ADC HQ opens at Yokota AB

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class John D. Partlow
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  Yokota celebrated the grand opening of the Air Defense Command Headquarters building here May 30, after more than two months of operability.

The ADC, originally located at Fuchu Air Base, Japan, was moved to enhance the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance as part of the 2002 Defense Policy Review Initiative.

"The successful completion of the ADC move to Yokota is a significant DPRI milestone ... one that will have far-reaching benefits for the Alliance," said Lt. Gen. Burton Field, 5th Air Force commander. "The relocation optimizes both nations' ability to meet traditional, new and future threats and will ensure the Japan-U.S. partnership remains an anchor for regional security for the next several decades and beyond."

The new headquarters location will allow for better communication between U.S. and Japanese forces.

"We have mainly relied on the telephone or a TV conference for communication in the past," said Lt. Gen. Harukazu Saitoh, ADC commander. "We learned that day-to-day coordination between two headquarters could make our plans even stronger and a lot of relationships were expanded through personal interaction."

The Great East Japan Earthquake, massive tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis showed the amount of coordination and communication needed between the two countries and also showed how quickly we can work together at a moment's notice.

"In recent years with the increasingly severe security environment in the region, the role expected for the U.S.-Japan alliance has grown," said Toshiyuki Kato, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs. "Japan is committed to further strengthening the security and defense cooperation between Japan and the United States."

The goals of the U.S.-Japan Alliance haven't changed now that the ADC is completed, and according to Field, the future still looks bright.

"The Japan-U.S. Alliance has stood the test of time for more than a half century, deterring military aggression and providing an umbrella of security under which Japan, and the region, can prosper," said Field. "Now that the ADC is located on Yokota and many other DPRI efforts are underway, I believe the best days of the Alliance are still ahead of us."