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Hokkaido, Japan (Feb. 12, 2015) - Gen. Kiyofumi Iwata, chief of staff for Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), examines an M4 assault rifle during a joint demonstration of military operations on urban terrain with paratroopers from the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division and Japanese soldiers with the 27th Infantry Regiment, 5th Brigade, Northern Army, JGSDF during Exercise North Wind. Paratroopers with the Spartan Brigade are in Japan to participate in Exercise North Wind 2015, a two-week bilateral field training and command-post exercise, to increase combat readiness and interoperability amongst U.S. Army personnel and the JGSDF to respond to a broad range of crisis contingencies in the Asian-Pacific region.