CAMP ASAKUSA, Japan –
American Soldiers and Army civilians from the U.S. military’s premier Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command participated in Exercise Yama Sakura from Japan and Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington.
Highly specialized units from the 20th CBRNE Command took part in the 44th iteration of trilateral exercise that brought together forces from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Australian Defence Force and the U.S. Army in Japan, Dec. 7 – 15.
The 3rd Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), 71st Ordnance Group (EOD) and 20th CBRNE Command supported Exercise Yama Sakura, which means “Mountain Cherry Blossoms” in Japanese.
Soldiers and Army civilians from the 20th CBRNE Command deploy from 19 bases in 16 states to confront and defeat the world’s most dangerous hazards in support of joint, interagency and multinational operations.
Headquartered on Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in Northeast Maryland’s science, technology and security corridor, the 20th CBRNE Command is home to 75 percent of the U.S. Army’s active-duty Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) specialists and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians, as well as the 1st Global Field Medical Laboratory, CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Teams and Nuclear Disablement Teams (Infrastructure).
Exercise Yama Sakura is designed to increase joint force lethality, enhance procedural and technical interoperability, and strengthen alliances and partnerships, while focusing on collaboration across multi-domain and cross-domain operations.
U.S. Army Pacific, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, Ground Component Command, I Corps, Western Army, 11th Airborne Division, Australian 1st Division, Eastern Army, 7th Infantry and U.S. Army Japan took part in the exercise.
The 20th CBRNE Command supports military operations overseas and civil authorities at home.
The multifunctional and deployable 20th CBRNE Command also routinely works to strengthen allies around the world.
Brig. Gen. W Bochat, the commanding general of 20th CBRNE Command, visited Japan during the exercise.
“This exercise was an excellent opportunity to build readiness and focus on training with a valuable ally to our nation. The goal is to strengthen our collective defensive posture and improve our interoperability in the Indo-Pacific theater,” said Bochat, a career U.S. Army Chemical Corps officer who speaks Japanese fluently.