Accelerated military activity by China and North Korea has prompted the United States to completely reverse course regarding a planned military withdrawal.
U.S. Space Force Indo-Pacific Commander Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir said Tuesday that his agency is working closely with the Japanese government to set up a component in the country, which he said would be similar to the one established in South Korea in 2022. The South Korean component, based at Osan Air Base south of Seoul, was started with eight members, which Mastalir said was his “baseline” for the envisioned command in Japan.
Mastalir did not specify a timeframe but said there appeared to be “no roadblocks” impeding the plans. He added that recent military drills with Japan, the U.S., and Australia, called Keen Edge, had simulated the existence of a Space Force component in Japan, which he said provided a “very powerful” addition to the joint forces.
“We will go through the formal notification process with the Japanese government and that will include considerations for the basing and the number of personnel and I don’t want to get in front of that process,” Mastalir said.
Lingering WW2 Hostilities
Many Japanese have a longstanding hatred of Americans. The last Japanese soldier turned himself in almost thirty years after Japan officially surrendered. Private Teruo Nakamura fought a mostly solitary guerilla war in the remote jungles of Indonesia until a pilot happened to see his camp in 1974. Nakamura, whose real name was Attun Palalin, initially returned to his native Taiwan before emigrating to Japan, where he received a lukewarm reception.
In contrast, Hiroo Onoda, Nakamura’s comrade in arms who held out in the Philippines until March 1974, came home to a hero’s welcome. Onoda, unlike Nakamura, was a native Japanese man and officer in the Imperial Army. He returned home to a hero’s welcome.
Before then, at Malacañang Palace in Manila, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos granted Onoda a full pardon for crimes he had committed while in hiding. At the ceremony, Onoda turned over his sword, a functioning Arisaka Type 99 rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, several hand grenades, and a dagger his mother had given him in 1944 to kill himself with if captured.
As a side note, Lubang residents said that Onoda and his men killed over two dozen civilians during their post-WW2 guerrilla campaign, a fact that Onoda conveniently omitted from his autobiography.
Several other Japanese soldiers held out long after the war officially ended, even though in many cases, they knew the war was over. Their feelings persist among many Japanese who now read about World War II in history class. For whatever reason, Americans have not done much to win the hearts and minds of the Japanese people.
However, with rising threats from North Korea and China, the Japanese still need some American protection on their islands. Reinforcements from Guam and other parts of the world would arrive within hours in the event of a conflict. But by then, it might already be too late.
Contractors in Japan
Since anti-American sentiment lingers in Japan, yet the islanders need protection, contractors are the natural solution. Divers and flexible contractors usually serve in several different areas.
Most private military contractors in Japan are not strictly military contractors. Instead, construction contractors expand existing military facilities to accommodate larger and faster ships and planes. Contractors also update barracks and other such facilities, thus boosting troop morale.
Most construction contractor firms are not military contractor companies. That is part of the flexibility we mentioned above. When needs change, officials simply dial a different number.
Terrorist attacks are few and far between in Japan. Nevertheless, military and diplomatic facilities still need protection. Many servicemembers believe guard duty is punishment duty. But to a security contractor, duties like verifying IDs at checkpoints and escorting supply convoys are just another day on the job.
The aforementioned construction sites also need security. Many Japanese people do not hate Americans enough to attack them openly, but they do hate them enough to sabotage construction sites. Since the threats in this area are so imminent, security-related construction delays are intolerable. Security contractors keep projects moving forward.
Japan also needs maintenance contractors. Those bigger and faster planes and ships, not to mention advanced drones and smart missiles, need lots of TLC. In many cases, contractors worked at the companies that designed and/or built these items. As a bonus, in the unlikely event of an emergency, these highly-trained contractors can pick up rifles if needed.
Spreading goodwill might the be the most important responsibility for contractors in Japan. Contractors have a chance to restore America’s tarnished image in Japan. While there, they do not count in the official troop total. So, politicians in Washington do not have to deal with “bring the boys home” clamor. At the same time, politicians in Tokyo do not have to deal with “Yankee go home” clamor.
Injury Compensation Available
When private military contractors are injured overseas, in whatever capacity they serve, a Defense Base Act lawyer can obtain important financial benefits for these victims, such as reasonable medical bill payment. This benefit applies to several categories of medical expenses.
Transportation
Depending on the facts of the case, medical transportation expenses could be practically nothing or almost literally sky-high.
Occupational diseases affect many private military contractors. Hearing loss is a good example. Many workplaces are noisy enough to damage hearing but not noisy enough to trigger mandatory safety protocols. Extended exposure to sounds as low as 35 decibels, which is basically a busy street corner, could permanently damage hearing.
In these cases, these victims might have a few Uber rides to and from a doctor’s office, but that is about it.
Trauma injuries are different. Especially if the injury occurs in a remote area or if it is catastrophic (life-threatening), emergency responders must summon medevac units. A medevac helicopter is basically a flying hospital. So, a short ride in such an aircraft could cost up to $40,000.
We mentioned Ubers above. Believe it or not, many insurance adjusters challenge transportation expenses by claiming that the victim could have taken an Uber to the hospital and saved money.
Emergency Care
Most doctors do not act conservatively in emergency care situations. Instead, they respond to injuries aggressively. Aggressive medical treatments are also costly medical treatments. The costs continue later in the process. Aggressive treatments have longer recovery and physical therapy periods.
Especially because more conservative approaches are usually available, many insurance adjusters claim that doctors went too far just to run up the bill. They may have indeed gone too far, but in most cases, their motives were true, a fact that a Defense Base Act lawyer must highlight.
Follow-Up Care
Usually, emergency care occurs in the field and follow-up care takes place when the victim returns home to recover. Fortunately, the physician transition is seamless in Defense Base Act cases. Generally, these victims can choose their own doctors and change physicians at any time.
Physical Therapy
Not everyone responds to medical treatment in the same way, which is one reason treatment doctors are so aggressive. Similarly, not everyone responds to physical therapy the same way. That is especially true after a brain injury. Brain injury physical therapists must painstakingly train uninjured parts of the brain to assume lost functions. Progress comes in fits and starts during this long process. A Defense Base Act lawyer helps ensure that insurance company funding does not stop so victims recover fully to the greatest extent possible.
For more information about other DBA benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.