Latest news with #StephenJost
Japan Times
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Coordination office marks first step in U.S. Forces Japan's shift to ‘warfighting' command
Since March this year, a small room at a U.S. base in central Tokyo has been at the heart of a historic transformation set to reshape how the U.S.-Japan alliance coordinates military operations, responds to emergencies and projects power. Located at the U.S. Army's Hardy Barracks, the room hosts a team of around a dozen experts from across the military that will play a key role in how U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) and the new Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command (JJOC) — plan and execute joint, multiservice missions going forward. The launch of the JJOC Cooperation Team (JCT) marks the first tangible step in plans announced last year to transform USFJ into a 'warfighting' joint force headquarters amid increasing concerns both in Japan and the U.S. over China's regional assertiveness and its growing military capabilities. The multiyear effort's ultimate aim is for USFJ to increase both its staff and the authority of its commander — currently three-star Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost — over the next few years to command and control forces in Japan, something that has long been the purview of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, of which USFJ is a component. According to Jost, who concurrently commands the Fifth Air Force, the transition from a liaison and planning body to a joint force headquarters will 'enable us to pool our resources, leverage our unique capabilities, and project power more effectively,' while integrating 'new capabilities' across the services. 'But it's not just warfighting. USFJ, whose main role has been alliance management, is growing in responsibility,' Lt. Col. Raffi Mnatzakanian, who leads the JCT's campaign planning, said in an interview. The head of the Self-Defense Forces' new Joint Operations Command, Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo (second from right), at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Eastern Army Headquarters in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, on July 17. | Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command 'It is essentially being placed in a position to not just coordinate activities, but also take a more active role in command-and-controlling U.S. forces in Japan,' he added, explaining that this applies to the entire spectrum of operations ranging from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to armed conflict. Experts say that in order to deal with major incidents, Japan would in the past often stand up a joint task force that would be authorized to manage all branches of the SDF. A joint task force was set up in response to the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami and nuclear disaster. In 2016, another one was created after a powerful earthquake rocked Kumamoto Prefecture. But things have changed since Tokyo first formally announced in late 2022 its intention to create a joint operations command. The unprecedented move also changed the calculus for the U.S. government, ultimately prompting Washington's decision to upgrade USFJ and launch the JCT — a standing organization, manned every day, that isn't only assembled during exercises or contingencies. This is significant, as the initial phase of the USFJ transformation, which is already under way, involves ramping up both operational and command-and-control capabilities. The moves primarily involve streamlining the traditionally alliance management-focused headquarters structure into a warfighting command and increasing key staff and resources. The JCT's main role will be to act as primary interlocutor and liaison between the two new independent command structures — the upgraded USFJ and the JJOC — and by doing so, eliminate the hitherto "ad-hoc" nature of joint operations. U.S. Marines take part in a joint airborne landing exercise with the Self-Defense Forces at Higashifuji training field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in March 2022. | REUTERS Officials did not provide a time frame for the USFJ reorganization, which is being funded by the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command, or the number of additional personnel to be added as part of the changes. But what's clear is that the transformation is still in its initial phase. 'Just four months ago, we moved into an empty room that had been used as a closet for furniture, so we were starting from scratch,' JCT Deputy Director Lt. Col. Bradley DiDuca said in an interview. The small JCT team, which is led by a colonel but ultimately under the purview of the USFJ commander, is focused on daily, in-person opportunities for collaboration between the two sides. In operation since March, when U.S. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth visited Japan, the JCT has already proven its worth, officials say, by first and foremost enabling much deeper relationships with its JJOC counterparts. 'It allows for more familiar relationships to be built during periods that are not exercise or contingency, meaning that we have an opportunity for more regular interactions with our Japanese counterparts leading up to those events,' DiDuca said. This, in turn, enables a better understanding of what Japan might request from the U.S., or vice versa, in response to any particular incident or crisis. This, DiDuca added, is partially also due to proximity. Hardy Barracks is much closer to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo's Ichigaya area than USFJ headquarters at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo. The U.S. Army's Hardy Barracks in central Tokyo hosts a team of experts that will play a key role in how U.S. Forces Japan and the new Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command plan and execute missions going forward. | GABRIEL DOMINGUEZ Communication between the JCT and JJOC is done in English, Japanese and with an interpreter. Some members of the JJOC are proficient enough in English to permit many interactions to occur in English-only while some JCT members are also proficient in Japanese. However, to ensure clarity, interpreters are often used. Earlier this month, the JJOC and the JCT had their first opportunity to put their growing ties to the test as Japan and the United States conducted a weeklong disaster-response exercise, known as a joint exercise rescue (JXR), that simulated a magnitude 7 earthquake striking the Tokyo Bay area. 'From the U.S. side, our participation in JXR was about coordinating the potential military support or assistance the U.S. could provide or offer to the SDF, which would be in charge of the Japanese government's response,' Mnatzakanian said. This included everything from handling transportation requests to providing medical and other support, he said. Jost, meanwhile, has said he expects the JCT to also continue to grow as USFJ expands its capabilities and authorities. Observers say that the JCT is only the first step on a transformational trail that is still being blazed. U.S. Forces Japan Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost greets the U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo, on July 23. | U.S. Air Force The next step will be to separate USFJ's longtime alliance management role from its developing warfighting functions. While the former will remain within the remit of the USFJ chief, it will be under a new organizational structure that reflects the changing composition of the command. According to a former U.S.-Japan alliance manager, a streamlining of the command-and-control structure with clearly defined roles for the new USFJ would mitigate all but the highest-level coordination misunderstandings and thus smooth out some of the bumps that routinely plague the alliance and the daily function of facilities allowed to be used under the bilateral Status of Force Agreement. This is important, the expert said, as the restrictions under which USFJ units operate in Japan — much stricter than those applied to U.S. units in South Korea — have given Washington pause during previous command-and-control revision discussions. Just how the ongoing transformation will ultimately change USFJ's operational relationships with the U.S. component commands forwarded-deployed in Japan — such as the III Marine Expeditionary Force, the 5th Air Force, U.S. Army Japan and the 7th Fleet — is still unclear. 'This remains in the planning phases,' USFJ spokesman Col. John Severns said. According to the former alliance manager, the greatest challenge to the ongoing transformation lies in the thought put into it ahead of time, including questions such as where the new USFJ will fit into contingency plans for Northeast Asia and beyond, and what new authorities the new command will be granted to enable it to accomplish its new mission. 'Only after answering those two questions can planners, policy, personnel, and logistics folks move ahead and determine how many personnel, and what types of specialties, are required to man such an organization.'
Asahi Shimbun
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
U.S. Forces Japan chief calls new command ‘historic' shift
The commander of U.S. Forces Japan said the recent decision by the Self-Defense Forces to establish a joint operations command was a 'historic development' that would be matched by greater coordination on the part of the U.S. military. Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost submitted an opinion piece to The Asahi Shimbun in which he explained the aim of the recently initiated Japan Self-Defense Force Joint Operations Command Cooperation Team, or JCT. During his late March visit to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the first steps had been taken to give U.S. Forces Japan operational command authority to eventually better coordinate with the SDF Joint Operations Command. Jost explained that the role of the JCT would be 'to further strengthen our bilateral ability to respond to crises or contingencies.' The team would serve as the 'primary interlocutor and liaison' between the SDF and U.S. Forces Japan, he said. He added that the team, 'marks the first tangible step we're taking to enhance our operational synergy with Japan.' Based in Tokyo, the JCT is 'a small team today, but it will continue to grow as USFJ expands its capabilities and authorities,' Jost said. He added that the primary mission of U.S. Forces Japan would result in a switch from 'alliance management' to integrating and synchronizing 'operations that span the spectrum ... from humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and armed conflict.' U.S. Forces Japan currently comes under the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, but will gradually increase its command authority over the next few years, Jost said. Touching on recent moves by Tokyo to possess the capability to strike at enemy bases preparing to launch missiles against Japan as well as sharply increase defense spending, Jost said they illustrate 'Japan's determination to serve in a leading role' in regional security. In the context of China's continuing military buildup, Jost said the decision to integrate the command-and-control structures would lead to 'deeper security cooperation while signaling a clear-eyed resolve to uphold stability, deter aggression and ensure a prosperous future' in the region. *** The following op-ed piece by Lt. Gen. Stephen Jost appeared in The Asahi Shimbun on June 28 under the headline, Advancing the Alliance: USFJ, JSDF transform future of Indo-Pacific Security The U.S.-Japan security alliance has entered a transformative era, most recently marked by Japan's establishment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Operations Command and the ongoing evolution of our U.S. Forces, Japan headquarters. The security, freedom and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific face increasing challenges from adversarial nations, primarily the People's Republic of China, and I can tell you firsthand that these threats are only intensifying. The security developments now in motion underscore a growing urgency to prioritize combat credible forces and reinforce our readiness to protect peace in the Indo-Pacific, and I welcome this new phase of our enduring alliance. During the recent Defense Ministerial meeting in Tokyo, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani reaffirmed the necessity of our collective transformation efforts, highlighting the increasingly severe security environment. 'We have a robust alliance agenda that will strengthen our deterrence posture, keep the enemy guessing, creating dilemmas for them, and ensure that we achieve peace through strength,' said Hegseth. I join both defense officials in celebrating the establishment of the Japan Self-Defense Force Joint Operations Command; a historic development reflecting Japan's commitment to a more integrated and agile security posture. But what is the Japan Self-Defense Force Joint Operations Command and why does it matter to USFJ and the broader alliance? The answer is an organization with increased functionality and requisite authorities. In other words, the new joint operations command will operate much like a Joint Force Headquarters to unify operational commands across the Japan Self-Defense Force. Japan's ability to provide a more comprehensive and timely response to emerging threats and natural disasters will significantly increase. This crucial step forward represents a key structural evolution and is being done in tandem with a growing defense budget marked by fundamental reinforcements in Japan's defense capabilities, including the acquisition of counterstrike capabilities. The combination of these measures signifies Japan's determination to serve in a leading role in providing regional security. Parallel to these changes, USFJ is transforming to better protect peace and security in the region. As we transition to a Joint Force Headquarters in the years ahead, we will integrate new capabilities across the joint warfighting functions, signaling an important shift to a more distributed and resilient force posture. Moving from a headquarters primarily charged with an alliance management mission to one that, in time, will integrate and synchronize operations that span the spectrum of operations from humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and armed conflict is a monumental task. Our aim is to field a capability that significantly enhances the depth of connectivity and warfighting effectiveness with our Japanese partners to strengthen the Alliance's deterrence. Growing USFJ in parallel with the Japan Self-Defense Force Joint Operations Command requires a collective vision and shared commitment, and I could not be more encouraged by the opportunities ahead. The most recent and visible commitment to the transformation is USFJ's launch of the Japan Self-Defense Force Joint Operations Command Cooperation Team, or JCT. This team is now serving as the primary interlocutor and liaison between our two independent command structures. It's a small team today, but it will continue to grow as USFJ expands its capabilities and authorities as part of our deliberate headquarters transformation efforts. The cooperation team's primary purpose is to further strengthen our bi-lateral ability to respond to crises or contingencies. This team marks the first tangible step we're taking to enhance our operational synergy with Japan. The team is operating from Tokyo and focused on daily, in-person collaboration opportunities across both parallel command structures. Additional organizational and structural changes to USFJ are also being developed in close consultation with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. These shifts in command and control are occurring against the backdrop of intensifying regional concerns, including a rise in coercive and unprofessional military maneuvers in all domains of operations. These activities emphasize the necessity for a more robust U.S.-Japan security alliance. By modernizing our collective command and control structures, we are achieving deeper security cooperation while signaling a clear-eyed resolve to uphold stability, deter aggression, and ensure a prosperous future for the peace-loving people of Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. It is an honor to be a part of this alliance at such a pivotal moment, and I am confident that together we will rise to meet the challenges ahead.
