Yama Sakura 89 Opening Ceremony

U.S. Army Soldiers from U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), 1st (Australian) Division Soldiers, and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) members salute their national colors during the opening ceremony of Exercise Yama Sakura 89 on JGSDF Camp Itami, Japan, Aug. 25, 2025. As a part of U.S. Army Pacific's Operation Pathways, the 45th iteration of Yama Sakura exercise, YS 89, is the third U.S. Army, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and Australian Army command post exercise based in Japan. Ground Staff Office (GSO) Training, Evaluation, Education, Research and Development Command (TERCOM), Ground Component Command (GCC) and Middle Army from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and 1st Division from the Australian Army train together with Soldiers of the U.S. Army I Corps, 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Japan and the 3rd Marine Division in a Joint environment to strengthen multi-domain and cross-domain interoperability and readiness to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Abreanna Goodrich)