The U.S. military has supplied an unprecedented level of manpower and supplies to help Japan deal with the devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
The U.S. military has supplied an unprecedented level of manpower and supplies to help Japan deal with the devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Dubbed Operation Tomodachi, a total of 12,750 members of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet have been involved in searching for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami as well as transporting relief supplies. Twenty ships and 140 aircraft are being used in the operation.
Dispatching personnel to natural disasters abroad is an important part of operations for the U.S. military as witnessed by the deployment of military personnel and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers following the earthquake and massive tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, in 2004 as well as after the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010.
What has made the support provided by the U.S. military to Japan unique is problems surrounding the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant that have compounded the effects from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The level of support has led one high-ranking Foreign Ministry official to say about the United States, "It is truly an ally."
After the earthquake struck, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was diverted from a joint military exercise with South Korea and sent off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture.
Three ships in the carrier strike group, including the cruiser USS Chancellorsville, were dispatched along with seven Aegis destroyers, such as the USS Cowpens, from Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
A total of four landing ships were sent to waters near Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, from Sasebo Naval Base, including the amphibious assault ship USS Essex and the dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry.
About 3,300 Marines were transported to help in relief assistance while helicopters were used to transport supplies.
The dock landing ship USS Tortuga transported 273 members of the Ground Self-Defense Force and 93 vehicles from Tomakomai, Hokkaido, to Ominato port in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture.
There has also been close coordination between the U.S. Navy and the Maritime SDF.
Three liaison officers from each side have been placed aboard the MSDF destroyer Hyuga and the Ronald Reagan, respectively, to coordinate the relief efforts.
The U.S. military has also been providing assistance in dealing with the problems at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Among the equipment loaned to Japan has been protective anti-radiation gear and a high-pressure pump to cool reactor cores with seawater from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington as well as advanced firefighting vehicles from Yokota Air Base and Yokosuka.
The unmanned reconnaissance aircraft Global Hawk, which was also used after last year's Haiti earthquake, began conducting aerial surveillance of the disaster site from March 13.
Stationed at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, the Global Hawk has been flown by remote control via satellite from a base in California.
The images taken of the areas affected by the natural disasters as well as the Fukushima plant have been shared with Japan.
After a meeting March 21 with Gen. Ryoichi Oriki, chief of staff of the Joint Staff, Adm. Robert Willard, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, told reporters that about 450 military personnel specializing in processing radioactive materials were on standby in the United States and would be deployed if a request was made by the Japanese government.
Willard also expressed confidence that the two sides would share all the necessary information pertaining to the nuclear accident.
At the same time, the United States has been taking precautionary steps, including advising U.S. citizens to evacuate from a wider area around the Fukushima plant than that recommended by the Japanese government.
On Monday, the George Washington left its base in Yokosuka and remains in waters near Japan. While it was scheduled to be in port for regular maintenance until April, the carrier was moved out of Yokosuka as a precautionary measure following the nuclear accident.
Part of the relief efforts has been made by U.S. Marines--the focus of criticism from local communities in connection with the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.
Although the Marines are normally publicity shy, efforts are being made to publicize their participation in the relief operation. E-mail messages have been sent on a regular basis to media organizations announcing the size of Marine units being used and where they would be transported.
A base of operations for the Marines in transporting relief supplies to the Tohoku region has been established at Yamagata airport. Transport aircraft have been flown out of Futenma and U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture on a daily basis.
The website for U.S. Marine Corps Bases Japan has posted the number of missions flown for Operation Tomodachi.
Although the Japanese and U.S. governments have reached an agreement to relocate Futenma because of the reputed danger it poses to neighboring communities, Marine officers have repeatedly said Futenma was decisively important for Operation Tomodachi.
(This article was written by Hirotaka Kawakami, Ryuichi Kanari and Naotaka Fujita.)