CAMP H.M. SMITH, Hawaii – U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Japan Joint Staff will begin Keen Edge 22, a bilateral command post exercise, on Jan. 26, 2022, at various locations in Hawaii and Japan.
Keen Edge, scheduled to run until Feb. 3, is an annual U.S.-Japan exercise series that alternates between field training exercises (called Keen Sword) and command post exercises. Keen Edge provides an indispensable command post training environment for enhancing mutual understanding and interoperability of each country’s tactics, communication protocols and procedures to enhance combat readiness.
This year’s exercise will emphasis enhancing cooperation between Japan and the United States and enabling a more integrated workflow between the two nations.
“The U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific,” said Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “In a rapidly evolving security environment where revisionist, autocratic powers seek to disrupt and displace the rules-based international order that has benefitted so many, bilateral and multilateral exercises among allies and partners become even more important.”
General Koji Yamazaki, Chief of Staff, Japan Joint Staff, acknowledged the common security challenges and the shared vision to transform the Alliance, in which interoperable units seamlessly conduct bilateral operations in peacetime and during regional contingencies.
"Admiral Aquilino and I will further strengthen the interoperability between Japan and the United States by engaging in this highly practical exercise across all domains and in an ever more integrated manner.” said Yamazaki. “I am also confident that this exercise will lead to enhanced deterrence by the Japan-U.S. alliance.”
Japanese and U.S. exercises such as Keen Edge, Orient Shield, Yama Sakura, have been evolving to employ existing and emerging capabilities through a distributed network on a global scale to effectively respond to modern security challenges. The results of this exercise will ensure the ability to effectively and mutually respond to a regional crisis situation that might have direct and immediate impact on the United States and Japan.