Groundbreaking held for Air Defense Command

[unhappycamper]

Groundbreaking held for Air Defense Command
By Bryce S. Dubee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, February 17, 2008

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — With the thrust of golden shovels, Yokota Air Base was set on the path that will radically change the face of the base over the next several years.

On Friday, representatives of the U.S. and Japanese militaries, the U.S. Embassy and the Japanese government broke ground for the new Japan Air Self-Defense Force Air Defense Command (ADC) headquarters to be built at Yokota.

The current ADC headquarters is in Fuchu, but it will be relocated to Yokota, across from the U.S. Forces Japan and 5th Air Force headquarters, as part of the U.S. and Japanese Realignment Agreement. The agreement will bring approximately 1,200 JASDF personnel to Yokota, as well as dozens of new facilities to support the relocation.

“This is a new chapter in our alliance,” said J. Thomas Schieffer, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, during a speech Friday, adding that the relocation will allow the U.S. and Japanese militaries to communicate and cooperate “in ways that our predecessors could only have dreamed.”

Because the ADC is the supreme authority for Japanese air defense and ballistic missile defense, having its headquarters located alongside USFJ headquarters will be beneficial for Japan and the Asian-Pacific region, explained Lt. Gen. Hisao Nagata, commander of the ADC.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52534