This marks the third straight year that Iron Fist has taken place on Japanese soil.
On April 1, 1945, a mere five days after the bloody Battle of Iwo Jima ended, U.S. and Imperial Japanese forces were once again locked in mortal island combat, this time in the Battle of Okinawa, which was part of Operation Iceberg. Part of the Ryukyu Islands and the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan—measuring approximately 106 kilometers (66 mi) in length and 11 kilometers (7 miles) in width—the fierce fight for this tiny piece of territory ended up claiming the lives of 12,520 American troops, 110,000 Japanese soldiers, and between 40,000 and 150,000 Okinawa civilians.
Now, seventy-nine years and eleven months later, American and Japanese military forces are still interacting in Okinawa, only this time as friends and allies. Instead of fighting the Imperial Japanese Army, the U.S. Armed Forces are partnering with the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).
America and the JSDF
The latest display of U.S.-Japan military cooperation comes to us from Stars and Stripes reporters Brian McElhiney and Keishi Koja in a March 3, 2025, article titled “Marines, Japanese forces prepare for amphibious warfare on Okinawa.” They reported on an hourlong amphibious landing exercise carried out by the Marines and Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (Suirikukidōdan). This exercise served as the “key bilateral training event” of Iron Fist, which is an annual three-weeklong exercise that, as described by USMC 1st Lt. Iris Robare, is “designed to increase interoperability and strengthen relationships between the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.”
Significantly, this marks the third straight year that Iron Fist has taken place on Japanese soil; it was held off of California’s coast from 2006 to 2022.
200 U.S. Marines and sailors along with 200 Japanese soldiers executed four waves of beach assaults. Equipment utilized therein included: combat rubber reconnaissance craft in the first wave; six Japanese amphibious assault vehicles (presumably the AAV7A1) in the second wave; followed by a Japanese air-cushioned landing craft (presumably the Landing Craft, Air Cushion built by Textron Systems) in the third wave. Meanwhile, two USMC AH-1Z Viper helicopter gunships (the successor to the legendary AH-1W Whiskey Cobra chopper) provided aerial reconnaissance and firepower.
USMC and JSDF Senior Leaders’ Perspectives
McElhiney and Koja quote Brig. Gen. Trevor Hall, commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, thusly:
“Exercises are most effective when they are conducted by the forces most likely to operate together in the areas where they are most likely to operate. Through our combined capabilities, we provide deterrence to all threats in this region.”
From there, the authors go on to quote Maj. Gen. Hajime Kitajima, commander of the Suirikukidōdan:
“[Japan faces] the most severe security environment it has seen since the end of World War II … This exercise is not aimed at a certain country or region.”
Reading between the lines, Kitajima named China and North Korea without actually naming them. Somewhat akin to Bruce Lee’s “art of fighting without fighting.”
Additional U.S. Military Presence in Okinawa
Of course, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy aren’t the only service branches with a significant presence on Okinawa. Since 1945, the U.S. Air Force has owned Kadena Air Base, which is referred to as the “hub of airpower in the Pacific” and the “Keystone of the Pacific” because of its highly strategic location (400 miles off the Chinese coast and 480 miles from Shanghai). Home to the U.S. Air Force’s 18th Wing and the 353rd Special Operations Wing (which featured prominently in Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko’s bestselling action-adventure novel Rogue Warrior: SEAL Force Alpha), it is the largest and most active Pacific Air Forces base in East Asia, hosting 20,000 American servicemembers, dependents, and Japanese employees.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor forNational Security Journal (NSJ) and19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published inThe Daily Torch,The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, andSimple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of theNaval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at theOld Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.