable place for relocating the base to, within the same region. It just shouldn't be right in the middle of a densely populated area.

Everyone knew this back in the 90s. Futenma should be closed and Henoko should be the replacement. But the anti-US crowd including Okinawan politicians have managed to drag that move out for 20 years.

As for moving the US presence out of Japan, I think part of the reason to keep them there, is to reassure other Nations that the US will keep Japan in check.

Keep "Japan in check"? While China builds on and militarizes the South China Sea? The idea of S forces being in Japan to "keep it in check" ended in 1950. You're citing a myth,

It is getting to the point where regional stability and Japan’s national security is not worth the bad PR.

W h a t t o o k y o u s o l o n g ???

Onaga should blame himself as a land owner and developer who allowed buildings so near the bases and instead and pocketed his money over the years and now complaining about the bases, when in fact let the move happen as agreed. The blame is on the current Okinawa governor and his cohorts not the base.

Train hard - fight easy...military folks need to train.

There is no explanation for rehabbed or museum piece parts falling off planes. But the helicopters are also in the process of being replaced and upgraded which isn't necessarily a cause for the base being moved, yet.

 "Why do they build their houses and schools near the base then?" Or, "Futenma base was there first!" It wasn't. Five villages were bulldozed by US troops to build Futenma in 1945. This includes several family graves. Okinawans revere their ancestors and gather around the family grave several times a year. A few built around the bases because they worked there and wanted to be near work, but most of them chose that location because that's where their village and their family graves were.

Thank you for confirming that the base was there before the school!

That it happened to land in the yard, and not on the building, and without landing on a kid or two or three, was purely a matter of luck.

No matter how hard to try, it still did not hit any school. Was it a matter of luck that no one was hurt, yes, and from what I heard, they really had to search to find the boy who was "slightly injured" by a small flying rock, that may or may not have hit him because of the falling window. It's pure speculation, and no one is going to investigate it, because everyone wants to believe the worst case scenario.

As for moving the US presence out of Japan, I think part of the reason to keep them there, is to reassure other Nations that the US will keep Japan in check.

No, the reason the bases are there is to keep CHINA in check. 

Have you seen the recent news about China conducting military exercises near Taiwan, South Korea and Japan?     https://japantoday.com/category/politics/china's-warplanes-hold-drill-near-japan-south-korea-taiwan

In the event China ever attacks and invades and annexes Taiwan, U.S. military forces from Okinawa can be at the scene much quicker than from Guam.

No, the reason the bases are there is to keep CHINA in check. 

You don't reckon it could be both? Just one or the other?

You have a hard time reading sarcasm! No "school" was hit, the window "hit" the ground.

The ground that was hit was part of the entire complex that is the school. That said, I agree that most people take "school" to mean a building.

Your comment on not being able to read sarcasm is well received.