Last Updated on Friday, 14 September 2012 18:38 Written by PNC Saipan Correspondent Mark Rabago Friday, 14 September 2012 07:42
Guam News - Guam News
Saipan - A platoon of 40 troops from the Japanese Self-Defense Force are currently on a ship off Tinian and may not set foot on the island to join U.S. Marines already there, unless the mission calls for it.The Saipan Tribune reports that some 130 U.S. Marines in 12 amphibious tracked vehicles landed on Tinian's harbor Wednesday afternoon with a platoon of Japanese troops on standby in a nearby ship for a bilateral military exercise.
Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site
This week's "joint exercise" was billed as an historic coming together of U.S. and Japanese forces 67 years after they fought over the island.
In 1945 Tinian served as the launching pad for the two atomic bombs that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hastening the end of the war.
Still, Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz believes that the military exercise currently has again put Tinian on the world map.
And CNMI historian Don Farrell said this training exercise, dubbed Mariana Islands Complex Certification Exercise or Certex, will continue to build the image of Tinian as an excellent training site for all U.S. military forces.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
